News
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| Dogs and cats have a voice under new Massachusetts law 20-07-2010 |
BOSTON (Reuters) – Massachusetts on Wednesday will become the first state to ban the surgery that devocalizes dogs and cats, which many animal rights advocates see as a cruel and unnecessary procedure.
Under the new law, anyone in the state who cuts or removes an animal's voca... |
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| http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100720/us_nm/us_usa_pets_devocalization;_ylt=AgHem0zIdG4wPYB24UtPAxp4h 19-07-2010 |
ABIDJAN (Reuters) – Farmers whose crops are raided by wild animals like elephants should try driving them away with pepper spray, using guard donkeys or booby trapping food with snakes, the U.N. said on Monday.
The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) unveil... |
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Six tiger skulls seized in Sumatra 19-07-2010 |
JAKARTA (AFP) – Indonesian police have arrested two men on Sumatra island with six tiger skulls and other parts from the critically endangered species, an official said Monday.
The two were held Saturday in Pekanbaru city of Riau province as they picked up a package containing... |
| Idaho man accused of keeping rattlers in apartment 17-07-2010 |
MALTA, Idaho – An Idaho man who authorities say had 25 Western rattlesnakes in a five-gallon bucket in his apartment has been issued two misdemeanor citations by the state's Department of Fish and Game.
Officials say Terry Brian Teeter had as many as 32 snakes but he gave some... |
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| Judge allows Nevada wild horse roundup to resume 16-07-2010 |
RENO, Nev. – A government roundup of wild horses can resume in Nevada, a judge ruled Friday, dealing a setback to animal rights activists who had hoped to halt it after 13 mustangs died.
Federal land managers hailed U.S. District Judge Larry Hicks' order, warning that more tha... |
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Two runaway lemurs captured in Austrian bar: reports 16-07-2010 |
VIENNA (AFP) – Two young ring-tailed lemurs which had escaped from Salzburg zoo five days ago have been recaptured by their keepers in a hotel bar in a nearby village, according to local media reports Friday.
The two-year-old males had escaped from Salzburg's Hellbrunn zoo on ... |
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Animal rights activists banned from protest at Dubai zoo 15-07-2010 |
DUBAI (AFP) – Dubai police banned two demonstrators from animal rights group PETA from starting a protest branding zoos as "animal prisons" on Thursday, saying they were not authorised.
Dressed in prison suits and sporting monkey masks, the two activists of People for the Ethi... |
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China seizes eight tonnes of endangered pangolins 15-07-2010 |
BEIJING (AFP) – Chinese customs said they have seized nearly eight tonnes of frozen pangolins -- an endangered species of scaly anteater -- from a fishing boat off the southern coast.
The vessel was intercepted in June carrying the huge haul of animals and nearly two tonnes of... |
| 12 horses now dead from Nev. roundup; hearing set 14-07-2010 |
CARSON CITY, Nev. – Twelve wild horses have now died in a Nevada roundup directed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, half of them colts and mares.
The BLM on Wednesday said four more animals died or were put down because of dehydration or water intoxication. The agency als... |
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Tiger-rescue plan to be drawn up in Indonesia 14-07-2010 |
NUSA DUA, Indonesia (AFP) – Representatives from 13 "tiger-range countries" on Wednesday drew up a rescue declaration in Bali in a bid to save the big cats from extinction.
The declaration, which is to be signed in September at a "tiger summit" in St. Petersburg in Russia, aim... |
| Rare dark jellyfish showing up in San Diego Bay 14-07-2010 |
SAN DIEGO – Scientists say a rare species of dark purple jellyfish is showing up in San Diego Bay and washing ashore on beaches.
Dr. Nigella Hillgarth of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography said Tuesday the Birch Aquarium has four of the jellies for display.
Hillgarth say... |
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| Fed terror charges tossed against animal activists 13-07-2010 |
SAN JOSE, Calif. – A federal judge has dismissed charges against four animal rights activists accused of violating a rarely enforced anti-terrorism law while protesting at the homes of University of California scientists.
U.S. District Judge Ronald M. Whyte on Monday granted a... |
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| California Condors Learn Wild Ways from Older Birds 12-07-2010 |
The cage door is open but the young California condor, as immense as he is with his nine-foot wingspan, remains timid. He's not about to leave the captivity he's known his entire life to head into the unknown. But there are teachers out there waiting to instruct him in the wild l... |
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Anti-whaling protester: 'ugly war' will cost lives 11-07-2010 |
WELLINGTON (AFP) – New Zealand anti-whaling activist Pete Bethune expressed fears Monday someone would die in the "ugly war" between conservationists and Japanese whalers in Antarctic waters.
At his first formal press conference since being deported from Japan, Bethune also ac... |
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Japan deports convicted NZ anti-whaling activist 09-07-2010 |
TOKYO – Japan deported a New Zealand activist convicted of assault and obstruction after he attempted to stop the annual Japanese whale hunt.
Peter Bethune, 45, who clambered aboard a Japanese whaler in the middle of the Antarctic Ocean in February, was detained aboard the shi... |
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New Zealand activist vows to continue anti-whaling fight 09-07-2010 |
AUCKLAND (AFP) – Anti-whaling activist Peter Bethune returned to New Zealand on Saturday, vowing he would never give up his fight to stop Japanese whaling.
Bethune was deported from Japan after receiving a suspended two-year sentence for obstructing Japanese whaling in the Ant... |
| Oil Gusher Threatens Newly-Discovered Fish Species 09-07-2010 |
Two previously unknown species of fish have been identified in the waters along the Gulf Coast in areas threatened by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
The two newly-named species (Halieutichthys intermedius and H. bispinosus) are a type of fish called pancake batfish.
With crag... |
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N.Zealand anti-whaling activist deported from Japan 08-07-2010 |
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) – New Zealand anti-whaling activist Peter Bethune was deported from Japan on Friday after receiving a suspended two-year sentence for obstructing Japanese whaling in the Antarctic Ocean.
Bethune, 45, was sent home on an Air New Zealand flight which left Toky... |
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Anti-whaling group says activist ban 'a strategy' 08-07-2010 |
WELLINGTON, New Zealand – An anti-whaling group banned one of its members for carrying a weapon onboard ship as a strategy to help him avoid prison in Japan, and he's free to rejoin its protests, the group's leader said Thursday.
A Tokyo court on Wednesday convicted New Zealan... |
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Donated Cambodian elephants to be flown to S.Korea 07-07-2010 |
SEOUL (AFP) – Two elephants donated by Cambodia will be flown to South Korea Thursday to swell the country's depleted ranks of the endangered species, a zoo official said.
A South Korean air force cargo plane has left for Cambodia to collect a 20-year-old bull and a 27-year-ol... |
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N.Zealand activist 'welcome' on anti-whaling missions 07-07-2010 |
WELLINGTON (AFP) – Conservation group Sea Shepherd said Thursday that activist Pete Bethune would be welcome on future Antarctic missions despite being handed a two-year suspended jail sentence in Japan.
Bethune was convicted in Tokyo of injuring a whaler by hurling a rancid b... |
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Heat wave hits National Zoo in DC 07-07-2010 |
WASHINGTON – As the eastern U.S. swelters under intense heat, even animals at the zoo are turning to popsicles and air conditioning.
At the National Zoo in Washington, pandas and other animals get homemade frozen fruit popsicles to help stay cool.
Zoo spokeswoman Karin Korpow... |
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Tiger 'rescue plan' to be drafted in Indonesia 06-07-2010 |
JAKARTA (AFP) – Representatives from 13 "tiger-range countries" will draft a global recovery plan at a meeting in Indonesia next week in a bid to rescue the big cats from extinction, officials said on Tuesday.
The plan to be drafted on the Indonesian resort island of Bali will... |
| Panda in Chinese zoo accidentally crushes its cub 06-07-2010 |
BEIJING – A panda at the Beijing Zoo accidentally crushed her new cub to death after abandoning its twin, Chinese state media said Tuesday.
The two female cubs were born Friday, but the mother nursed only one of them, the zoo's deputy president told the China Daily newspaper.
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Set Germany's octopus oracle free: campaigners 02-07-2010 |
BERLIN (AFP) – An octopus in Germany who has shot to fame by correctly predicting the outcome of the country's World Cup matches should be set free, an animal rights group said on Friday.
"Paul has forecast that Germany will beat Argentina. In order that Paul too can celebrate... |
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Study will look at oil spill's effect on whales 02-07-2010 |
PASCAGOULA, Miss. – Tags, tissue samples and sound are among methods being used on a scientific cruise to study the Gulf of Mexico oil spill's effects on whales and other endangered animals.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration research ship Gordon Gunter return... |
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Some 70,000 turtle eggs to be whisked far from oil 30-06-2010 |
PENSACOLA BEACH, Fla. – An effort to save thousands of sea turtle hatchlings from dying in the oily Gulf of Mexico will begin in the coming weeks in a desperate attempt to keep an entire generation of threatened species from vanishing.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will c... |
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Borneo's crocodiles 'no longer endangered' 27-06-2010 |
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) – Wildlife officials in Malaysian Borneo are pushing to have its saltwater crocodiles removed from a list of endangered animals, saying the reptile's numbers have strongly recovered in recent years.
Deputy director of the Sabah Wildlife Department Augustin T... |
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Falling branch kills baby in NYC's Central Park 26-06-2010 |
NEW YORK – A 6-month-old baby was killed Saturday and her mother injured by a falling tree branch at New York's Central Park Zoo.
Police said the 33-year-old New Jersey woman was posing with her baby in front of the sea lion exhibit and her husband was taking their picture whe... |
| 3 Burmese pythons saved from flooded home in Neb. 26-06-2010 |
KING LAKE, Neb. – The Nebraska Humane Society has seized three Burmese pythons from a flooded home in the Omaha suburb of King Lake.
The humane society says it discovered the snakes while investigating a report earlier this week about a snake on the loose. It says each of the ... |
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Restaurant serves lion burgers despite protests 25-06-2010 |
PHOENIX – A restaurant owner who put lion burgers on the menu in honor of the World Cup has felt a roar of anger from outraged animal rights activists.
Cameron Selogie, owner of the Il Vinaio restaurant in Mesa, served burgers made with African lion this week as a nod to the t... |
| What is killing Argentina's right whales? 25-06-2010 |
AGADIR, Morocco (AFP) – Fatal strandings of southern right whales around Argentina's Valdes Peninsula have soared in recent years, and worried scientists are not sure why, the International Whaling Commission heard Friday.
From 1971, when systematic monitoring began, only a re... |
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Whaling meeting delays decision on hunting 1 year 25-06-2010 |
AGADIR, Morocco – Native people of Greenland won a long battle Friday to extend their annual whale hunt to humpbacks, overriding objections from conservation-minded members of the International Whaling Commission.
The decision came at the end of a contentious five-day meeting ... |
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Greenland gets green light to hunt humpback whales 25-06-2010 |
AGADIR, Morocco (AFP) – Greenland's indigenous peoples won the right Friday to hunt 27 humpback whales, capping three years of acrimonious debate within the 88-nation International Whaling Commission.
The self-ruled Danish territory can now kill and consume nine of the giant m... |
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Anti-whaling boss on Interpol wanted list: Japan 25-06-2010 |
TOKYO – The leader of a U.S.-based anti-whaling organization is now on an international wanted list for allegedly masterminding the group's disruption of Japanese whale hunts in the Antarctic Ocean, Japan's coast guard said Friday.
The move — done at Japan's request — sign... |
| Feds propose $3 million fine for massive fish kill 24-06-2010 |
WASHINGTON – The federal government is proposing nearly $3 million in fines against the city of Birmingham, Ala., over an incident that officials say was one of the largest fish kills in the history of the Endangered Species Act.
The penalty, proposed Thursday, stems from a 20... |
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| Group: Feds fail to protect Mexican spotted owl 24-06-2010 |
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – An environmental group is suing the U.S. Forest Service, claiming the agency has violated the Endangered Species Act by failing to uphold protections won more than a decade ago for the Mexican spotted owl in the Southwest.
WildEarth Guardian's lawsuit, file... |
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| Seismic probe threat to endangered whales: experts 24-06-2010 |
AGADIR, Morocco (AFP) – International Whaling Commission scientists have warned that a seismic survey in Russia's Far East could push a critically endangered population of whales closer to extinction.
"The committee is extremely concerned about the potential impact on western ... |
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Japan blames whaling foes for collapse of talks 24-06-2010 |
TOKYO (AFP) – Japan's fisheries minister on Thursday blamed anti-whaling nations for the collapse of talks in the International Whaling Commission and questioned whether Japan should stay in the forum.
Negotiations in the 88-member body on the future of commercial whaling brok... |
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For Iceland's whaling king, they're 'just another fish' 24-06-2010 |
AGADIR, Morocco (AFP) – Kristjan Loftsson, Iceland's millionaire whaling king, doesn't really see the difference: "whales are just another fish," he said at a crunch meeting of the International Whaling Commission.
The IWC has gathered in Agadir, Morocco in a bid to end -- or ... |
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Group seeks endangered listing for bumblebee 23-06-2010 |
GRANTS PASS, Ore. – A conservation group filed a petition Wednesday to add a bumblebee from Southern Oregon and Northern California to the endangered species list.
The Society for Invertebrate Conservation and University of California at Davis entomologist Robbin Thorp formall... |
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Deadlocked global whaling talks run aground 23-06-2010 |
AGADIR, Morocco (AFP) – Negotiations on the future of commercial whaling collapsed Wednesday, with pro- and anti-whaling nations unable to break a decades-long deadlock.
Since Monday, the 88-member IWC has been debating a draft deal to suspend a 24-year moratorium on commercia... |
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Malaysia to probe killing of tiger 23-06-2010 |
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) – Malaysian wildlife authorities said Wednesday they are investigating the killing of a three-year-old tiger as the country battles to double the population of the endangered species.
The tiger was killed in northern Perak state Tuesday after a villager clai... |
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Whaling ban must stay, say 200 scientists 22-06-2010 |
AGADIR, Morocco (AFP) – More than 200 scientists and experts Tuesday called on the International Whaling Commission to maintain its ban on commercial whaling to ensure the future of species depleted by industrial hunting.
"The IWC must not undermine the conservation achievemen... |
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Draft whaling deal under fire from scientists, greens 21-06-2010 |
AGADIR, Morocco (AFP) – The International Whaling Commission withdrew Monday behind closed doors within minutes of kicking off a tense meeting that could end a global ban on commercial whaling.
Accredited green groups were fuming at what they called the unprecedented lockdown.... |
| Petroleum industry objects to polar bear plan 16-06-2010 |
ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Advocates for the petroleum industry in Alaska told the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that the agency's polar bear critical habitat plan is seriously flawed.
Marilyn Crockett, director of the Alaska Oil and Gas Association, said Tuesday that additional con... |
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| Appeals court denies earthworm protection 15-06-2010 |
SPOKANE, Wash. – The giant Palouse earthworm isn't that big, doesn't spit and doesn't smell like lilies, and now a federal court has decided it is not time to grant the worm endangered species protection.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals this week affirmed a lower court r... |
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| Judge hears arguments in federal wolf case 15-06-2010 |
MISSOULA, Mont. – A federal judge heard arguments Tuesday on whether gray wolves in Montana and Idaho should be protected once more under the Endangered Species Act and whether those states can ensure the species won't be wiped out under their management.
Defenders of Wildlife... |
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Vienna zoo breeds endangered batagur turtle 15-06-2010 |
VIENNA (AFP) – The Schoenbrunn Zoo in Vienna said on Tuesday it has successfully bred one of the most endangered species of turtle, the Batagur baska, for the first time in captivity.
Two baby Batagur turtles were hatched in the zoo's reptile house at the beginning of May, the... |
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Japan may quit whaling commission if ban stays put 15-06-2010 |
TOKYO – Japan is considering withdrawing from the International Whaling Commission if no progress is made toward easing an international ban on commercial whaling, its fisheries minister said Tuesday.
The IWC — the international body that regulates whaling — will gather fo... |
| Whaling Commision chief to miss critical meeting 14-06-2010 |
AMSTERDAM – The chairman of the International Whaling Commission has fallen ill and will not attend its annual meeting due to discuss his proposal to control the annual whale hunt, a spokeswoman said Monday.
The absence of Christian Maquieira could complicate efforts to negoti... |
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| Nepal orders probe into slaughter of rhinos 14-06-2010 |
KATMANDU, Nepal – Nepal's government was investigating the poaching of rhinos in the Himalayan nation after 28 of the endangered animals were killed over the past 11 months, an official said Monday.
Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal and Forest Minister Deepak Bohara summoned c... |
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Japan pays small nations for support on whaling: report 13-06-2010 |
LONDON (AFP) – A British newspaper claimed Sunday it had evidence suggesting that Japan has bribed small nations to support its attempts to lift a 24-year-old moratorium on commercial whaling.
The Sunday Times said it found officials from St Kitts and Nevis, Grenada, the Marsh... |
| Ohio farmhand pleads not guilty to animal cruelty 10-06-2010 |
MARYSVILLE, Ohio – An Ohio dairy farm worker accused of abusing cows in an undercover video has pleaded not guilty to 12 counts of cruelty to animals.
An attorney for 25-year-old Billy Joe Gregg Jr. entered the plea Wednesday. Gregg appeared on a video conference Thursday in a... |
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Endangered crocodiles hatched in Cambodia 10-06-2010 |
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – Conservationists in Cambodia are celebrating the hatching of a clutch of eggs from one of the world's most critically endangered animals, the Siamese crocodile.
Thirteen infants crawled out of their shells over the weekend in a remote part of the Cardamo... |
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On the brink of extinction, tigers need man as never before 10-06-2010 |
WASHINGTON (AFP) – Nearly extinct, tigers can still be saved but efforts necessary for their survival face two huge obstacles: deforestation and the black market, where the big cats sell for 50,000 dollars a piece.
A hundred years ago, they still numbered 100,000 and were spre... |
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Singapore stops chicken man staging anti-KFC protest 10-06-2010 |
SINGAPORE (AFP) – A US animal-rights activist said he was prevented by police Thursday from staging a one-man protest in a chicken suit at a KFC outlet in Singapore.
Edward Basse, a Manila-based campaigner for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), said he was whi... |
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Japan prosecutors seek jail for anti-whaling man 10-06-2010 |
TOKYO (AFP) – Japanese prosecutors on Thursday demanded two years in prison for a New Zealand anti-whaling activist on trial for assault and charges relating to his boarding of a harpoon ship in Antarctic waters.
Peter Bethune, 45, of the US-based militant environmentalist gro... |
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Scientists use Calvin Klein cologne to lure jaguars 09-06-2010 |
GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters Life!) – Biologists tracking jaguars in the Guatemalan jungle might smell nice but it's all in the name of science, with researchers finding the Calvin Klein cologne Obsession for Men attracts big cats.
Biologists Rony Garcia and Jose Moreira from the W... |
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Poll: Money is a huge consideration in pet care 09-06-2010 |
LOS ANGELES – When a vet told Nancy Gates that her dog Arabella had heart problems, needed surgery and it would cost $500, she had no choice but to put her pet down.
"It was pretty straightforward because I had four young children to feed. The vet said surgery was my only opti... |
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Japan fleet set sail on Pacific whaling trip 09-06-2010 |
TOKYO (AFP) – Japan launched a summer whaling mission Wednesday, with the target of killing 260 of the giant sea mammals in the Northwest Pacific waters despite legal action by Australia.
Three harpoon and two research ships set sail from three separate ports in Japan with mor... |
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Greenpeace protests Japan's prosecution of whale activists 08-06-2010 |
MONTREAL (AFP) – Dozens of protestors on Tuesday decried Japan's prosecution of two anti-whaling activists facing 18 months in prison for snatching a case of whale meat.
Holding up photos of the two men and a banner that read "Defending whales is a crime?" the protestors gathe... |
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Sea Shepherd dumps activist Bethune 08-06-2010 |
WELLINGTON (AFP) – Anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd has cast adrift activist Pete Bethune for taking a bow and arrows on a high-seas campaign that ended with the New Zealander facing imprisonment in Japan.
In a June 4 statement on the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's website... |
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Japan prosecutors demand jail for Greenpeace whale activists 08-06-2010 |
TOKYO (AFP) – Japanese prosecutors demanded 18-month jail terms for two Greenpeace activists on trial for committing theft and trespass while investigating alleged embezzlement in the country's whaling industry.
Junichi Sato, 33, and Toru Suzuki, 43, are accused of stealing wh... |
| 2 abandoned baby pygmy elephants saved in Malaysia 07-06-2010 |
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Malaysian wildlife authorities rescued two starving pygmy elephant calves on Borneo island in the first known cases of the endangered animals being apparently abandoned by their mothers, an official said Monday.
Plantation workers discovered a 2-year-o... |
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| Surfer survives shark attack off west Australia 06-06-2010 |
CANBERRA, Australia – A surfer was in a stable condition Monday after he was attacked by a shark off the Australian west coast, an official said.
Michael Bedford was rescued by a friend and a group of fishermen after he was attacked twice by a shark on Sunday off Conspicuous C... |
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| S. American critter found sleeping on Ill. porch 05-06-2010 |
CHICAGO – A small, furry, long-tailed critter found napping on a Chicago porch is apparently more than 2,000 miles away from where it belongs. Animal control experts said an exotic kinkajou was found sleeping Thursday in the city's Pilsen neighborhood. Nobody knew what it was u... |
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| Feds settle lawsuit over protection for penguins 04-06-2010 |
SAN FRANCISCO – Several species of penguins will get special protection after a federal judge in San Francisco approved a legal settlement involving the Endangered Species Act.
Under the agreement approved Thursday by U.S. District Judge Samuel Conti, the U.S. Department of th... |
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Battle to save Liberia park from gold miners, poachers 04-06-2010 |
SAPO NATIONAL PARK, Liberia (AFP) – Conservationists describe it as a biodiverse paradise deep in the heart of Liberia's rainforest, home to the elusive pygmy hippo and other rare species of plant and animal life.
But Sapo National Park is more often likened to a gangster's pa... |
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Australia sues Japan over controversial whaling 01-06-2010 |
TOKYO – Japan said Tuesday it would staunchly defend its research hunt that kills hundreds of whales per year, a day after Australia filed an international lawsuit arguing that the cull does not qualify for a scientific exemption to a 1986 ban.
Australia — Japan's major trad... |
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Australia bids to close Japan's whaling loophole 01-06-2010 |
SYDNEY (AFP) – Australia has launched international legal action to stop Japan killing hundreds of whales a year in the name of science, officials said Tuesday, as Tokyo condemned the move.
Australia's case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) seeks to stop Japan exploi... |
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NZ anti-whaling activist on trial in Japan 31-05-2010 |
TOKYO (AFP) – A New Zealand anti-whaling activist on trial in Japan denied Monday a charge of assault, saying that rancid butter stink bombs he threw at harpoon ships were no more acidic than orange juice.
Peter Bethune, of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, also tearfully... |
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No more eating shark fin in Hawaii after new law 29-05-2010 |
HONOLULU – The $48-a-plate shark fin has been a favorite dish to celebrate 80th birthdays and fete out of town VIPs since Vienna Hou's Chinese restaurant opened 25 years ago.
But Kirin Restaurant customers won't be dining in that style starting July 1, 2011, when Hawaii become... |
| Alaska sues feds over predator control 28-05-2010 |
ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The state of Alaska sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Friday, seeking a court order allowing it to go ahead with a controversial predator control program.
At issue is the state's plan to kill wolves to preserve a caribou herd inside the Alaska Maritim... |
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| Charges considered in deaths of 83 wild horses 28-05-2010 |
RENO, Nev. – A Nevada district attorney is considering whether to file criminal charges against federal land managers who are accused by animal rights activists of mistreating wild horses in a roundup.
Churchill County Sheriff Richard Ingram said his department began an invest... |
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Newly uncovered dinosaur had longest horns of all 28-05-2010 |
WASHINGTON (AFP) – A group of US paleontologists said Friday it has unearthed a new species of dinosaurs standing some six feet tall and weighing up to 4.5 tonnes, with the longest horns of all.
The 72-million-year-old herbivore, now named Coahuilaceratops magnacuerna, has two... |
| Special delivery! Chicago zoo gets 3 stork chicks 28-05-2010 |
CHICAGO – Someone's been bringing the storks babies at Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo.
The 142-year-old zoo suddenly has the making of a new flock of European white storks after three stork eggs hatched there in the last week. A mated pair hatched the eggs Saturday, Sunday and Mon... |
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Australia to sue Japan over whaling 28-05-2010 |
SYDNEY (AFP) – Australia said Friday it would begin legal action next week to stop Japan killing hundreds of whales a year in the name of scientific research, prompting immediate condemnation from Tokyo.
Officials said they would lodge documents with the International Court of... |
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Australia takes Japan to court over whaling 28-05-2010 |
CANBERRA, Australia – Australia said Friday it will challenge Japan's whale hunting in the Antarctic at the International Court of Justice, a major legal escalation in its campaign to ban the practice despite Tokyo's insistence on the right to so-called scientific whaling.
Jap... |
| Head of IWC optimistic on whaling deal 27-05-2010 |
WASHINGTON – The head of the International Whaling Commission on Thursday expressed optimism that nations gathering in Morocco next month can settle a long-running dispute over the hunting of whales.
But a senior U.S. official signaled difficult negotiations ahead over a conte... |
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4 Bolivia circus lions freed to California refuge 27-05-2010 |
LA PAZ, Bolivia – An animal rights group says four lion cubs freed under Bolivia's circus-animal ban are flying to California, where television personality Bob Barker has helped fund their retirement.
Enrique Mendizabal of Animal Defenders International says the group's presid... |
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Bond at $100K for Ohio farm worker in cruelty case 27-05-2010 |
MARYSVILLE, Ohio – An Ohio dairy farm has asked veterinarians to independently review an animal rights group's video of cows being punched, kicked and poked with pitchforks.
Conklin Dairy Farms Inc. said in a statement Thursday that the undercover video shot by Mercy For Anima... |
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Anti-whaling activist pleads guilty in Tokyo trial 27-05-2010 |
TOKYO – An anti-whaling activist from New Zealand who boarded a Japanese whaling ship as part of a protest in February pleaded guilty Thursday to charges including trespassing and destruction of property, but denied that he committed assault.
Sea Shepherd activist Peter Bethun... |
| Indonesian worker bitten by Komodo dragon 24-05-2010 |
JAKARTA, Indonesia – An Indonesian worker freed himself from an attacking Komodo dragon by punching the reptile's snout until it released him and ran away, a national park official said Monday.
Agustinus Jenaru, 20, was working inside an unfinished wooden bungalow on Rinca isl... |
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| 'Dracula' Fish and Bombardier Worm Make Top 10 List 23-05-2010 |
A "dracula" fish with canine-like fangs, a worm that launches glow-in-the-dark bombs and a psychedelic frogfish are among the Top 10 new species discovered in 2009, scientists just announced.
The International Institute for Species Exploration at Arizona State University and an ... |
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Latin America wants to end 'lethal research' on whales 21-05-2010 |
SAN JOSE (AFP) – Latin American members of the International Whaling Commission said they will propose eliminating a legal loophole that allows whale hunting under the guise of "lethal research" at the next IWC meeting in Morocco in June.
The Buenos Aires Group, in its final d... |
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Wildlife death toll from oil spill still uncertain 18-05-2010 |
Federal officials say they don't know whether a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico killed 189 sea turtles, birds and other animals found dead since it started.
The total includes 154 sea turtles, primarily the endangered Kemp's ridley variety, plus 12 dolphins and 23 birds.... |
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New frogs and geckos and pigeons, oh my 17-05-2010 |
WASHINGTON – Finding a new animal species is a special moment for scientists and even better when one hops into their mountain camp and volunteers to be discovered. An international team of researchers was camping in the Foja mountains of Indonesia when herpetologist Paul Olive... |
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Scientists find tiny wallaby, spiky nosed frog in Asia 17-05-2010 |
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Scientists exploring a remote Indonesian forest say they have uncovered a collection of new species, including a Pinocchio-nosed frog, the world's smallest known wallaby and a yellow-eyed gecko.
An international group of scientists found the species in th... |
| Federal agency agrees to deadline on AZ, NM wolves 14-05-2010 |
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A federal judge in Arizona has approved a settlement requiring the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to issue a finding by the end of July on a petition that seeks to list the Mexican gray wolf on the federal endangered species list separate from other North Am... |
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Dolphin, turtle deaths eyed for links to oil spill 13-05-2010 |
PORT FOURCHON, Louisiana (Reuters) – Scientists are examining the deaths of at least six dolphins and over 100 sea turtles along the U.S. Gulf Coast in recent weeks to see if they are victims of the giant oil spill in the region, wildlife officials said on Thursday.
All of the... |
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Travel blog posted of crash survivor's last safari 13-05-2010 |
AMSTERDAM – Ruben van Assouw had a dream vacation. His father's travel blog offers a poignant look at the 9-year-old's journey with his family, witnessing the spectacular natural wonders of South Africa's Mac Mac Falls, a vista called "God's Window," and a tableau of rhinos, im... |
| Flea-Sized Creatures Are Fastest Jumpers Known 12-05-2010 |
Shrimp-like critters the size of fleas could be the champion jumpers of the animal kingdom, scientists now reveal.
After analyzing high-speed video of three species of crustaceans known as copepods, researchers found that within milliseconds, each of these wee creatures could us... |
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Struggling seal hunt to limp on 11-05-2010 |
OTTAWA (AFP) – The government extended its Atlantic coast seal hunt on Tuesday to the end of May as hunters shy away from the sea over a lack of sea ice and a European boycott of seal products.
Canada's Fisheries Minister Gail Shea announced the seal harvest in Newfoundland wa... |
| Colossal Squid Is No Monster, Study Finds 10-05-2010 |
Measuring longer than a school bus and sporting tentacles covered in razor-sharp hooks, the colossal squid is the stuff of nightmares. However, new research suggests the enormous sea creature may not be the fierce hunter of legend.
This finding not only upends science's understa... |
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| Reggie the gator gets new mate at Los Angeles Zoo 07-05-2010 |
LOS ANGELES – Reggie the celebrity alligator is getting some female companionship at the Los Angeles Zoo.
The 7 1/2-foot gator, who became famous after his owner dumped him in a lake several years ago, is now sharing a space with Cajun Kate.
The female gator moved in with Reg... |
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| La. wildlife refuge closed as oil advances 07-05-2010 |
NEW ORLEANS – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has closed a sensitive barrier islands habitat for nesting birds and other animals as oil advances from the Deepwater Horizon disaster.
The federal agency said Friday that the Breton National Wildlife Refuge was closed to the pu... |
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WWF launches campaign to save Romania's bears 06-05-2010 |
BUCHAREST (AFP) – Environmental group WWF on Thursday launched a fund-raising campaign to save Romania's bears, whose habitat is threatened by deforestation.
"If bears could express their feelings, they would say how sad they are to see their habitat endangered," campaign coor... |
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No link found between sea turtle deaths and oil spill 05-05-2010 |
NEW ORLEANS (AFP) – Dozens of stranded sea turtles have been located on the Gulf Coast, but scientists have found no evidence so far that their deaths are linked to the oil spill, officials said Wednesday.
Thirty-eight turtles have been found from Alabama to the Louisiana delt... |
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Govt. investigates shrimpers in Gulf turtle deaths 05-05-2010 |
GULFPORT, Miss. – Federal authorities are investigating whether fishermen eager to maximize their catch ahead of the massive oil slick threatening the Gulf Coast have been killing endangered sea turtles, an official said Wednesday.
Wildlife officials say at least 35 endangered... |
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National Zoo: Rare oryx, extinct in wild, born 05-05-2010 |
FRONT ROYAL, Va. – The National Zoo says a scimitar-horned oryx has been born at its conservation center in Virginia — the zoo's first such birth in 13 years.
Oryx are extinct in the wild. They are known for their curved horns that can be several feet long.
The female calf ... |
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No oil contamination evidence found in 5 turtles 03-05-2010 |
GULFPORT, Miss. – Necropsies completed on five of at least 30 dead sea turtles found along Mississippi beaches in the past few days show no evidence of oil killing the reptiles.
Brian Gorman of the National Marine Fisheries Service in Gulfport, Miss., said Monday that no evide... |
| 10 Things You Can Do to Help the Gulf Coast Clean the Oil Spil 03-05-2010 |
Alarming photos of dead sea turtles washed ashore--as well as satellite images of an ever-spreading oil slick--demonstrate that a serious ordeal is ahead for the Gulf Coast. The April 20 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig caused a spill that has spread more than 130 miles... |
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| Oil flowing into wetlands key to ecological effect 02-05-2010 |
NEW ORLEANS – Wildlife experts say the ecological effects from the oil spill has less to do with the amount of oil and more to do with where it's flowing.
Randy Pausina, an assistant secretary with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, said Sunday the effects of ... |
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Japan seeks arrest of anti-whaling ship chief 30-04-2010 |
TOKYO (AFP) – Japan is seeking an international arrest warrant for the head of anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd over high-seas clashes in Antarctic waters, media reports said Friday.
Tokyo will seek Interpol's help to arrest Canadian Paul Watson for ordering his crew to harass ... |
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Report: Japan issues warrant for anti-whaling boss 30-04-2010 |
TOKYO – The Japanese Coast Guard has obtained an arrest warrant for the leader of the Sea Shepherd environmental group for its disruption of Japan's annual whale hunts, media reports said Friday.
The move would be the latest in an increasingly aggressive campaign against the r... |
| Gulf spill spreads in waters rich with marine life 29-04-2010 |
WASHINGTON — Oil from a ruptured drilling rig could harm all kinds of marine life in the Gulf of Mexico , from the Atlantic tarpon and bluefin tuna that have key spawning areas nearby to endangered sea turtles, commercial fisheries, migrating song birds and marine mammals.
The... |
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| New Species of Ancient Flying Reptile Discovered 29-04-2010 |
An ancient reptile with a 9-foot wingspan was soaring over the sea in what is now North Texas some 95 million years ago when - plop - it fell into the water and died.
That paleo-death tale comes from a fossilized jaw that was discovered embedded in soft, powdery shale that had b... |
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| PETA buys ad space on Oregon man's cremation urns 28-04-2010 |
PORTLAND, Ore. – A dying Oregon comedian's last words will be written on his cremation urns — and the message will be sponsored by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
The animal rights group has paid $200 to place ads blasting KFC and dog breeders on the urns that w... |
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| No Baby Panda: Mom Was Faking Pregnancy 28-04-2010 |
After months of waiting and hoping, panda lovers' dreams were dashed again. There will be no baby panda at the National Zoo this year - mama bear was faking her pregnancy.
Zookeepers called off the pregnancy watch after noticing that the prospective panda mother's hormone levels... |
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Hopes dashed: National Zoo's panda isn't pregnant 28-04-2010 |
WASHINGTON – The National Zoo says its female giant panda is not pregnant after all.
The zoo says a final ultrasound and hormone analysis Tuesday confirmed Mei Xiang (may-SHONG) was experiencing a pseudo pregnancy over the past several months. Pandas' hormone levels and behavi... |
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"Staffies" most rehoused breed say RSPCA 28-04-2010 |
LONDON (AFP) – The RSPCA found new homes for more Staffordshire bull terriors than any other breed of dog last year, in part due to would-be owners who want the animals as "status dogs".
The animal charity said on Wednesday it had rehoused 507 of the 615 pure-bred and crossed ... |
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Hunt on for serial sex killing elephant in India 28-04-2010 |
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, India (AFP) – Wildlife experts in southern India are hunting a rogue bull elephant who is thought to have gored 12 female tuskers to death because they spurned his sexual advances.
The Times of India said on Wednesday that a 15-member taskforce has been set... |
| Hawaii seeks to ban harvesting of shark fins 27-04-2010 |
HONOLULU – Hawaii is attempting to ban the practice of killing sharks for the purpose of making shark-fin soup.
The state Legislature passed a bill Tuesday banning shark fins from being harvested, sold or owned.
Democratic Sen. Clayton Hee of Kahuku says killing sharks for th... |
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| Monitor Lizard Discovered with Flame-Colored Head 27-04-2010 |
A distinctly colored species of monitor lizard, a close relative of the Komodo dragon, has been discovered in Indonesia.
The lizard, whose scientific name is Varanus obor, is also called by its popular names, Torch monitor and Sago monitor. It's called Torch monitor because of i... |
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Activists oppose Indian animal testing lab in Malaysia 27-04-2010 |
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) – Animal rights groups Tuesday slammed a plan by Indian drug company Vivo Bio Tech to build a 140 million dollar animal testing laboratory for preclinical trials in Malaysia.
Saying the project will cause "immense suffering, misery and death... inflicted on ... |
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Dead elephant was poisoned, says Kiev zoo 26-04-2010 |
KIEV (Reuters) – The only elephant in Kiev's zoo, 39-year-old Boy, died Monday in his enclosure, apparently after being poisoned, the zoo's director said.
"This morning at 10.45 a.m. he let out a terrible cry and fell. I have the conclusions of veterinarians ... It was a poiso... |
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Commission proposes limited commercial whale hunts 23-04-2010 |
TOKYO – Japan cautiously welcomed an International Whaling Commission proposal that would effectively allow commercial whaling for the first time in 25 years — though under strict quotas that the commission argues will reduce the global catch.
Despite a 1986 moratorium on wh... |
| New plan would allow whale hunts, with limits 23-04-2010 |
WASHINGTON — A ban on commercial whale hunting since 1986 hasn't stopped Japan , Iceland and Norway from killing 35,000 whales, according to U.S. government counts. Now the International Whaling Commission has proposed a new approach — legalize whaling for those three nations... |
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New whaling plan draws fire from all sides 23-04-2010 |
TOKYO (AFP) – A "peace plan" by the International Whaling Commission to legitimise but reduce whaling drew fire Friday as Japan demanded higher quotas and environmentalists warned of serious harm to the ocean giants.
The chairman of the 88-nation commission, seeking to end dec... |
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New animal species discovered in Borneo 22-04-2010 |
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) – Wildlife researchers said on Thursday they have discovered around 120 new species on Borneo island, including a lungless frog, the world's longest insect and a slug that fires "love darts" at its mate.
Conservation group WWF listed the new finds in a repor... |
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Amorous slug, orange snake among finds on Borneo 22-04-2010 |
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – A lungless frog, a frog that flies and a slug that shoots love darts are among 123 new species found in Borneo since 2007 in a project to conserve one of the oldest rain forests in the world.
A report by the global conservation group WWF on the discove... |
| Nevada zoo owners say baby ring-tailed lemur born 21-04-2010 |
LAS VEGAS – A veterinarian owner of a family zoo in southern Nevada says a baby ring-tailed lemur has been born to a licensed breeding pair of the endangered species.
Valerie Holt says the birth of the 3-ounce baby on April 14 was a surprise to her and her husband, Jay Holt, a... |
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| Rare Borneo rhino maybe has baby 21-04-2010 |
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Malaysian conservationists caught on film a Sumatran rhinoceros thought to be pregnant, raising hopes that the critically endangered species on Borneo island was breeding in the wild, an official said Wednesday.
A remotely controlled camera set up in a... |
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Rare Borneo rhino caught on camera in Malaysia 21-04-2010 |
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) – A rare Borneo rhino, thought to be pregnant, has been caught on camera in Malaysia, and wildlife experts said Wednesday a new calf would be a lifeline for the near-extinct species.
Just 30 rhinos remain in the wild in Borneo island, which is shared by Mala... |
| Python found in Neb. hotel's potty was lost pet 16-04-2010 |
LA VISTA, Neb. – The Nebraska Humane Society has tracked down the owner of a python found in a toilet of a La Vista hotel room. They said the owner panicked after losing the pet snake while staying at the Hampton Inn in late March and left without alerting management. The pytho... |
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Canada's seal hunt to close early after low harvest 15-04-2010 |
OTTAWA (AFP) – A lack of sea ice in one of the warmest Canadian winters on record and a European boycott have ruined what was to be a banner seal hunt off Canada's Atlantic coast this month, according to officials and sealers.
Canada's Fisheries Minister Gail Shea last month i... |
| U.S. leads bid to phase out whale hunting: report 14-04-2010 |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States is leading an effort that could result in an agreement in coming weeks to limit and ultimately end whale hunting by Japan, Norway and Iceland, The New York Times reported on Wednesday.
Citing people involved with the negotiations, the n... |
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| Study: Tests show illegal whale meat trade in Asia 14-04-2010 |
GRANTS PASS, Ore. – DNA testing of whale meat from a restaurant in Seoul, South Korea, indicates that some of it came from Japan, scientists said Wednesday, offering evidence of an illegal international trade in whale meat from Japan's scientific whaling program.
Scientists fr... |
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India announces new tracking system to protect tigers 14-04-2010 |
NEW DELHI (AFP) – India said Wednesday it would use a new tiger tracking system to crack down on "lazy" wildlife guards as it struggles to halt poaching that has drastically reduced the number of big cats.
India's endangered tiger population has plummeted to 1,350 -- just over... |
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Australia stranding kills around 30 dolphins 14-04-2010 |
SYDNEY (AFP) – Wildlife experts have rescued 11 dolphins beached in a remote area of the Australian island of Tasmania, but around 30 animals died in the stranding, officials said Wednesday.
Locals reported that up to 50 bottlenose dolphins became stranded at the mouth of a ri... |
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Illegal trade in whale meat points to Japan: DNA study 13-04-2010 |
PARIS (AFP) – Whale meat sold secretly at a sushi restaurant in Los Angeles and another in Seoul can be linked to Japanese whaling, a trade that would breach global rules on protected species, scientists said Wednesday.
Japan carries out whaling under what it says is a program... |
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Japan whalers blame Sea Shepherd harassment 12-04-2010 |
TOKYO (AFP) – The last ship of Japan's Antarctic whaling fleet sailed home Monday with the lowest catch in years, a shortfall whalers blamed on high-seas clashes with the militant environmental group Sea Shepherd.
The mother ship the Nisshin Maru sailed into Tokyo harbour, the... |
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World's deepest known undersea volcanic vent found 12-04-2010 |
LONDON – Scientists using a remote-controlled submarine have discovered the deepest known volcanic vent and say the superheated waters inside could contain undiscovered marine species and perhaps even clues to the origin of life on earth.
Experts aboard the RRS James Cook said... |
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Whaling compromise under attack 08-04-2010 |
WASHINGTON (AFP) – A fragile plan to resolve the global feud on whaling is coming under attack from both sides, with Australia seeking more concessions from whalers and Japan vowing never to end its hunt completely.
Key nations in the whaling debate submitted comments to the I... |
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African fossils may fit gap between apes, humans 08-04-2010 |
WASHINGTON – Two skeletons nearly 2 million years old and unearthed in South Africa are part of a previously unknown species that scientists say fits the transition from ancient apes to modern humans.
The fossils bear traits from both lineages, and researchers have named them ... |
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Condor egg successfully hatches in California 07-04-2010 |
FRESNO, Calif. – For the first time in more than a century, a California condor chick successfully hatched inside a federal park that once was a domain of the endangered species.
Biologists at Pinnacles National Monument in Central California celebrated the milestone announced... |
| Humane Society finds abuse by U.S. egg producers 07-04-2010 |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – An undercover investigation by the Humane Society of the United States of major U.S. egg producers showed "rampant abuse" of hens, which the animal rights group said on Wednesday could prompt more consumers to embrace "cage-free" methods of production.
F... |
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| Rarest of Rare Species Make New Endangered List 07-04-2010 |
Green-eyed frogs and a Cuban crocodile are among the rarest of rare species, based on a new list of critically endangered species from the Wildlife Conservation Society.
The "Rarest of the Rare" list includes an eclectic collection of birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians. Thr... |
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| Perplexing Panda Pseudo-Pregnancy Pondered 07-04-2010 |
The female giant panda at the National Zoo is pregnant - maybe. That is, she's acting like she's pregnant. She sleeps a lot, makes nests with shredded bamboo, and her hormone levels are elevated.
But then again, she might be faking it.
If a female panda ovulates but fails to co... |
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Giant lizard discovered in the Philippines 07-04-2010 |
MANILA, Philippines – Researchers have concluded that a giant, golden-spotted monitor lizard discovered in the forested mountains of the Philippines six years ago is a new species, according to a study released Wednesday.
The 6.5-foot (2-meter) -long lizard was first spotted i... |
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Animal rights group targets Hermes over skins trade 06-04-2010 |
JAKARTA (AFP) – An animal rights group on Tuesday demanded French luxury goods company Hermes stop selling exotic animal skin products, and released gruesome videos of reptiles being skinned alive in Indonesia.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) senior campaign... |
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First Iberian lynx born in captivity in Portugal 06-04-2010 |
LISBON (AFP) – Two Iberian lynx have been born in captivity in Portugal, the first time since the endangered species was reintroduced last year, the Portuguese environment ministry said Tuesday.
The two baby lynx, born on Sunday, were the first from Azahar, a five year-old fem... |
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Ex-LA fire official gets 90 days for dog beating 06-04-2010 |
RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Animal rights activists yelled "puppy killer" and obscenities at a retired Los Angeles County assistant fire chief Friday after he was sentenced to 90 days in jail for beating a dog so severely with a rock it had to be euthanized.
In a Riverside courtroom f... |
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Australia says will not accept commercial whaling plan 02-04-2010 |
SYDNEY (AFP) – Australia has expressed alarm at growing support for a plan to allow limited commercial whaling, saying it could not accept the proposal before the International Whaling Commission (IWC).
New Zealand, which also opposes whaling, is supporting moves to allow rest... |
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Japan indicts activist who boarded whaling ship 02-04-2010 |
TOKYO – Prosecutors Friday indicted an anti-whaling activist from New Zealand on charges that could lead to a yearslong prison term after he boarded a Japanese harpoon boat to protest the ship's whale-hunting expedition in Antarctic seas.
Peter Bethune had jumped aboard the Sh... |
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Elephants move like 4x4s: scientists 30-03-2010 |
LONDON (AFP) – Elephants' legs work like a four-wheel drive vehicle, making them probably unique in the animal kingdom, scientists said on Tuesday.
Their "four-leg-drive" system means power is applied independently to each limb.
All other four-legged animals are thought to ha... |
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Tigers trump tuna on trade protection 29-03-2010 |
Tigers and rhinoceros were among the wildlife winning greater protection Thursday by a United Nations meeting on trade in endangered species, taking crucial steps toward protecting land animals but not pelagic ones, experts said.
"CITES has not done a good job on marine animals,... |
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Even after dark, sun helps bats get home: study 29-03-2010 |
WASHINGTON (AFP) – Bats rely on the position of the sun at sunset to navigate, even though they are nocturnal creatures and are still in their caves when the sun goes down, a study published Monday showed.
Researchers at the Max Planck Institute studied greater mouse-eared bat... |
| Groups vow to sue because sage grouse unprotected 29-03-2010 |
CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Three environmental groups announced Monday they intend to sue the Interior Department for not protecting sage grouse as an endangered or threatened species.
The Center for Biological Diversity, Desert Survivors and Western Watersheds Project said the departme... |
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Canada's annual seal hunt off to slow start 28-03-2010 |
MONTREAL (AFP) – Canada's annual seal hunt was off to a slow start Sunday, with most fishing boats still moored in their harbors, as missing ice floes in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence kept their prey hundreds of miles to the north.
"I know one boat set sail tonight, at around 4:0... |
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Indonesian zoo welcomes birth of 25 Komodo dragons 25-03-2010 |
JAKARTA, Indonesia – An Indonesian zoo is welcoming the births of 25 endangered Komodo dragons, hatched after eight months in incubators.
Veterinarian Rahmat Suharta says the eggs, from three giant female lizards, hatched at the Surabaya Zoo in East Java over the past week.
H... |
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UN body rejects trade protection for marine species 25-03-2010 |
DOHA (AFP) – The UN body overseeing wildlife commerce withdrew protection Thursday for the porbeagle shark, reversing the only decision made at the 13-day meeting to protect a high-value marine species.
At the final session of talks in the Qatari capital Doha, the Convention o... |
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Wildlife traffickers ensnared by DNA 25-03-2010 |
DOHA (AFP) – DNA analysis has become a potent weapon against the multi-billion-dollar traffic in wild animals and by-products, from ivory to tiger-bone wine to turtles cooked alive in top Asian restaurants, experts said.
The black market in endangered fauna and flora is driven... |
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UN meeting fails to protect marine species 25-03-2010 |
DOHA, Qatar – Aggressive lobbying from Asian nations led by Japan killed all efforts to protect marine species at a U.N. meeting, leaving environmentalists fuming Thursday that efforts to conserve bluefin tuna and sharks were undermined by commercial interests.
The bid to regu... |
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Economy trumps ecology at UN wildlife meet 25-03-2010 |
DOHA (AFP) – Commerce beat out conservation at a UN wildlife trade forum on Thursday, with Japan, China and pro-fisheries interests scoring a clean sweep in defeating proposals to protect high-value marine species.
At its final session in Doha, the Convention on the Internatio... |
| Seattle zoo's oldest animal euthanized 25-03-2010 |
SEATTLE – Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo has euthanized its oldest animal — a 47-year-old hippo named Gertie — because of normal, age-related physical decline.
The 5,000-pound hippo has lived at the zoo since 1966. She had osteoarthritis and despite medication, zoo officials ... |
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US bans Mexico shrimp on sea turtle concerns 25-03-2010 |
WASHINGTON (AFP) – The United States has moved to formally ban the import of Mexican shrimp caught with trawl fishing methods that may affect sea turtles, the State Department said on Thursday.
The ban, which will come into effect in April, concerns slightly more than half of ... |
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US to ban wild-harvest shrimp imports from Mexico 25-03-2010 |
WASHINGTON – Mexico is losing its certification to export wild-harvest shrimp to the United States because its trawls lack required protections for endangered sea turtles, the State Department said.
The department said the certification was withdrawn after the U.S. National Ma... |
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New gecko species discovered in Cambodia 24-03-2010 |
PHNOM PENH (AFP) – A new species of gecko has been discovered in the foothills of the Cardamom Mountains in Cambodia's southwest, scientists announced Wednesday.
The new gecko, named Cnemaspis neangthyi, is olive coloured with light blotches containing a central black dot, con... |
| PETA says octuplets mom ponders offer to save home 24-03-2010 |
LOS ANGELES – Things have appeared to be going to the dogs for octuplets' mom Nadya Suleman, who is in danger of losing her home.
Now it turns out that dogs — and cats, too — might be able to keep a roof over the heads of Suleman and her 14 children.
People for the Ethica... |
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UN body rejects protection for hammerhead shark 23-03-2010 |
DOHA (AFP) – The UN body overseeing global trade in threatened species Tuesday rejected a bid to regulate cross-border commerce in the shark most highly prized by Asian gourmets of sharkfin soup.
The 175-nation Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES... |
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Whitetip shark left exposed at UN trade meet 23-03-2010 |
DOHA (AFP) – The UN wildlife trade body has shot down a proposal to regulate global commerce in the oceanic whitetip shark -- a species highly prized by gourmets for its fins.
Less than an hour earlier, the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), m... |
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Protection for 2 shark species fails at UN meeting 23-03-2010 |
DOHA, Qatar – Asian nations on Tuesday blocked U.S.-backed proposals to protect the heavily fished hammerhead and oceanic whitetip sharks on concerns that regulating the booming trade in fins could hurt poor coastal nations.
However, a committee at the 175-nation Convention on... |
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Trade protection given to cool water shark 23-03-2010 |
DOHA (AFP) – After a string defeats for conservationists on marine species, a temperate zone shark was listed Tuesday for trade protection by the UN body that oversees cross-border commerce in wildlife.
The Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), m... |
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UN body rejects protection for shark species 23-03-2010 |
DOHA (AFP) – The UN wildlife trade body slapped down a trio of proposals Tuesday to oversee cross-border commerce for sharks threatened with extinction through overfishing, sparking anger from conservationists.
The only marine species granted protection at a meeting of the Con... |
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'Rare' fossil of new dinosaur species found in US 23-03-2010 |
WASHINGTON (AFP) – It had a body the size of a sheep, a long neck and tail, and lived some 185 million years ago. Scientists call this dinosaur find "a rare skeleton of a new species."
Paleontologists unearthed the partial remains of the plant-eating creature, named Seitaad ru... |
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Demise of coral, salamander show impact of Web 21-03-2010 |
DOHA, Qatar – The Internet has emerged as one of the greatest threats to rare species, fueling the illegal wildlife trade and making it easier to buy everything from live baby lions to wine made from tiger bones, conservationists and law enforcement officers said Sunday.
The W... |
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Sharks on the menu at wildlife trade meet 20-03-2010 |
DOHA (AFP) – Four rapidly dwindling shark species prized in Asia for fins and in Europe for meat will be swimming against the current at a UN wildlife trade meet days after an attempt to protect tuna was crushed.
Starting Sunday, the 175-nation Convention on the International ... |
| Japan sighs relief as bluefin tuna ban fails 19-03-2010 |
Tokyo – Sushi chefs and fish dealers across the Japanese archipelago were letting out small sighs of relief Thursday night as news filtered in from the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in Qatar that a proposed export ban on Atlantic bluefin tuna h... |
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Activists urge Australia to charge Japanese whalers 19-03-2010 |
SYDNEY (AFP) – Anti-whaling activists have lodged a legal complaint against the captain and crew of a Japanese trawler which hit and sank their hi-tech speedboat, a politician said Friday.
Lawyers for Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's Paul Watson have written to Australian F... |
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Siberian tiger in peril in Russia: WWF 18-03-2010 |
MOSCOW (AFP) – The number of Siberian tigers in eastern Russia fell by 15 percent in 2009, a WWF official said on Thursday at an international conference devoted to the endangered animal's plight.
"It is a catastrophic situation... Following observations over the past year, we... |
| Ancient Reptile Dined on Dinosaurs 18-03-2010 |
An ancient crocodile-like animal, about twice the length of an SUV, probably dined on sea turtles and dinosaurs, suggests bite-mark evidence and dung droppings.
The giant reptile called Deinosuchus was up to 29 feet long (nearly 9 meters), and likely adorned Georgia's shores, in... |
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Japan leading charge against bluefin ban 17-03-2010 |
DOHA, Qatar – Opposition grew Wednesday against a proposal to ban the export of Atlantic bluefin tuna, with several Arab countries joining Japan in arguing it would hurt poor fishing nations and wasn't scientifically justified.
Other countries including Australia and Peru have... |
| Prehistoric Shark Attack Reconstructed 17-03-2010 |
A shark attack that took place 4 million years ago has just been reconstructed from the extinct hunter's fossilized victim - a dolphin.
Scientists investigated a well-preserved 9-foot-long dolphin (2.7 meters) discovered in the Piedmont region of northern Italy. From the remains... |
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Pooch poser: Dogs originated from Middle East wolves 17-03-2010 |
PARIS (AFP) – Husky, shar pei, terrier or mutt, today's dogs descended from wolves that probably lived in the Middle East, not Europe or Asia as many thought, according to a study published Wednesday in the British science journal Nature.
"Dogs seem to share more genetic simil... |
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Male pregnancy and abortion: The sex life of pipefish 17-03-2010 |
PARIS (AFP) – A skinny little fish called the pipefish is high on the list of wildlife oddities, for the male of the species is the one which gets pregnant.
The fish is a close cousin of the seahorse and sea dragon, which also carry developing embryos in a unique organ called ... |
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Sharks threatened by Asian consumers, says group 16-03-2010 |
DOHA, Qatar – Surging demand for shark fin soup among Asia's booming middle classes is driving many species of these big fish to the brink of extinction, a marine conservation group said Tuesday.
Oceana, in a report released Tuesday at a U.N. endangered species meeting, found ... |
| 2 wolves blamed in Alaska teacher's death killed 16-03-2010 |
ANCHORAGE, Alaska – An Alaska Fish and Game spokeswoman says state officials have located and killed two of the wolves believed responsible for the death of a teacher who was killed while jogging alone along a rural village road.
Blowing snow stymied earlier efforts to track t... |
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Plucky whooping crane gives wildlife experts hope 16-03-2010 |
ARANSAS NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, Texas – After the poisonous snake slithered into the whooping crane family's marshy grounds and sank its fangs into the chick's neck, death seemed certain.
The bird's head quickly turned red and swelled to the size of a basketball. He refused ... |
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Shark conservation proposal defeated at UN meeting 16-03-2010 |
DOHA, Qatar – China, Japan and Russia helped defeat a U.S.-endorsed proposal at a U.N. wildlife trade meeting Tuesday that would have boosted conservation efforts for sharks, expressing concern it would hurt poor nations and should be the responsibility of regional fisheries bo... |
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Habitat loss wiping out Europe's butterflies 16-03-2010 |
DOHA (AFP) – The destruction of natural habitats in Europe is wiping out butterfly, beetle and dragonfly species across the region, the updated European "Red List" of endangered species showed Tuesday.
"When a Red List like this raises the alarm, the implications for our own f... |
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Myanmar a gateway for wildlife trade to China: report 16-03-2010 |
DOHA (AFP) – Demand in China is stoking a black market in neighbouring Myanmar in tiger-bone wine, leopard skins, bear bile and other products made from endangered species, a report released on Tuesday said.
"China's border areas have long been considered a hotbed for illegal ... |
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New protections set for Twain's jumping frog 16-03-2010 |
FRESNO, Calif. – After 10 years of revisions, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is publishing a final report designating habitat for the California red-legged frog that inspired Mark Twain's famous story.
The new rules released Tuesday set aside 1.6 million acres for the thre... |
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Hungarian Vizsla is top dog at Crufts 15-03-2010 |
LONDON (AFP) – A Hungarian Vizsla named Yogi has been awarded the top prize at Crufts dog show in Britain, which is the biggest in the world.
The seven-year-old beat off competition Sunday from six other finalists to take the coveted title of best in show at the culmination of... |
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Researchers back from Antarctic no-kill whale trip 15-03-2010 |
WELLINGTON, New Zealand – Whale researchers returned from Antarctic waters Monday after a six-week expedition that they said proved Japan's annual kill of whales for scientific purposes is unnecessary.
During the voyage, Australian, French and New Zealand scientists used nonle... |
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China investigating zoo over dead tigers 15-03-2010 |
BEIJING (AFP) – Authorities are investigating a Chinese zoo where three dozen animals including 13 rare Siberian tigers died recently, amid charges it was harvesting their parts, state media said Monday.
The probe of the zoo in the northeastern city of Shenyang will look at wh... |
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'Bloodied' Spanish activists protest Canada seal hunt 15-03-2010 |
BARCELONA, Spain (AFP) – A group of several half-naked women covered in fake blood staged a protest in front of the Canadian consulate in Barcelona on Monday to denounce the country's annual seal hunt.
The animal rights activists lay in Barcelona's Plaza de Catalunya while men... |
| 3 tigers very ill at Chinese zoo where 11 starved 15-03-2010 |
BEIJING – Zookeepers are scrambling to save three seriously ill Siberian tigers at a cash-strapped zoo in northeastern China where 11 of the big cats starved to death recently.
The three tigers were shedding fur, had lost their appetites and were listless, the official Xinhua ... |
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US senator moves to protect whales 15-03-2010 |
WASHINGTON (AFP) – US Senator John Kerry on Monday introduced a bill to protect whales, sending a message as nations debate a compromise that critics say would end a moratorium on commerical whaling.
Kerry's bill, which is similar to a bill before the House of Representatives,... |
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Canada ups seal hunt quota by 50,000 15-03-2010 |
OTTAWA (AFP) – Canada's fisheries minister on Monday hiked the total number of seals that hunters would be allowed to slaughter during an annual Atlantic coast hunt set to begin later this month.
The total allowable catch for harp seals this season will rise to 330,000, from 2... |
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Rio's zoo a maternity ward for endangered species 14-03-2010 |
RIO DE JANEIRO (AFP) – Rio's zoo has been abuzz with activity in recent months, welcoming new arrivals to its collection of animals as it battles to try to save many of the nation's endangered species.
Among its rare residents are the black-collared anteater, the Ararajuba Gol... |
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Tuna, tuskers, tigers headline wildlife trade meet 13-03-2010 |
DOHA (AFP) – Atlantic bluefin tuna is in crisis and meets the criteria for a total ban on international trade, the head of the UN wildlife trade organisation said on Saturday in opening a 13-day meeting.
The 175-nation Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (C... |
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New Zealand activist brought to Tokyo prosecutors 13-03-2010 |
TOKYO (AFP) – Japan's coast guard on Sunday handed over a detained New Zealand anti-whaling activist to Tokyo prosecutors, who will decide whether to indict him for boarding a Japanese whaling ship.
If found guilty on charges of trespass, Peter Bethune, a member of the militan... |
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Japan arrests whaling activist for boarding ship 12-03-2010 |
TOKYO – Japan's coast guard arrested an anti-whaling activist from New Zealand on Friday for illegally boarding a whaling ship last month in the latest incident in the ongoing battle over Japanese whaling.
Peter Bethune, a member of the U.S.-based Sea Shepherd activist group, ... |
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Old sea dog sets tongues wagging at Crufts 12-03-2010 |
LONDON (Reuters Life!) – A 16th century dog, the only known female to have served aboard King Henry VIII's ill-fated flagship the Mary Rose, has stolen the show at Britain's Crufts dog show this year.
The two-year old mongrel, lost aboard the Tudor warship 465 years ago, is a ... |
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Chinese zoo blamed for death of 11 Siberian tigers 12-03-2010 |
BEIJING – Eleven rare Siberian tigers have died at a wildlife park in a startling case that activists say hints at unsavory practices among some zoos and animal farms in China: They are overbreeding endangered animals in the hopes of making illicit profit on their carcasses.
T... |
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Sea Shepherd anti-whaling activist arrested in Japan 12-03-2010 |
TOKYO (AFP) – A New Zealand anti-whaling activist was arrested in Japan Friday after a harpoon ship he boarded in Antarctic waters last month docked in Tokyo, greeted by police and nationalist protesters.
Peter Bethune of the militant Sea Shepherd Conservation Society was enga... |
| Endangered listing eyed for US loggerhead turtles 11-03-2010 |
BOSTON – The federal government on Wednesday recommended an endangered-species listing for the loggerhead turtles in U.S. waters, a decision that could lead to tighter restrictions on fishing and other maritime trades.
The massive, nomadic sea turtles have been listed since 19... |
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48 Hawaii-only species given endangered listing 11-03-2010 |
HONOLULU – Wildlife officials lauded Washington's "holistic approach" to conservation in Hawaii after the Obama administration declared 48 species as endangered and announced plans to set aside more than 40 square miles on Kauai as critical habitat to allow the plants and anima... |
| PETA offers anti-meat trash cans for Colo. parks 11-03-2010 |
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The animal rights group PETA is offering to help the cash-strapped city of Colorado Springs by paying to put trash cans back in parks — on one condition. The cans have to carry an anti-meat slogan and a picture of a woman in a lettuce bikini.
The ci... |
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Japan whaling ship with NZ activist aboard arrives in Tokyo 11-03-2010 |
TOKYO (AFP) – A Japanese whaling ship with a New Zealand anti-whaling activist aboard on Friday sailed into Tokyo port where he was expected to face arrest for trespassing on the vessel, an AFP reporter saw.
Scores of police and TV camera crews on the pier awaited the arrival ... |
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Malaysian turtles face extinction: WWF 10-03-2010 |
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) – Conservationists warned Wednesday that Malaysians' voracious appetite for turtle eggs could drive the marine creatures to extinction on its shores.
Turtle eggs are sold openly in markets in parts of Malaysia. Turtles once arrived in their thousands to lay ... |
| Swedish artist has no regrets over prophet drawing 10-03-2010 |
STOCKHOLM – The point of a caricature depicting the Prophet Muhammad as a dog was to show that artistic freedom allows mockery of all religions, including the most sacred symbols of Islam, the Swedish artist who created it said Wednesday.
Lars Vilks — the target of an allege... |
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| New Species of Worm Found in Great Barrier Reef 09-03-2010 |
Four newly identified worm species, including one that sports an unusual green color, have been found wriggling in the sands of the Great Barrier Reef.
The layer of sand that covers the floors of the Earth's oceans is actually home to a large diversity of marine organisms. Enter... |
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| NJ wildlife council votes in favor of bear hunt 09-03-2010 |
TRENTON, N.J. – New Jersey residents weary of frequent visits from bears may see a lot less of them come late fall.
New Jersey's Fish and Game Council on Tuesday voted to include the state's first black bear hunt in five years in its proposed bear management policy.
Former Go... |
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US-born panda freed from quarantine in China 09-03-2010 |
CHENGDU, China – After a month in quarantine, American-born panda Tai Shan paced around his new home in southwest China as he was put on public display Tuesday for the first time since his much-anticipated arrival in the country.
Visitors and staff cheered and waved as the 4 1... |
| Congo group accuses soldiers of killing animals 08-03-2010 |
KINSHASA, Congo – An environmental group is accusing Congolese soldiers of killing more rare wild animals in a national park in Congo's volatile east.
Bantu Lukambo of Innovation for Development and Environmental Protection said Monday soldiers killed the animals in Virunga Na... |
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Swiss voters reject giving abused animals a lawyer 07-03-2010 |
GENEVA – The result was emphatic: Swiss voters don't think abused animals need to have their own lawyers.
It's a proposal that would never even come near a referendum in other countries, but the measure's defeat Sunday disappointed animal rights advocates, who say Switzerland'... |
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Japan to arrest anti-whaling activist: report 07-03-2010 |
TOKYO (AFP) – Japan plans to arrest a New Zealand activist being held on a whaling ship which he secretly boarded planning to make a citizen's arrest of its captain, a report said Sunday.
Peter Bethune, a member of the militant Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, has been in Ja... |
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Australian police search anti-whaling ships 06-03-2010 |
ADELAIDE, Australia – Australian police conducted searches Saturday on two anti-whaling vessels that recently clashed with Japanese ships in the Antarctic Ocean in an attempt to obstruct their annual catch, police and activists said.
Federal police with search warrants boarded... |
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Australian police search anti-whaling ships for Japan 06-03-2010 |
SYDNEY (AFP) – Australian police searched two anti-whaling ships at the request of Japanese authorities on Saturday, seizing log books and videos, after activists called a halt to their turbulent harassment campaign.
Police boarded the Sea Shepherd group's Steve Irwin and Bob ... |
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Energy groups relieved sage grouse won't be listed 05-03-2010 |
CHEYENNE, Wyo. – An Interior Department announcement Friday that it won't list sage grouse as an endangered or threatened species opens the way for continued development of the West's wind energy and oil and gas industries.
Those industries will still face scrutiny in sage gro... |
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US stops short of protection for western sage grouse 05-03-2010 |
WASHINGTON (AFP) – US officials Friday stopped short of giving endangered species status to the sage grouse, an iconic bird that is at the center of a dispute over oil drilling in the western United States.
The Interior Department said the bird merits protection but will not r... |
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'Jury out' on controversial whaling deal 04-03-2010 |
WASHINGTON (AFP) – Australia and Japan have failed to reach a breakthrough in an intensifying row on whaling, but delegates in three days of intense talks say that all sides agreed to keep seeking common ground.
Some 25 nations met at a Florida beach resort to consider a compr... |
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Plea for whaling compromise as rivals meet 03-03-2010 |
WASHINGTON (AFP) – A former prime minister of New Zealand pleaded with supporters and opponents of whaling to "swallow a dead rat" and accept a controversial compromise when negotiators wrap up talks Thursday in Florida.
Key nations including Australia and Japan, whose relatio... |
| Calif. salamander protection could affect farming 03-03-2010 |
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – State wildlife officials Wednesday ruled that the California tiger salamander deserves protection as a threatened species, subjecting landowners to more scrutiny if they want to build or farm in the amphibian's habitat.
The California Fish and Game Commiss... |
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| Castrate Knut the Polar bear - animal rights group 03-03-2010 |
BERLIN (Reuters) – An animal rights group in Germany came under fire on Wednesday for saying that Berlin's celebrity polar bear Knut should be castrated because he is related to his love interest Giovanna.
The PETA animal rights group warned that breeding between Knut and Giov... |
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| Scientists catalog zoo of bacteria inside our guts 03-03-2010 |
WASHINGTON – The human gut is a virtual zoo, full of a wide variety of bacteria, a new study found. And scientists say that's a good thing.
The first results of an international effort to catalog the millions of non-human genes inside people found about 170 different bacteria ... |
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'Castrate' polar bear Knut: rights group 02-03-2010 |
BERLIN (AFP) – An animal rights group has called for Knut the polar bear, who shot to global stardom as a cub in 2007, to be castrated to avoid incest with his cousin.
The three-year-old darling of Berlin Zoo was given a female companion, Giovanna, last year but the German cha... |
| Bones, not bamboo, sate wild panda's appetite 02-03-2010 |
BEIJING (Reuters Life!) – Hunger drove a wild panda to break into a Chinese farmer's pig pen and eat their food, which was meat and bone, rather than bamboo.
State-run China Central Television said the giant panda had apparently descended from the mountains in a region of sout... |
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Japan pushes to scrap commercial whaling ban 02-03-2010 |
TOKYO (AFP) – Japan pushed Tuesday to lift a 24-year-old ban on commercial whaling, setting up a clash at talks in Florida with implacable foes opposed to its pursuit of the giant mammals.
Tokyo's position against the International Whaling Commission (IWC) moratorium risked ne... |
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Australia warns Japan over whaling 26-02-2010 |
SYDNEY (AFP) – Australia Friday warned Japan that "diplomacy comes to an end this year" on whaling, after presenting a bold plan to phase out the controversial hunts in the Southern Ocean.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, repeating his threat to sue Japan, said time was running out ... |
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Anti-whaling activists end Antarctic campaign 26-02-2010 |
ADELAIDE, Australia – Anti-whaling activists on Friday cut short what they called their "most successful" Antarctic campaign against Japanese whalers, citing an engine problem on one of their ships.
There are two weeks left in the three-month whaling season, during which Japan... |
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Development threat to Hong Kong bird haven 25-02-2010 |
HONG KONG (AFP) – Tens of thousands of birds, including rare and endangered species, flock each year to an unlikely haven sandwiched between high-rise Hong Kong and Shenzhen, the towering frontier of mainland China.
Up to 100,000 birds fly in from as far as Arctic Siberia and ... |
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WWF welcomes new protected areas in Ukraine 24-02-2010 |
SOFIA (AFP) – Environmental group WWF on Wednesday welcomed Ukraine's decision to designate large swathes of land as protected, but warned that key areas, such as the Danube delta, were still under threat.
Over the past 10 months, the Ukrainian government has established 29 ne... |
| Indonesian ranger freed from jaws of Komodo dragon 23-02-2010 |
JAKARTA, Indonesia – An Indonesian park ranger escaped an attack by a Komodo dragon, the world's largest lizard species, when his colleagues heard his cries for help and drove the reptile away.
Marcelinus Subanghadir was outside his hut on Komodo Island late Monday when a near... |
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Pooch power: Small dogs originated in Middle East 23-02-2010 |
PARIS (AFP) – Small domesticated dogs probably originated in the Middle East more than 12,000 years ago as the descendants of grey wolves, according to a gene study published on Wednesday.
University of California at Los Angeles researchers Melissa Gray and Robert Wayne led a ... |
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New species of dinosaur found in eastern Utah rock 23-02-2010 |
SALT LAKE CITY – Fossils of a previously undiscovered species of dinosaur have been found in slabs of Utah sandstone that were so hard that explosives had to be used to free some of the remains, scientists said Tuesday. The bones found at Dinosaur National Monument belonged to ... |
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Whaling plan would OK hunts but seek fewer kills 23-02-2010 |
TOKYO (AFP) – The global body that regulates whaling has proposed giving the green light to Japan to keep hunting the sea mammals in return for reducing the number of animals killed.
Greenpeace and the World Wide Fund for Nature harshly condemned the draft plan which aims to u... |
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NZ wants diplomacy to end whaling dispute 22-02-2010 |
WELLINGTON (AFP) – New Zealand wants diplomacy rather than an international court to find a way to end Japan's whaling in Antarctic waters, Prime Minister John Key said on Monday.
Key was responding after Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on Friday bluntly warned Japan that... |
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Japan opposes trade ban on bluefin tuna 22-02-2010 |
TOKYO (AFP) – Japan opposes plans to list the Atlantic bluefin tuna, which is highly prized in sushi and sashimi, as a most-endangered species and to ban its international trade, an official said on Monday.
The UN-backed wildlife trade agency supports a call to stop cross-bord... |
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Japan says whaling not a legal issue 22-02-2010 |
TOKYO (AFP) – Japan on Monday insisted its whaling programme in Antarctic waters complies with international law, following a threat by Australia to take legal action against the country.
Australia's Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on Friday bluntly warned Japan that it must commit ... |
| Japan says Australia whaling threat 'unfortunate' 21-02-2010 |
PERTH, Australia (AFP) – Japan's foreign minister Sunday described Australia's threat of legal action against its controversial whaling activities as "unfortunate" but said he did not believe it would hurt ties.
"It's very unfortunate the Australian side has indicated it will ... |
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| Fish and Wildlife chief dies after skiing 20-02-2010 |
WASHINGTON – The director of the Fish and Wildlife Service died Saturday after suffering chest pains while skiing in Colorado. Sam Hamilton was 54.
The 30-year veteran of the agency, who assumed its top post in September, died in the afternoon after being transported off the K... |
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| Australia threatens Japan over whaling program 19-02-2010 |
SYDNEY – Australia's prime minister on Friday set a November deadline for Japan to stop its research whaling program that kills hundreds of whales a year in Antarctic waters, or else face international legal action.
Australia, a staunch anti-whaling nation, has long threatened... |
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Australia warns Japan to stop whaling 19-02-2010 |
SYDNEY (AFP) – Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd bluntly told Japan on Friday to stop hunting whales or face international court action this year, just a day before a visit by Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada.
Rudd said Australia had collected video and photographic evidence ... |
| Snow damage to Md. zoo at $1.5 million; owl loose 18-02-2010 |
BALTIMORE – An owl is on the loose and the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore will have to delay its season opening because of damage from two heavy snowstorms.
Zoo officials say they have at least $1.5 million in losses from historic storms across the Mid-Atlantic.
An aviary for Mary... |
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| Westminster dog show: Why Sadie the Scottie is so cute 17-02-2010 |
Washington – Westminster Dog Show 2010 winner Sadie the Scottish Terrier is a little loaf of black furry adorableness. Short, with soulful eyebrows, a silky coat, and an exclamation point of a tail, she looks nothing like the dogs she beat in the final round to capture Best in ... |
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| Westminster dog show 2010 results: Scottish Terrier 'Sadie' 17-02-2010 |
Washington – Here are your Westminster dog show 2010 results: Sadie the Scottish Terrier won best in show. She was heavily favored, but the pressure didn’t get to her. She won anyway.
Sorry about that, Lindsey Jacobellis.
Who’s Lindsey Jacobellis? She’s the US snowboard... |
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Scottish terrier Sadie wins Westminster dog show 17-02-2010 |
NEW YORK (Reuters) -- A peppy Scottish terrier known as Sadie was crowned the nation's top dog on Tuesday, winning Best in Show at the prestigious Westminster Kennel Club championship.
Sadie, a jet-black four-year-old bitch formally known as Ch Roundtown Mercedes of Maryscot, di... |
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Sadie the terrier is top US dog 17-02-2010 |
NEW YORK (AFP) – Sadie, a black-haired Scottish Terrier, has completed her inexorable rise to top-dog by winning the Westminster Kennel Club's Best in Show prize.
The four-year-old with the breed's trademark beard and antenna-like tail was the bookies' heavy favorite in New Yo... |
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SD zoo gets big Valentine's gift — a baby elephant 16-02-2010 |
SAN DIEGO – The San Diego Zoo got a big gift for Valentine's Day — a baby elephant.
The zoo's Wild Animal Park says the male African elephant was born around 2 a.m. Sunday.
Park spokeswoman Yadira (Yah-DEER'-uh) Galindo says visitors camping at the zoo were awakened by elep... |
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Japan may charge N.Zealand anti-whaling activist 16-02-2010 |
TOKYO (AFP) – Japan plans to hold and may charge a New Zealand anti-whaling activist being held aboard one of its harpoon ships in Antarctic waters, officials said Tuesday.
Peter Bethune secretly climbed aboard the Japanese whaling fleet's security ship the Shonan Maru 2 plann... |
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WWF slams Russia over Sochi construction 16-02-2010 |
MOSCOW (AFP) – Russia is ignoring environmental concerns as it prepares for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, a leading activist group said Tuesday, threatening to cease cooperation with the authorities in protest.
The Russian branch of WWF accused the government of inflictin... |
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Greenpeace 'Tokyo two' plead not guilty at whaling trial 15-02-2010 |
TOKYO (AFP) – Two Japanese Greenpeace activists pleaded not guilty on Monday to committing theft and trespass while they were investigating alleged embezzlement in the country's whaling industry.
The "Tokyo Two", as the environmental group calls them, face up to 10 years in pr... |
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Anti-whaling activist boards Japanese ship: official 15-02-2010 |
SYDNEY (AFP) – An anti-whaling activist has boarded a Japanese security ship to make a citizen's arrest of its captain over the sinking of a high-tech boat, an animal rights group and an official said on Monday.
New Zealand's Pete Bethune, captain of the futuristic Ady Gil pow... |
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Controversial Ga. billboards link abortion, race 14-02-2010 |
ATLANTA – The message on dozens of billboards across the city is provocative: Black children are an "endangered species."
The eyebrow-raising ads featuring a young black child are an effort by the anti-abortion movement to use race to rally support within the black community. ... |
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3-legged dog wins 1st place in NYC shelter contest 13-02-2010 |
NEW YORK – A three-legged pitbull mix that played in a game of doggie baseball has won "Best in Show" at a talent competition held by one of New York City's largest animal shelters.
Nine dogs competed in Friday's contest at the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to... |
| Woman, 60, in serious condition after shark bite 13-02-2010 |
BRISBANE, Australia – A 60-year-old woman is in serious condition after being bitten by a shark off northeastern Australia and losing several pints (liters) of blood.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Community Services says the woman has severe lacerations to her buttocks f... |
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Not just China -- US under fire for tiger trade 11-02-2010 |
WASHINGTON (AFP) – Conservationists appealed Wednesday for an end to the commercial tiger trade, warning that demand in China, Southeast Asia -- but also the United States -- was threatening the big cats with extinction.
Environmental campaigners see 2010 as crucial to spread ... |
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Sydney shark attack leaves teeth in dad's leg 10-02-2010 |
SYDNEY (AFP) – An Australian man was left with shark's teeth embedded in his leg on Thursday after fighting off a suspected great white while surfing with his 10-year-old son in Sydney.
Authorities temporarily closed Mona Vale beach, in the city's north, after Paul Welsh, 46, ... |
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Japan wants deal to scale down 'scientific' whaling 10-02-2010 |
TOKYO (AFP) – Japan will propose scaling down its troubled annual whale hunt in Antarctica on condition it is allowed to whale commercially in its own coastal waters, a fisheries official said Wednesday.
Tokyo will present its proposal to the International Whaling Commission (... |
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Malaysia tribesman being paid to poach tigers: WWF 10-02-2010 |
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) – Tribesmen in Malaysia are being paid by syndicates to trap wildlife, including critically endangered tigers, to meet insatiable demand from China, a conservationist said Wednesday.
"Local tribesmen are being used by the middlemen to collect the forest prod... |
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Stranded panda lured to safety in China 09-02-2010 |
BEIJING – It was like getting a cat out of a tree — Sichuan style.
Villagers in southwestern China's Sichuan province discovered a panda stranded on a steep mountain face, apparently too scared to climb down, state media reported Tuesday.
Villagers didn't dare attempt a res... |
| Anti-whalers, Japanese fleet fire water cannons 09-02-2010 |
ADELAIDE, Australia – Activists vowing to stop the killing of whales exchanged water-cannon fire with a Japanese whaling fleet they are tailing in the Antarctic Ocean, as sea confrontations that have led to collisions and a sunken vessel continue.
The Sea Shepherd conservation... |
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China says it has 6,000 captive tigers 09-02-2010 |
BEIJING (AFP) – China said Tuesday it had nearly 6,000 tigers in captivity and could breed 1,000 more every year, amid international controversy over the benefits of farming the endangered species.
The numbers were announced by Yin Hong, vice head of the State Forestry Adminis... |
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Activists ambush Japanese whalers in Antarctic seas 09-02-2010 |
SYDNEY (AFP) – Anti-whaling activists said Tuesday they had exchanged water cannon fire with Japanese fishermen after ambushing them in Antarctic waters.
The Sea Shepherd group, which has been pursuing the fishing fleet since December, said its Steve Irwin ship waited behind a... |
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ITV fined £1,600 for cruelty over 'rat risotto' 08-02-2010 |
LONDON (AFP) – ITV has been fined £1,670 for cruelty to animals over an episode of "I'm A Celebrity.. " which saw contestants kill and eat a rat, a spokesman said on Monday.
The broadcaster was taken to court by the RSPCA in Australia in December after two of the reality show... |
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Whaler, activist ship collide again off Antarctica 06-02-2010 |
SYDNEY – The anti-whaling ship the Bob Barker and a Japanese harpoon boat collided in the icy waters off Antarctica on Saturday — the second major clash this year in the increasingly aggressive confrontations between the two sides.
No one was reportedly injured in the latest... |
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Feds: Status of pika will still need watching 05-02-2010 |
SALT LAKE CITY – The American pika isn't heading for the endangered species list, but federal scientists said there's no question it bears watching as the West warms in the coming decades.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service formally announced its decision Friday that Endangere... |
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Shark attack victim died from massive blood loss 05-02-2010 |
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – A shark up to 9 feet long likely intended to eat the man it fatally attacked off South Florida, a shark expert said Friday.
Stephen Schafer, 38, was kiteboarding about a quarter-mile offshore in Stuart, 100 miles north of Miami, when he went into the wa... |
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US-born pandas reach new home in China 05-02-2010 |
CHENGDU, China – Two American-born pandas arrived in their new China home Friday, bringing a welcome dose of cuddly to the countries' currently strained relations.
Special crates carrying Mei Lan, Tai Shan and armloads of bamboo were eased from a cargo jet and onto the tarmac ... |
| Shark attack: Lifeguard hailed as a hero in rescue attempt 04-02-2010 |
Fort Lauderdale, Fla. – Lifeguard Dan Lund had no idea that the kite surfer bobbing a quarter-mile off a Florida beach Wednesday afternoon was surrounded by sharks and bleeding.
He and other lifeguards on Hutchinson Island’s Stuart Beach thought the man’s equipment had sim... |
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Superstar farewell for US-born, China-bound pandas 04-02-2010 |
WASHINGTON – They were treated like pop idols — except for being stuck in travel crates.
Adoring crowds and television viewers watched Thursday as American-born giant pandas Mei Lan and Tai Shan were loaded onto a special cargo jet for a flight to their new homes in China fo... |
| Shark Attack on Kite Surfer Extremely Rare 04-02-2010 |
Stephen Schafer, the kite surfer killed by a swarm of sharks off the coast of Florida Wednesday, was the victim of a terrifying but rare attack.
Globally there are a few dozen shark attacks a year, with 4 deaths in 2008 (official numbers for 2009 have yet to be compiled). In Flo... |
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Here's looking at dew: spiders snare water from the air 03-02-2010 |
PARIS (AFP) – Fog-catching nets which provide precious water in rain-starved parts of the world may be poised for a high-tech upgrade thanks to the spider.
In a paper published in the journal Nature on Wednesday, Chinese scientists report on why spider's silk is not only famou... |
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Chinese language tutor sought for US-born panda 03-02-2010 |
BEIJING – Ni hao — hello — Mei Lan! Chinese zookeepers are advertising for a tutor to teach Chinese to an American-born giant panda arriving this week in her parents' homeland.
The language lessons, a special diet and even blind dates are also part of the red-carpet welcom... |
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Fur coats become animal nests in recycling bid 02-02-2010 |
LOS ANGELES – Got a fur coat gathering dust? The Humane Society suggests the ultimate recycling — putting it on the backs of other animals.
The Coats for Cubs program by the Humane Society of the United States helps orphaned, injured or sick wildlife by gathering fur coats a... |
| New Zealand teen fights off shark with body board 01-02-2010 |
WELLINGTON, New Zealand – A teenage New Zealand girl bitten by a shark bashed it over the head with her body board until it let her go, she said.
Lydia Ward, 14, was in waist-deep water with her brother on Monday at Oreti Beach on the country's South Island when the shark — ... |
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New Zealand teen beats off shark attack 01-02-2010 |
WELLINGTON (AFP) – A 14-year-old New Zealand girl escaped serious injury in a shark attack by furiously beating the creature about the head with her body board until it let go, it was reported Tuesday.
Lydia Ward said she was in waist-deep water near the southern city of Inver... |
| Environmental group to sue over Midway Atoll paint 01-02-2010 |
HONOLULU – The Center for Biological Diversity has filed a notice of intent to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for allegedly failing to clean up toxic, lead-based paint at federal facilities on Midway Atoll.
The group said Monday that the paint kills up to 10,000 Laysan... |
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Giant squid invade Calif. waters, entice anglers 01-02-2010 |
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. – Giant squid weighing up to 60 pounds have invaded the California waters off Newport Beach and are being caught by sport fishermen by the hundreds.
The squid showed up last week and anglers started booking twilight fishing trips over the weekend to catch... |
| Pack of stray dogs kills 13 animals in Bulgarian zoo 30-01-2010 |
SOFIA (Reuters) – A pack of stray dogs leapt the fence of Sofia's zoo and killed 13 rare animals last week, the zoo director said on Saturday.
Six dogs, probably driven by hunger in temperatures that fell to minus 15 degrees last Saturday, tore to pieces five deer and eight mo... |
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Endangered animals get new lease of life in Singapore 29-01-2010 |
SINGAPORE (AFP) – Sporting spiked hair and silver earrings, Samuel Tay hardly looks like a typical midwife.
The 25-year-old zookeeper beams with quiet pride as he watches over his "babies" -- row upon row of snakes bred for Singapore's popular zoo.
"These are my kids. Why do ... |
| Coast Guard flies 2 turtles from Oregon to Calif. 29-01-2010 |
NEWPORT, Ore. – Two rare sea turtles stranded last fall on separate beaches in the Northwest took flight Thursday on a Coast Guard airplane bound for San Diego.
The C-130 airplane based at the Coast Guard Air Station in Sacramento flew to Newport, Oregon, to pick up the turtle... |
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13 countries agree plan to save wild tigers 29-01-2010 |
HUA HIN, Thailand – A dozen Asian nations and Russia vowed Friday to double the number of wild tigers by 2022, crack down on poaching that has devastated the big cats and prohibit the building of roads and bridges that could harm their habitats.
However, the historic declarati... |
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Endangered animals get new lease of life in Singapore 29-01-2010 |
SINGAPORE (AFP) – Sporting spiked hair and silver earrings, Samuel Tay hardly looks like a typical midwife.
The 25-year-old zookeeper beams with quiet pride as he watches over his "babies" -- row upon row of snakes bred for Singapore's popular zoo.
"These are my kids. Why do ... |
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Washington panda cub to be shipped via FedEx to China 28-01-2010 |
WASHINGTON (AFP) – US-born panda cub Tai Shan will next week leave the National Zoo in Washington and head in grand style for a new life in China -- on board a Federal Express cargo plane, according to officials.
On the morning of February 4, Tai Shan will have a police escort... |
| EPA warned of lawsuit over pesticides and animals 28-01-2010 |
FRESNO, Calif. – A conservation group says it plans to sue the federal government, claiming hundreds of protected animal species have been impacted because it has not evaluated or regulated nearly 400 pesticides.
The Center for Biological Diversity sent the Environmental Prote... |
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Animal rights group wants 'Robohog Day' 28-01-2010 |
NEW YORK (AFP) – The animal rights group PETA is taking aim at America's annual Groundhog Day ritual, urging that the weather-forecasting rodent at the heart of the celebration be replaced by a robot.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals criticized the frenzied annual c... |
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N.Zealand 'probes whaling crash' 28-01-2010 |
SYDNEY (AFP) – New Zealand investigators on Thursday interviewed the crew of a high-tech protest boat that sank after colliding with Japanese harpooners, one of those questioned said.
The futuristic trimaran Ady Gil broke in two and sank without trace after colliding with the ... |
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Aussie, NZ scientists prep for whale research trek 27-01-2010 |
SYDNEY – Scientists from Australia and New Zealand are to set out on a whale research expedition to the Antarctic on Monday in an effort to disprove Japan's argument that whales must be killed to be studied.
The results of the six-week expedition are central to the whaling deb... |
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PETA proposes robotic groundhog for Pa. festival 27-01-2010 |
PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. – An animal rights group wants organizers of Pennsylvania's Groundhog Day festival to replace Punxsutawney Phil with a robotic stand-in.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals says it's unfair to keep the animal in captivity and subject him to the huge c... |
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13 countries meet in bid to save wild tigers 27-01-2010 |
HUA HIN, Thailand – Efforts to save the wild tiger are at a critical point and it will take greater political will and cooperation from Asian countries to prevent the big cats from becoming extinct, conservationists and the World Bank warned Wednesday.
The dire message was off... |
| Video inspires call for NY cow tail-docking ban 26-01-2010 |
ALBANY, N.Y. – An animal-rights group released a video Tuesday showing an upstate New York farm worker lopping off a calf's tail and burning off its budding horns as the animal moans and struggles frantically to escape, prompting a state lawmaker to propose that New York follow... |
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| Slow Snails Are Quick to Make New Species 26-01-2010 |
Snails may split into different species rapidly precisely because they move so slowly, scientists now suggest.
These new findings could explain why some kinds of organisms have far more species than others.
Different populations of one species begin splitting into new species w... |
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Mekong tiger population at 'crisis point': WWF 26-01-2010 |
BANGKOK (AFP) – Governments must act decisively to prevent the extinction of tigers in Southeast Asia's Greater Mekong region, where numbers have plunged more than 70 percent in 12 years, the WWF said Tuesday.
The wild tiger population across Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand ... |
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WWF fears for Siberian tiger after Russian oil leak 22-01-2010 |
MOSCOW (AFP) – A leak from Russia's new Siberian oil pipeline shows the potentially damaging consequences the project could have for the endangered Siberian tiger, an environmental campaign group warned on Friday.
Around 300 cubic metres (10,600 cubic feet) of oil leaked from ... |
| After whale wars, Greenpeace tries quieter tack 21-01-2010 |
Tokyo – Even as Sea Shepherd antiwhaling activists harangue Japan's whaling fleet in the Southern Ocean, Greenpeace is waging a quieter war for hearts and minds back in the whalers' homeland.
The change in tack is an acknowledgment that years of watching reports of foreign act... |
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China plans fifth panda breeding centre 20-01-2010 |
BEIJING (AFP) – China plans to open a fifth breeding centre for giant pandas in an effort to boost the population of the notoriously sex-shy species, state media reported on Wednesday.
Four young adult pandas are due to arrive at a zoo in the central city of Changsha on May 1 ... |
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Poachers threaten Malaysia's defence of tigers: WWF 20-01-2010 |
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) – Conservationists called on Wednesday for a war on the poachers who are undermining Malaysia's ambitious goal to double its population of wild tigers to 1,000.
With 2010 declared the Year of the Tiger according to the Chinese zodiac, experts fear there will... |
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Australia says whaling row will not hurt Japan pact 20-01-2010 |
SYDNEY (AFP) – Australia's disagreement with Japan over its annual whale hunts will not affect a proposed defence pact between the nations, Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said Wednesday.
Smith said Australia's opposition to Japan's slaughter of whales would not stand in the wa... |
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WWF says China's wild tigers face extinction 20-01-2010 |
BEIJING (AFP) – The World Wildlife Fund warned on Tuesday that the wild tiger faced extinction in China after having been decimated by poaching and the destruction of its natural habitat.
"If there are no urgent measures taken, there is a high risk that the wild tiger will go ... |
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Activists sue after Austrian pigs buried alive in snow 18-01-2010 |
VIENNA (AFP) – Animal rights groups are pressing charges over an Austrian experiment in which 29 pigs were buried alive under deep snow to study human survival chances in avalanches, prosecutors said Monday.
An Austrian and a German animal rights group filed a joint suit again... |
| Chile, once Latin America's economic model, now overtaken by Brazil 17-01-2010 |
Santiago, Chile; and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – For two decades, Chile was the “teacher’s pet” of Latin America, the student who always brought home straight A’s.
Economists gushed that the Andean country’s commitment to free-market policies and democratic reform made ... |
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Internet allowing illegal wildlife trade: activist 17-01-2010 |
SINGAPORE (AFP) – Illegal wildlife traders are turning to the Internet to reach a wider customer base, circumvent laws and evade authorities, an animal rights activist told a conference on Sunday.
Items such as rhinoceros horns, leopard pelts and even live tiger cubs are being... |
| Scientists end experiments burying pigs in snow 15-01-2010 |
VIENNA – Scientists say they will no longer conduct avalanche experiments monitoring the deaths of pigs buried in snow, after animal rights groups protested their methods.
Anesthesiologist Peter Paal says he and his colleagues decided Friday to stop their work because of growi... |
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Big chill: Warmed-up sea turtles freed off Florida 15-01-2010 |
JUNO BEACH, Fla. – They came in crowded trucks and left by flipper: Hundreds of endangered sea turtles are being released back into the Atlantic Ocean now that Florida's weather has warmed enough.
Officials in the Sunshine State helped rescue nearly 3,000 turtles from frigid w... |
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Sushi-loving Japan fears push for tuna export ban 15-01-2010 |
TOKYO – Seafood-loving Japan — having faced years of international pressure to stop whaling — finds itself with a potentially bigger fight over a highly prized type of tuna that conservation groups say is being fished to extinction.
A proposal to ban the export of Atlantic... |
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Dog breeding concerns highlighted in Britain 14-01-2010 |
LONDON (AFP) – Major changes are needed in the way pedigree dogs are bred in Britain, an inquiry triggered by a hard-hitting television documentary about the Crufts dog show said Thursday.
The probe raises welfare concerns over puppy farms, inbreeding and the breeding of anima... |
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WWF to help expand China's panda reserves 14-01-2010 |
BEIJING (AFP) – The World Wildlife Fund said on Thursday it planned to spend 40 million yuan (5.9 million dollars) over the next three years to increase the number of giant panda reserves in China.
The environmental group also plans to build "wildlife corridors" between the 60... |
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Fatal shark attack closes Cape Town beaches 13-01-2010 |
CAPE TOWN (AFP) – A fatal shark attack in South Africa's holiday hotspot Cape Town prompted the closure of several beaches on Wednesday, at the height of the summer tourist season.
Emergency workers were still searching for the body of a Zimbabwean tourist last seen Tuesday as... |
| No Sign of Superbugs in Isolated Polar Bear 13-01-2010 |
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 13 (HealthDay News) -- Scant evidence of antibiotic-resistant superbugs has been found in the droppings of Arctic polar bears that are isolated from humans, potentially suggesting that humans are responsible for the spread of such germs in the animal kingdom at la... |
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PETA pulls ads featuring Michelle Obama 12-01-2010 |
McLEAN, Va. – The animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said Tuesday it is pulling an ad campaign that used the likeness of first lady Michelle Obama without her permission.
At the same time, PETA is urging the White House to take a stand against anot... |
| Feds to set aside habitat for jaguar recovery 12-01-2010 |
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Tuesday it will set aside critical habitat for the endangered jaguar and develop a recovery plan for the elusive animal once thought to have disappeared from the United States.
The agency said it will review which lan... |
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| Pandas attempt to mate at National Zoo 10-01-2010 |
WASHINGTON – Two pandas at the National Zoo attempted to mate before zoo officials determined they had not been successful and artificially inseminated the female, Mei Xiang.
Zoo officials say Mei Xiang and Tian Tian tried to mate Saturday night. After carefully observing the ... |
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Largest U.S. farm group rallies against climate bill 10-01-2010 |
SEATTLE (Reuters) – The largest U.S. farm group will oppose aggressively "misguided" climate legislation pending in Congress and fight animal rights activists, said American Farm Bureau Federation president Bob Stallman on Sunday.
In a speech opening the four-day AFBF conventi... |
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Conservationists file piracy claim against whalers 09-01-2010 |
SYDNEY – A conservationist group that lost one of its ships in a clash with Japanese whalers off Antarctica has filed a piracy complaint in the Netherlands against the captain and crew of the whaling vessel, one of the group's leaders said Saturday.
The filing comes after the ... |
| Feds reopen probe in Alaska whistleblower case 09-01-2010 |
ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Federal prosecutors who look into the treatment of whistleblowers are reopening the case of an Alaska wildlife biologist who successfully sued the U.S. Forest Service and died of a heart attack days after his job was eliminated.
Glen Ith sued the Forest Ser... |
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| DC zoo plans goodbye party for panda Tai Shan 08-01-2010 |
WASHINGTON – The Friends of the National Zoo will host a "Farewell to Tai Shan" party at the end of the month before the 4-year-old giant panda is sent to China.
The group announced Thursday that it will hold the goodbye party in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 30. Zoo officials sai... |
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Anti-whaling boat sinks after Japanese collision 08-01-2010 |
SYDNEY (AFP) – A high-tech protest boat sank without trace on Friday after a dangerous collision with a Japanese whaling ship, as Australia protested to Tokyo over its fleet's alleged tactics.
Peter Hammarstedt, first officer of the Sea Shepherd group's "Bob Barker" ship, said... |
| Anti-whaling boat left to sink in Antarctica 08-01-2010 |
CANBERRA, Australia – Conservationists abandoned a sinking ship wrecked in a confrontation with Japanese whalers to resume their aggressive campaign to stop the hunt Friday amid concerns about contamination of pristine Antarctic waters.
The bow of the Sea Shepherd Conservation... |
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Fla.'s big chill: Manatees huddle, turtles stunned 08-01-2010 |
APOLLO BEACH, Fla. – More than 200 manatees are wintering in a balmy canal outside a power plant, the latest exotic Florida animals seeking refuge from the state's frigid temperatures.
Giant eagle rays and spinner sharks joined them in the 70-degree waters Thursday as onlooker... |
| Idaho Fish and Game copter crashes with 3 on board 08-01-2010 |
BOISE, Idaho – The Idaho Department of Fish and Game says a helicopter carrying two research biologists and a pilot has crashed in northern Idaho.
The agency says the biologists and pilot did not suffer life-threatening injuries during the crash around noon Friday. The biologi... |
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| DC zoo plans goodbye party for panda Tai Sha 08-01-2010 |
WASHINGTON – The Friends of the National Zoo will host a "Farewell to Tai Shan" party at the end of the month before the 4-year-old giant panda is sent to China.
The group announced Thursday that it will hold the goodbye party in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 30. Zoo officials sai... |
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Chilean zoo celebrates birth of 5 white tigers 07-01-2010 |
SANTIAGO, Chile – The Chilean National Zoo is celebrating the birth of a rare litter of five white tigers.
Zoo director Mauricio Fabry said Thursday that the zoo will build a special habitat to accommodate the tigers born on Dec. 28.
He said that the new enclosure will includ... |
| Rare Wild Tiger and Cubs Captured on Video 07-01-2010 |
A female tiger and her cubs gave scientists quite a show as the elusive animals sniffed and checked out a video-camera trap in the Sumatran jungle.
After five years of studying tigers using wildlife-activated camera traps set up in the forest, these are the first images of the r... |
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Fur flies over picture of Michelle Obama in ad 07-01-2010 |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Animal rights group PETA has used the image of Michelle Obama without her consent on a new poster that praises the U.S. first lady for not wearing fur, the White House said on Wednesday.
The poster, which PETA says was put up at just two metro rail stati... |
| Sumatran tiger cubs caught on video in Indonesia 07-01-2010 |
BANGKOK – A video camera in the jungles of Indonesia has captured the first known footage of Sumatran tiger cubs in the wild, boosting efforts to conserve the endangered species, an environmental group said Thursday.
The video shot in October on the island of Sumatra shows two... |
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The Hollywood A-list behind militant anti-whaling group 07-01-2010 |
SYDNEY (AFP) – A militant animal rights group locked in a bitter high seas battle with Japanese whalers have the support and funding of a Hollywood A-list including Sean Penn and French screen siren Brigitte Bardot.
One of the world's best known and more extreme marine activis... |
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New Zealand, Australia to probe whaling protest collision 07-01-2010 |
WELLINGTON (AFP) – New Zealand and Australia said Thursday they would investigate a Japanese whaling ship's alleged ramming of a protest boat in Antarctic waters, as activists claimed only luck prevented someone being killed.
The two countries, opponents of Japan's whaling pro... |
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Space-age powerboat 'sliced in two' by Japan whalers 06-01-2010 |
SYDNEY (AFP) – A space-age powerboat sent to harass Japanese whalers was rammed and sliced in two in its very first clash on Wednesday, activists said, dramatically escalating hostilities in icy Antarctic seas.
The futuristic Ady Gil trimaran, which holds the round-the-world r... |
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Powerboat destroyed in Japan whaling clash 06-01-2010 |
SYDNEY (AFP) – A futuristic powerboat sent to harass Japanese whalers has been sliced in two and is sinking after a clash in Antarctic waters, activists said on Wednesday.
All six crew on the Ady Gil trimaran, which holds the round-the-world record, were rescued unharmed, the ... |
| Japan whalers accused of sinking protesters' boat 06-01-2010 |
CANBERRA (Reuters) – Anti-whaling activists accused Japanese whalers of ramming and sinking a high-tech protest boat in the frigid Southern Ocean on Wednesday, as tensions mounted over accusations of "spy flights" mounted from Australia.
The hardline Sea Shepherd Conservation ... |
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Boats collide in anti-whaling clash in Antarctica 06-01-2010 |
SYDNEY – A conservation group's boat had its bow sheared off and was taking on water Wednesday after it collided with a Japanese whaling ship in the frigid waters of Antarctica, the group said. The boat's six crew members were safely rescued.
The clash was the most serious in ... |
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Inflatable toad gives small guys the slip 06-01-2010 |
PARIS (AFP) – The female cane toad can pump herself up to mega-size to throw off smaller males striving to mate with her, Australian biologists reported on Wednesday.
The unusual tactic suggests that female anurans, as frogs and toads are called, may have far more power to sel... |
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PETA used Michelle Obama image without consent: White House 06-01-2010 |
WASHINGTON (AFP) – Animal rights group PETA used the image of First Lady Michelle Obama in a campaign against fur clothing without her permission, the White House said Wednesday.
"We did not consent to it," said Semonti Stephens, spokeswoman for the wife of US President Barack... |
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Pandas headed to Shanghai for 2010 Expo 05-01-2010 |
BEIJING – Ten giant panda cubs, all born after the deadly earthquake that hit China's Sichuan province in 2008, were on their way Tuesday to Shanghai to go on display during this year's World Expo, a zoo official said.
Six female and four male pandas from the Wolong Giant Pand... |
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Taiwan scientist discovers 'strawberry' crab 05-01-2010 |
TAIPEI (AFP) – A Taiwanese marine biologist said Tuesday he had found a new species of crab which is coloured like a polka-dotted strawberry.
Professor Ho Ping-ho of National Taiwan Ocean University said he made the discovery while carrying out research on the environmental im... |
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Annual 'stocktake' at London Zoo 05-01-2010 |
LONDON (AFP) – At London Zoo, the animals come two by two -- and sometimes in fours and sixes as well.
The zoo's annual "stocktaking" took place on Tuesday, giving keepers a chance to check on the numbers of everything from stick insects to tigers -- and even a sex-change meer... |
| NOAA proposes habitat protection for sea turtles 05-01-2010 |
GRANTS PASS, Ore. – Federal biologists have proposed the first open ocean habitat protections for the endangered leatherback sea turtle along the West Coast, an action that could affect future development of offshore renewable energy, aquaculture and desalination plants.
The p... |
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PETA features Michelle Obama in new anti-fur ad 05-01-2010 |
WASHINGTON – The fur is flying over a new ad campaign by an animal rights group the White House says is using first lady Michelle Obama's image without her permission.
The president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Ingrid Newkirk, said her organization wouldn't ... |
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Inflatable toad gives small guys the slip 05-01-2010 |
PARIS (AFP) – The female cane toad can pump herself up to mega-size to throw off smaller males striving to mate with her, Australian biologists reported on Wednesday.
The unusual tactic suggests that female anurans, as frogs and toads are called, may have far more power to sel... |
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Chopper crashes in remote Calif. forest; 4 men die 05-01-2010 |
FRESNO, Calif. – Three California Department of Fish and Game biologists and a pilot were killed Tuesday afternoon when their helicopter crashed in a craggy stretch of the Sierra National Forest where they were surveying wildlife.
The crash happened in a narrow canyon near Red... |
| Hawaii's false killer whales may be endangered 05-01-2010 |
HONOLULU – The federal government said Tuesday it's considering placing on the endangered species list a small population of dolphins that live near Hawaii and look similar to killer whales.
Depending on the outcome, the review could affect the Hawaii-based longline fishing fl... |
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Poachers kill rare white rhino in Kenya 04-01-2010 |
NAIROBI, Kenya – A group of poachers have killed a southern white rhino, an endangered species whose worldwide population is estimated at just 17,500, the head of Kenya's wildlife conservation agency said on Monday.
The poachers killed the rhino in a privately owned ranch in c... |
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Kenya arrests rhino poaching ring 04-01-2010 |
NAIROBI, Kenya (AFP) – Kenyan wildlife rangers arrested 12 men from an illicit game trade syndicate suspected of killing a 10-year-old white rhino and hacking off its horns, the head of the country's wildlife service said Monday.
Rangers mounted a manhunt, arrested the suspect... |
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Circus giant wins case over alleged elephant abuse 04-01-2010 |
WASHINGTON (AFP) – A US federal judge has rejected animal rights groups' claims that Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus mishandles endangered Asian elephants.
US District Judge Emmet Sullivan signed the December 30 ruling in favor of Ringling's owner, Virginia-based Fel... |
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Attorney: PETA worker neglected snakes in his care 29-12-2009 |
ARLINGTON, Texas – Attorneys for an exotic animal dealer have accused an employee of intentionally neglecting animals to further his work as an undercover investigator for an animal rights group.
Howard Goldman could have done more to provide food, water and care for the anima... |
| Calif. man pleads not guilty in sea lion shooting 28-12-2009 |
YUBA CITY, Calif. – A Sacramento fisherman accused of shooting a sea lion in the head has pleaded not guilty to a felony charge of cruelty to animals.
Larry Legans, 43, entered the plea Monday in a Sutter County courtroom.
Authorities say Legans fired his shotgun at the sea l... |
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2 rare Siberian tigers among dead circus cats 24-12-2009 |
MOSCOW – Two rare Siberian tigers were among a group of big cats in a Russian traveling circus that died during a 20-hour truck journey this week, a circus administrator said Thursday.
Veterinarians suspect the animals were suffocated by exhaust fumes in the enclosed truck, wh... |
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Japanese whalers clash with militant activists 23-12-2009 |
CANBERRA, Australia – Japanese whalers and militant conservationists have clashed in the Antarctic Ocean over two days, with weapons including water cannon, blinding lasers and bottles of rancid acid, both sides said Wednesday.
Each accused the other of coming dangerously clos... |
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Moderate Republican seeks Biden's old U.S. Senate seat 23-12-2009 |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Michael Castle is a member of an endangered species in the U.S. Congress: He's a moderate Republican. He's also a key figure in next year's election.
Castle is running to fill the Senate seat for Delaware formerly held by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, a... |
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New Yorkers beware! New cockroach hits the Big Apple 23-12-2009 |
NEW YORK (AFP) – New Yorkers are used to fighting each other for space, but there may be a new contender in town according to a Rockefeller study that appears to have uncovered a new species of cockroach.
"The cockroach is genetically modified. Species don't differ more than o... |
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African countries set for new fight over ivory sales 22-12-2009 |
NAIROBI (AFP) – Three months from a major international conference on endangered species, African countries are divided over whether a fresh round of ivory sales should be allowed.
With black market sales on the rise again, some nations that consider their elephant populations... |
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Whaling activists accuse Japan fleet of 'bizarre' chase 22-12-2009 |
SYDNEY (AFP) – Anti-whaling activists Tuesday accused Japanese harpooners of using water cannons, loudspeakers and military-grade acoustic weapons as part of a "bizarre" high seas pursuit in the Antarctic.
The Sea Shepherd animal rights group said a Japanese vessel closed in o... |
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India's last "dancing", endangered bear set free 21-12-2009 |
BANGALORE (Reuters Life!) – Raju the bear will never have to smoke cigarettes or dance on his hind legs under the hot sun again thanks to a multinational project to save an endangered species and end a cruel centuries-old tradition in India.
Raju was the last endangered sloth ... |
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Shark bites diver in Australia 20-12-2009 |
SYDNEY (AFP) – An Australian man was in hospital Sunday after surviving a shark attack while diving off the country's northeast coast, officials said.
The 19-year-old was diving at Lamont Reef, off central Queensland's Herron Island, when he was bitten on the arm, the Royal Fl... |
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Japanese whalers using 'military' sonic device: activists 18-12-2009 |
SYDNEY (AFP) – Anti-whaling activists accused Japanese fishermen Friday of using a military-type sonic device and water cannon against their helicopter as risky skirmishes in Antarctic seas escalated.
The Sea Shepherd animal rights group said the whalers used a Long Range Acou... |
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Yao Ming aims to quell China's appetite for shark fin 18-12-2009 |
SHANGHAI (AFP) – NBA star and Shanghai Sharks owner Yao Ming urged China on Friday to say no to shark fin soup to stop the overfishing of some species amid growing demand for the delicacy.
The Houston Rockets centre who recently bought his hometown's professional team, unveile... |
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Shanghai Expo to show baby pandas at city's zoos 17-12-2009 |
SHANGHAI – Ten giant panda cubs will be on display at the Shanghai World Expo next year at the city's zoos, giving tens of millions of Chinese and foreign visitors a glimpse at the highly endangered species.
The six females and four males will arrive in Shanghai in January and... |
| Mexico links animal activists to car burnings 16-12-2009 |
MEXICO CITY – Investigators have found evidence linking an animal rights group to homemade bombs that burned seven vehicles in Mexico City, a prosecutor said Wednesday.
The symbol of a local version of the Animal Liberation Front was found painted near the attacks in a residen... |
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| Police say 2 dogs fed on Nebraska owner's body 16-12-2009 |
PAPILLION, Neb. – The Nebraska Humane Society is seeking a new home for two small dogs that police say fed on their owner's body after he killed himself.
Police in the Omaha suburb of Papillion found the pugs named Harry and Sally late last week. Lt. Chris Whitted said Wednesd... |
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Japan PM demands Aus halt anti-whaling 'sabotage' 15-12-2009 |
TOKYO (AFP) – Japan's Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama Tuesday asked his visiting Australian counterpart Kevin Rudd to rein in activists disrupting Japan's annual whale hunt, describing their actions as "sabotage."
Japan's whaling fleet left for its annual Southern Ocean hunt in ... |
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Koalas, penguins at risk of extinction: study 14-12-2009 |
COPENHAGEN (AFP) – Climate change threatens the survival of dozens of animal species from the emperor penguin to Australian koalas, according to a report released Monday at the UN climate summit.
Rising sea levels, ocean acidification and shrinking polar ice are taking a heavy... |
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DNA map shows pandas may lack meat taste buds 14-12-2009 |
BEIJING – Genome mapping showing that pandas may prefer a bamboo-based diet because they can't taste meat could unlock secrets to ensuring the survival of the endangered species.
The findings published in "Nature" magazine come from a study led by the Beijing Genomics Institut... |
| Group threatens lawsuit over 144 species 14-12-2009 |
GRANTS Pass, Ore. – A conservation group is threatening to go to court if the Obama administration doesn't start making progress on a backlog of endangered species listings.
The Center for Biological Diversity on Monday filed a formal notice of intent to sue the U.S. Fish and ... |
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| New species of coral, sponges found near Hawaii 14-12-2009 |
HONOLULU – New and dramatic species of coral and sponges have been found in the Pacific during deep sea dives near the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, scientists said Monday.
Submersibles operated by the Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory discovered the species in early Decemb... |
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Panda genome resembles dog: Chinese media 13-12-2009 |
BEIJING (AFP) – A detailed genome map of the giant panda completed by Chinese scientists has shown that the notoriously shy animal is genetically similar to the dog, state media reported Sunday.
Scientists from the Beijing Genomics Institute finished sequencing the giant panda... |
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Aussie, Chinese officials urge pandas to reproduce 13-12-2009 |
ADELAIDE, Australia – Australian and Chinese officials urged two bamboo-munching giant pandas on Sunday to consider reproducing during their 10-year residency Down Under.
Wang Wang and Funi, on loan from China, arrived at the Adelaide Zoo two weeks ago but were officially welc... |
| Judge rules for Ringling Bros. in elephant case 12-12-2009 |
WASHINGTON – A federal judge Wednesday ruled in favor of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in a case brought by animal rights activists who accused the circus of abusing elephants.
U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan said former Ringling employee Tom Rider and... |
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Australia PM warns Japan over whaling ahead of visit 11-12-2009 |
SYDNEY (AFP) – Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd Friday threatened Japan with legal action if it fails to stop hunting whales, ahead of a visit to the country.
Rudd rejected Japan's "so-called scientific whaling", which is now resuming in seas south of Australia.
"If we ca... |
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Australia threatens Japan over whaling program 11-12-2009 |
SYDNEY – Australia's prime minister threatened legal action against Japan on Friday if it does not stop its research whaling program that kills up to 1,000 whales a year.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's comments came as the Australian Broadcasting Corp. quoted Japanese Foreign Min... |
| New chief of DC's National Zoo comes from Atlanta 11-12-2009 |
ATLANTA – The National Zoo in Washington is getting its new director from Zoo Atlanta.
The two zoos announced Friday that Atlanta' president and CEO, Dennis Kelly, has been named director of the National Zoo.
Kelly will leave Atlanta after six years at the helm to take over t... |
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Clean energy to grow into 1.6 trillion euros industry: WWF 10-12-2009 |
GENEVA (AFP) – The clean energy technology sector will grow into a 1.6 trillion-euro (2.4 trillion-dollar) industry by 2020, becoming the third largest industrial sector after automobiles and electronics, WWF said Friday.
The clean energy industry, which includes wind energy i... |
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Powerboat jets off to harass Japanese whalers 08-12-2009 |
SYDNEY (AFP) – A space-age powerboat which holds the round-the-world record sped off from Australia on Tuesday on a mission to harass Japanese whaling ships in Antarctic seas.
The futuristic tri-hulled "Ady Gil" left the Tasmanian state capital Hobart, a port official said.
T... |
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Endangered 'pets' seized from Malaysian apartment 08-12-2009 |
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) – A Malaysian woman has been arrested for keeping endangered animals including a leopard cat, a honey bear and a slow loris as pets in her apartment, reports said Tuesday.
"The case is only the tip of the iceberg. We believe many people out there are keeping... |
| Crew sent to rescue up to 100 dogs in rural Ore. 08-12-2009 |
PORTLAND, Ore. – The Oregon Humane Society on Tuesday sent a team to rescue as many as 100 dogs living without shelter in cold weather on rural property in Eastern Oregon.
Some of the dogs are living underground in holes covered with planks, while others are chained to farm eq... |
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Singapore Zoo breeds rare Komodo dragon 07-12-2009 |
SINGAPORE (AFP) – Singapore Zoo has successfully bred the highly-endangered Komodo dragon, officials said on Monday, reporting that the rare baby reptile was in good health.
The 40-centimetre (16-inch) hatchling is the first Komodo dragon born in an Asian zoo outside Indonesia... |
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Anti-Japan whaling protests: govts urge restraint 07-12-2009 |
SYDNEY (AFP) – Militant protesters opposed to Japanese whaling left for the Southern Ocean Monday as New Zealand, Australia and The Netherlands urged them to avoid violent confrontations.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's ship Steve Irwin sailed from Fremantle in Western... |
| Reality TV stars charged over rat-eating episode 07-12-2009 |
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian police have charged two stars of British reality TV show "I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here" with animal cruelty after an RSPCA complaint over an episode that involved killing and cooking a rat.
Italian chef Gino D'Acampo and British actor St... |
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| Four New Species of King Crabs Discovered 06-12-2009 |
Kings crabs are among the ocean's largest crustaceans, so you'd think scientists might know quite a bit about them.
As with much in the sea, however, there is much to learn.
In fact today researchers announced they'd found four new species of king crabs, bringing the total know... |
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Animal rights protesters bring carcasses to Madrid 06-12-2009 |
MADRID (AFP) – Activists displayed the carcasses of about 100 foxes, rabbits, minks, lambs, chickens and pigs in central Madrid Sunday in a protest against the treatment of animals.
The demonstrators, all dressed in white, gathered in the Puerta del Sol square, in the heart of... |
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Beloved panda born at National Zoo headed to China 04-12-2009 |
WASHINGTON – A young giant panda who became a major draw after his birth at Washington's National Zoo will leave for China early next year for breeding.
Zoo officials announced Friday that Tai Shan (pronounced "ty shawn") will be leaving the Smithsonian Institution park as soo... |
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Tough to bear: Washington loses panda cub to China 04-12-2009 |
WASHINGTON (AFP) – It was too sad for some, an example of the US pandering to others: Tai Shan, the four-year-old US-born giant panda, is being sent to China, the National Zoo in Washington announced Friday.
"No!" chorused a group of seven- and eight-year-olds from Carole High... |
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Hong Kong shark fin traders criticise US repor 02-12-2009 |
HONG KONG (AFP) – Hong Kong shark fin merchants on Wednesday reacted angrily to a US study that said meat from endangered species was being sold in the city's markets to make a popular soup.
In the new study for the journal Endangered Species Research, US scientists said they ... |
| Federal agency says prairie dogs not endangered 02-12-2009 |
BILLINGS, Mont. – Black-tailed prairie dogs were denied protection under the Endangered Species Act on Wednesday after federal officials concluded the once prevalent species shows signs of rebounding.
Decades of poisoning, shootings, the plague and loss of habitat to agricultu... |
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Stabilised Bhutan lake a climate change lesson: WWF 01-12-2009 |
KATHMANDU (AFP) – An international project that prevented a glacial lake in Bhutan from bursting its banks underlined how climate change can be tackled by adaptation, the environmental group WWF said on Tuesday.
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) said efforts by local and in... |
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DNA Reveals Origins of Shark Fin Soup 01-12-2009 |
Every year, millions of shark fins are sold at Chinese markets to satisfy the demand for shark fin soup, a dish considered a delicacy, but it has been impossible to pinpoint which sharks from which regions are most threatened by this trade.
Now DNA research has traced shark fins... |
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Nearly 2 tons of ivory seized in eastern Africa 30-11-2009 |
NAIROBI, Kenya – African authorities raided shops, intercepted vehicles at checkpoints and used sniffer dogs to detect and seize over 3,800 pounds (1,768 kilograms) of illegal elephant ivory in a six-nation operation, Interpol and the Kenya Wildlife Service said Monday.
During... |
| 4th-generation southern white rhino born in Ohio 30-11-2009 |
CUMBERLAND, Ohio – Officials at a southeast Ohio conservation center say a southern white rhinoceros could be the first fourth-generation member of the threatened species born in any other North American managed herd.
Officials at the Wilds in Cumberland, Ohio, say the calf wa... |
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Australia welcomes giant pandas with city party 28-11-2009 |
ADELAIDE, Australia – Two giant pandas from China were welcomed to Australia on Saturday with gifts of bamboo and a city party before settling into their new home, a 25-acre (10-hectare) natural enclosure at the Adelaide Zoo.
Four-year-old male Wang Wang and 3-year-old female ... |
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Caged 'cavemen' go on display at Warsaw zoo 27-11-2009 |
WARSAW, Poland – Visitors to Warsaw's zoo are being greeted by two "Homo sapiens" peering out from a cage — humans in animal skins trying to spark interest in man's caveman ancestors.
Organizer Maria Mastalerz says the weeklong "performance" aims to attract interest in a pla... |
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China's pandas worth more than Tiger Woods: Australian zoo 25-11-2009 |
SYDNEY (AFP) – Two giant pandas due to begin a 10-year stay at an Australian zoo could give the local economy a bigger boost than recent visits by Tiger Woods or Lance Armstrong, officials said Wednesday.
Wang Wang, four, and three-year-old Funi are due to arrive at Adelaide Z... |
| China moves to protect pandas from swine flu 24-11-2009 |
BEIJING – A panda research center in northwestern China has been closed to visitors as a precaution to protect the endangered species from catching swine flu, state media reported on Tuesday.
It is not known if pandas can catch swine flu, but there have been reports from veter... |
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Ohio's zoo's lion cubs make debut 24-11-2009 |
COLUMBUS, Ohio – An Ohio zoo is ready to show off its newest additions — a trio of lion cubs.
The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium said that beginning Tuesday Kitambi (ki-TAHM'-bee) and his two sisters, Adia (AH'-dee-uh) and Mekita (meh-KEE'-tuh), were allowed to roam in an outdoor... |
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Melting icecaps to damage major port cities: WWF 23-11-2009 |
GENEVA (AFP) – Flooding in the world's major port cities caused by melting icecaps could cause up to 28 trillion dollars (18 trillion euros) in damage in 2050, environmental group WWF said in a report Monday.
"If the temperature rises between 0.5 and 2 degrees (Celsius) betwee... |
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Murky ocean depths hide abundance of life 23-11-2009 |
WASHINGTON (AFP) – Thousands of animal species thrive in the ocean depths beyond the reach of sunlight, between 200 to 5,000 meters below the surface, an international team of scientists has reported after nearly 10 years of research.
More than 2,000 scientists from 80 countri... |
| Teensy Chameleon Is New Species 23-11-2009 |
A tiny chameleon species with a scaly horn atop its snout and blue dots on its limbs has been discovered in Tanzanian forests.
"It would sit quite easily on one finger," said Andrew Marshall of the University of York, adding the chameleon's body spans just 2.8 inches (about 72 m... |
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| China to send two pandas to Australia 23-11-2009 |
BEIJING – China will send two giant pandas to an Australian zoo this Friday as part of a joint research program.
Four-year-old male Wang Wang and 3-year-old female Fu Ni will be loaned to Australia for 10 years, according to Zhang Hemin, head of the Wolong Nature Reserve Admin... |
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| Thousands flock to 'world's biggest animal sacrifice 22-11-2009 |
KATHMANDU (AFP) – Thousands of Hindu devotees have flocked to a village in Nepal ahead of the planned sacrifice of more than 300,000 animals in a ceremony condemned by animal rights activists, including French actress Brigitte Bardot.
Priests are preparing for the slaughter of... |
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Thousands of strange creatures found deep in ocean 22-11-2009 |
NEW ORLEANS – The creatures living in the depths of the ocean are as weird and outlandish as the creations in a Dr. Seuss book: tentacled transparent sea cucumbers, primitive "dumbos" that flap ear-like fins, and tubeworms that feed on oil deposits.
A report released Sunday re... |
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Bardot urges end to animal sacrifice in Nepal 20-11-2009 |
KATHMANDU (AFP) – The legendary French movie star turned animal rights campaigner Brigitte Bardot has written to Nepal's president urging him to stop a mass animal sacrifice from going ahead next week.
A temple in Nepal will host what is thought to be the world's biggest ritua... |
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Australia 'disappointed' at Japan whaling mission 20-11-2009 |
SYDNEY (AFP) – Australia said it was "deeply disappointed" after a fleet of Japanese whaling ships set out to kill hundreds of the giant ocean mammals on their annual hunt.
Environment Minister Peter Garrett urged Japan, which says the killings are for research purposes, to "s... |
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Japan whale fleet leave for Antarctic: Greenpeace 19-11-2009 |
TOKYO (AFP) – Japanese whaling ships left port Thursday for Antarctic waters for their annual hunt of the ocean giants, Greenpeace said, setting the stage for high-seas confrontations with anti-whaling activists.
The factory ship Nisshin Maru and the smaller Yushin Maru 2 and ... |
| Judge keeps Yellowstone grizzly on threatened list 19-11-2009 |
BILLINGS, Mont. – A judge says the government must keep Yellowstone-area grizzly bears on the list of threatened and endangered species, denying an attempt by federal officials to reverse an earlier court ruling.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service two years ago said grizzlies ... |
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Sushi Often Not What You Think 19-11-2009 |
That tuna in your sushi might be an endangered species, a new study finds.
Some genetic detective work by scientists has shown that bluefin tuna, an endangered fish, regularly gets put on the plates of sushi eaters in New York and Colorado.
"When you eat sushi, you can unknowin... |
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Bears get satellite collars in Indian Kashmir 18-11-2009 |
SRINAGAR (AFP) – Wildlife experts in Indian-controlled Kashmir have fitted black bears with satellite-tracking collars to study their behaviour and help conserve the endangered animals, officials said Wednesday.
"This is the first time in India that Himalayan black bears have ... |
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Austria says 'so long' to Fu Long the panda 18-11-2009 |
VIENNA – A 2-year-old panda who charmed his way into the hearts of Austrians is headed to China.
Fu Long has been the star attraction at Vienna's Schoenbrunn Zoo since he was born there on Aug. 23, 2007.
Artificial insemination is common practice when breeding captive pandas ... |
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Baghdad's once ravaged zoo comes back to life 17-11-2009 |
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – More than six years after the U.S. invasion left Iraq's main zoo a wasteland of starving animals and deserted cages, the park in central Baghdad is enjoying a vigorous revival and needs to grow.
Few Iraqis ventured into Baghdad Zoo during the violence that ... |
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San Diego Zoo panda cub gets name "Son of Cloud" 17-11-2009 |
SAN DIEGO – Out of 6,300 suggestions, San Diego Zoo managers have chosen a name for a baby panda born this summer.
Zoo officials on Tuesday announced that the 3-month-old black-and-white ball of fur will be called Yun Zi (YUHN'-zih), which is Chinese for "Son of Cloud."
The c... |
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Consumer campaigns don't save endangered fish: report 17-11-2009 |
VANCOUVER, Canada (AFP) – Consumer campaigns to protect threatened fish species have failed, researchers warned Tuesday in a report underscoring the need for alternative ways to save threatened marine species.
The report suggested that government and consumers make big wholesa... |
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Environmentalists alarmed by Puerto Rico policies 16-11-2009 |
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Sweeping from lush mountain rain forests to pristine beaches, a corridor of land protected by Puerto Rico's last governor hosts dozens of rare and endangered species and was championed by celebrities who helped fight off resort proposals.
Now new Gov. L... |
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Crikey steveirwini! Snail honour for late Aussie star 13-11-2009 |
SYDNEY (AFP) – An Australian scientist has paid an unusual tribute to late conservation star Steve Irwin by naming a rare species of snail "crikey steveirwini".
Queensland Museum scientist John Stanisic said khaki colours on the stripy tree snail reminded him of the trademark ... |
| Feds to check animal abuse claims at Utah labs 13-11-2009 |
SALT LAKE CITY – Federal officials say they'll look into complaints by the animal rights group PETA about the treatment of animals at University of Utah research facilities.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals says one of its agents spent eight months working undercove... |
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'Let them eat vegetables', Bardot tells EU 13-11-2009 |
PARIS (AFP) – Brigitte Bardot, one-time French screen goddess turned animal rights activist, wants the European Union to institute a "Vegetarian Day" as part of the battle against global warming.
In a letter this week to European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barrosoa, Bardot s... |
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Major Asian cities face climate disaster: WWF 12-11-2009 |
SINGAPORE (AFP) – Low-lying and impoverished Asian coastal cities such as Dhaka, Manila and Jakarta are vulnerable to "brutal" damage from climate change without global action, environmental group WWF warned Thursday.
Energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions must be cur... |
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Vienna zoo's panda Fu Long heads for China 12-11-2009 |
VIENNA (AFP) – Fu Long the panda, Europe's first to be conceived naturally while in captivity, is to leave his home town of Vienna for China next week, the Schoenbrunn Zoo in the Austrian capital said Thursday.
The giant panda, whose name means "Happy Dragon" in Mandarin, is t... |
| Groups sue to make rare flying squirrel endangered 12-11-2009 |
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Environmental groups are suing the federal government to return a type of flying squirrel to the endangered species list.
The small nocturnal squirrel is only found in higher elevations of West Virginia and one county in Virginia. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife... |
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New dinosaur discovered in S. Africa 11-11-2009 |
JOHANNESBURG (AFP) – A new species of dinosaur that roamed the Earth 197 million years ago, likely an ancestor of the enormous brontosaurus, has been discovered in South Africa, scientists said Wednesday.
Dubbed Aardonyx Celestae, a combination of Afrikaans and Greek that mean... |
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South African find gives clue to dinosaur evolution 11-11-2009 |
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – A huge dinosaur discovered in South Africa is a previously unknown species that sheds light on the evolution of the largest creatures ever to walk the earth, a scientist said Wednesday.
Adam Yates, a paleontologist at Johannesburg's Wits University, sa... |
| China's Hu arrives in Singapore with panda offer 11-11-2009 |
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – China will give Singapore two giant pandas to mark 20 years of friendly ties between the two countries, Chinese President Hu Jintao said Wednesday.
Hu arrived in Singapore Wednesday for an annual summit of Asia-Pacific leaders, after visiting Malaysia whe... |
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Gov't says brown pelicans are endangered no longer 11-11-2009 |
WASHINGTON – After nearly 40 years on the brink of extinction, the brown pelican is coming off the endangered species list.
The bird now prevalent across Florida and the Gulf and Pacific coasts was declared an endangered species in 1970, after its population was devastated by ... |
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US takes brown pelican off endangered species list 11-11-2009 |
WASHINGTON (AFP) – Nearly 40 years after it was pushed to the edge of extinction by pesticide use, habitat loss and hunting, the brown pelican was Wednesday taken off the endangered species list, US officials said.
"We can celebrate an extraordinary accomplishment: the brown p... |
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Koalas could be extinct in 30 years: conservationists 10-11-2009 |
SYDNEY (AFP) – Australia's koalas could be extinct in 30 years, conservationists warned Tuesday, calling for the iconic creatures to be declared an endangered species.
The Australian Koala Foundation said a recent survey indicated numbers may have plunged by more than half in ... |
| NYer faces animal cruelty charge; carcasses found 09-11-2009 |
SELDEN, N.Y. – Dozens of concerned pet owners have contacted authorities following the gruesome discovery of more than 20 animal carcasses in the backyard of a Long Island home, a scene described by one veteran SPCA official as something out of a horror movie.
In addition to t... |
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Australian spearfisher survives shark attack 08-11-2009 |
SYDNEY (AFP) – A man spearfishing in South Australia was mauled in a shark attack Sunday, officials said as a report warned of several sightings of the deadly predators in the area.
The 24-year-old was among a group in the water at Second Valley south of Adelaide when he was b... |
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China sends panda expert to Taiwan to aid breeding 08-11-2009 |
TAIPEI, Taiwan – Nothing like a little time apart to rekindle the affections that could lead to a baby panda.
So says a panda expert sent by China to Taiwan to advise on how to encourage mating by the pair given by Beijing last December to mark the two sides' growing friendshi... |
| Ants Save Mates Trapped in Sand 08-11-2009 |
Helpful acts, such as grooming or foster parenting, are common throughout the animal kingdom, but accounts of animals rescuing one another from danger are exceedingly rare, having been reported in the scientific literature only for dolphins, capuchin monkeys, and ants. New resear... |
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Alaska island village hit by suspected swine flu 07-11-2009 |
ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Suspected swine flu is sweeping a traditional Eskimo whaling village on a remote Alaska island — prompting an urgent medical mission to deliver help.
"Diomede is probably the most isolated place in the United States right now," said David Head, a doctor i... |
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Taiwan breeders see big profits in rare shrimps 07-11-2009 |
TAIPEI (AFP) – Taiwanese breeders said Saturday they are hoping to make huge profits from a rare species of ornamental shrimp after a pair sold for 8,500 US dollars at auction.
The "Black King Kong" shrimps are gaining popularity among aquarium fans after it was developed by T... |
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Circus elephant that escaped and was hit by SUV OK 06-11-2009 |
OKLAHOMA CITY – An animal rights group on Friday asked a U.S. Department of Agriculture agency to look into an owner's treatment of a circus elephant that escaped and was hit by a sport utility vehicle on a northwestern Oklahoma highway.
The 29-year-old female elephant, meanwh... |
| Norway seeks WTO help in disputed EU seal hunt ban 05-11-2009 |
OSLO – Norway has joined Canada in asking the World Trade Organization to settle its seal hunt dispute with the European Union.
Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said Thursday that Norway has formally requested WTO assistance in mediating the trade dispute, which erupted afte... |
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Over 1,000 fish species 'threatened with extinction 03-11-2009 |
GENEVA (AFP) – More than 1,000 freshwater fish species are threatened with extinction, reflecting the strain on global water resources, an updated global "Red List" of endangered species showed Tuesday.
The list by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is t... |
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European palm oil buyers shun 'eco-friendly variety 02-11-2009 |
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) – European palm oil buyers who are refusing to purchase expensive eco-friendly palm oil were named and shamed Monday by environmental campaigners WWF International.
Only 10 out of the 59 major retailers and manufacturers surveyed in an industry scorecard hav... |
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World's fastest man adopts world fastest feline 02-11-2009 |
NAIROBI, Kenya – The world's fastest man adopted the animal kingdom's fastest sprinter Monday, as Usain Bolt welcomed a new baby cheetah named "Lightning Bolt" into his life.
The Jamaican sprinter's sponsorship of the three-month-old male cheetah is part of an effort to boost ... |
| Lizards, rodent, frog added to endangered list 02-11-2009 |
GENEVA – A rare tree frog found only in central Panama could soon croak its last, as deforestation and infection push the species toward extinction, an environmental group said Tuesday.
The Rabb's fringe-limbed tree frog, which only became known to science four years ago, is o... |
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82 healthy sea turtles hatch at San Diego SeaWorld 02-11-2009 |
LOS ANGELES – The population of endangered green sea turtles at SeaWorld in San Diego grew by 82 in October when the eggs hatched on Shipwreck Beach without human help.
There hasn't been such happy turtle news at SeaWorld since 2003, when 21 sea turtles got an assist from park... |
| Humane Society urges new U.S. rules for veal calves 02-11-2009 |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Agriculture Department should tighten regulations for the transport and slaughter of veal calves to ensure they are not treated cruelly, the Humane Society of the United States said on Monday.
The group petitioned the USDA to expand an existing ... |
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'I hate whale meat,' Japan's PM confides: report 31-10-2009 |
TOKYO (AFP) – Japan's Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has revealed he dislikes whale meat, a newspaper reported Saturday, in an unusual confession for the prime minister of a country that defies Western criticism of whaling.
"I hate whale meat," Hatoyama said during a meeting wi... |
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Australian oil spill 'putting animals at risk' 31-10-2009 |
SYDNEY (AFP) – A massive oil leak off Australia's northwest coast poses an "immediate risk" to dozens of marine species, with untold numbers possibly dying and sinking to the Timor Sea floor, a report has said.
Biologist James Watson was commissioned to carry out a government ... |
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Scientists 'back bluefin tuna trade ban 29-10-2009 |
MADRID (AFP) – Scientists who advise fisheries regulators support a ban on trade in Atlantic bluefin tuna, a sushi staple, to protect the species from over-fishing, environmental groups WWF and Greenpeace said Thursday.
International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic... |
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World's tigers years away from extinction - experts 28-10-2009 |
KATHMANDU (Reuters) – Tigers could become extinct in the wild in two decades unless the world ramps up conservation efforts to halt the decline in their population, wildlife experts said on Wednesday.
Barely 3,500 tigers are estimated to be roaming in the wild in 12 Asian coun... |
| Experts: Tigers fast dying out despite campaigns 27-10-2009 |
KATMANDU, Nepal – The world's tiger population is declining fast despite efforts to save them, and new strategies are urgently needed to keep the species from dying out, international wildlife experts said Tuesday.
"We are assembled here to save tigers that are at the verge of... |
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Bats reintroduced into Vermont caves hit by fungus 27-10-2009 |
ALBANY, N.Y. – Wildlife biologists studying a mysterious fungus killing off hundreds of thousands of bats around America want to find out if they can repopulate caves decimated by the disease.
Researchers will introduce 79 healthy little brown bats to two hibernation sites in ... |
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Japan urges Netherlands to help against whaling activists 26-10-2009 |
TOKYO (AFP) – Japan on Monday urged the Netherlands to take action against the Dutch-registered flagship of the Sea Shepherd environmentalist group over its attacks on Japanese whalers in the Antarctic.
Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said he made the request when he me... |
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Oil spill 'massive' risk to Australian animals 23-10-2009 |
SYDNEY (AFP) – A massive oil and gas leak off Australia's northwest coast was killing seabirds and threatening thousands of marine animals, conservationists warned Friday.
Oil company PTTEP Australasia is preparing to make a fourth attempt at plugging the leaking Montara wellh... |
| Alaska Files Lawsuit Challenging Federal Polar Bear Protections 22-10-2009 |
Oct. 22 (Bloomberg) -- The state of Alaska filed suit in federal court asking that the U.S. government’s designation of the polar bear as a threatened species because of climate change be overturned.
The state filed a motion Oct. 20 in a federal district court in Washington, G... |
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36 football fields deforested each minute: WWF 22-10-2009 |
BUENOS AIRES (AFP) – The equivalent of 36 football fields are being stripped from the world's forests each minute, the environmental group World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) said in a statement released here on Thursday.
The group, presenting its figures during a UN-organized Wo... |
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US to give threatened polar bears vast 'critical habita 22-10-2009 |
WASHINGTON (AFP) – The United States on Thursday announced plans to designate more than 200,000 square miles in Alaska as critical habitat for polar bears, a key step towards increasing protection for the threatened species.
"Proposing critical habitat for this iconic species ... |
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Asia demand for ivory, sharks' fins set for scrutiny 21-10-2009 |
GENEVA (AFP) – Proposals to restrict or ban international trade in those three products are due to be studied when the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) holds its next triennial meeting in Qatar next year.
Monaco has tabled a ban for trade in tuna... |
| Group wants 83 coral species listed as endangered 20-10-2009 |
HONOLULU – Environmental activists are petitioning the federal government to put 83 coral species on the endangered species list.
They say global warming and ocean acidification are threatening the corals with extinction.
The Center for Biological Diversity said Tuesday that ... |
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World needs low carbon revolution by 2014 - report 19-10-2009 |
SYDNEY (Reuters) – The world has five years to start a "low carbon industrial revolution" before runaway climate change becomes almost inevitable, a new report commissioned by global conservation group WWF said on Monday.
Beyond 2014, the upper limits of industrial growth rate... |
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Japan catches 59 whales off northern island 19-10-2009 |
TOKYO – Japan said Monday it has caught 59 whales — one short of the maximum allowed by international guidelines — under a research program that critics say is a cover for commercial whaling.
The annual expedition off the port city of Kushiro ended over the weekend after h... |
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Japan catches 59 whales off northern island 19-10-2009 |
TOKYO – Japan said Monday it has caught 59 whales — one short of the maximum allowed by international guidelines — under a research program that critics say is a cover for commercial whaling.
The annual expedition off the port city of Kushiro ended over the weekend after h... |
| Shark attacks Maui surfer 19-10-2009 |
KIHEI, Hawaii – Witnesses say a 54-year-old surfer made it to shore on his own after a shark attack off Maui.
The unidentified man was treated and released for bites to his upper right thigh and lower right ankle after the Monday morning attack at Kalama Beach Park.
Maui Coun... |
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Feds deny protection for spotted seals near Alaska 16-10-2009 |
ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Spotted seals off Alaska's coast do not merit endangered species protection despite losses of Arctic sea ice from global warming, a federal agency announced Thursday.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, however, will list as threatened a sm... |
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UK botanists bank 10% of world's plant species 15-10-2009 |
LONDON (AFP) – Botanists at Britain's Kew Gardens have collected seeds from 10 percent of the world's wild plants, their first goal in a long-term project to protect all endangered species, they said Thursday.
Seeds from a wild, pink banana are among the latest additions to th... |
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Warming threatens Canada's rivers and lakes: WWF 15-10-2009 |
OTTAWA (AFP) – Canadian rivers are at risk from a variety of environmental challenges, including global warming, expanding agriculture, the construction of hydro-electric dams and increased urban consumption of water, a study said Thursday.
Although Canada holds the world's la... |
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Huge dinosaur find in China 'may include new species 14-10-2009 |
BEIJING (AFP) – Paleontologists in east China may have discovered the remains of a new species of dinosaur at what is said to be the world's largest group of fossilised dinosaur bones, state media said Wednesday.
Scientists in Zhucheng city, Shandong province, have for months ... |
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UN wildlife body to mull bluefin tuna trade ban 14-10-2009 |
GENEVA (AFP) – A proposal to place Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna, a popular sushi staple, on world's most endangered species list has been made to CITES, the UN wildlife trade organisation said Wednesday.
The proposal tabled by Monaco, which could result in a ban in ... |
| Big Cats Picky About Habitat 12-10-2009 |
Many species of large cats, including the leopard, are particularly fussy about where they live, actively avoiding certain areas, a new study in Tanzania finds.
Surprisingly, all the species surveyed tended to avoid croplands, the researchers found, suggesting that habitat conve... |
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Age no concern at World Masters Games 12-10-2009 |
SYDNEY (AFP) – There's a 100-year-old shot putter, a 90-year-old sprinter and a swimmer who lost a leg in a shark attack 35 years ago.
Welcome to the World Masters Games where people from all backgrounds have come together just for the sheer joy of competing.
It's a massive l... |
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Woman wins RSPCA inheritance battle 09-10-2009 |
LONDON (AFP) – A woman who contested her parents' decision to leave their two million pound estate to the RSPCA has won her legal battle and will now inherit the farm, a court ruled on Friday.
Christine Gill, 58, claimed that her father, who died in 1999, had pressured her mot... |
| Feds consider critical habitat for sea turtles 09-10-2009 |
Federal fisheries managers have agreed to consider designating critical habitat for endangered leatherback sea turtles in the Pacific ocean off Oregon and California.
NOAA Fisheries officials said Thursday they will make a decision whether to go forward by Dec. 4 under terms of ... |
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| Feds: Bears in more danger on threatened list 08-10-2009 |
BILLINGS, Mont. – Federal officials say a court ruling that returned Yellowstone grizzly bears to the threatened species list has unexpectedly put the animals at increased risk.
In September, U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy ruled that about 600 grizzlies in and around Yellow... |
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| Sierra Club sues over Calif. bighorn sheep land 07-10-2009 |
SAN DIEGO – Environmentalists have sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to re-designate 1,320 square miles of Southern California as protected habitat for an endangered sheep.
The Sierra Club and other groups filed the federal lawsuit Wednesday in San Diego to protect the P... |
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Feds give sea otters habitat protection in Alaska 07-10-2009 |
ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Four years after being placed on the Endangered Species List, the dwindling sea otters of southwest Alaska on Wednesday were given an important recovery tool.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designated nearly 5,900 square miles as critical habitat for se... |
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Origin of Komodo Dragon Revealed 06-10-2009 |
Dragons may come from the land Down Under.
Scientists now find that the world's largest living lizard species, the Komodo dragon, most likely evolved in Australia and dispersed westward to its current home in Indonesia.
In the past, researchers had suggested the Komodo dragon (... |
| W.Va. grand jury indicts 2 in turkey abuse case 02-10-2009 |
UNION, W.Va. – A West Virginia grand jury has indicted two former turkey plant workers already charged with abusing birds and captured on tape by animal rights activists.
Walter Lee Hambrick, of Fairlea, faces three charges of animal cruelty and Scott Alvin White, of Second Cr... |
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Australian kangaroo cull prompts outrage 02-10-2009 |
SYDNEY (AFP) – The culling of some 140 kangaroos on one of Australia's most famous race car tracks prompted outrage Friday from environmentalists and animal rights activists.
The eastern grey kangaroos were reportedly removed from the Mount Panorama circuit, about 300 kilometr... |
| Kenya, Ethiopia authorities seize ivory stash 30-09-2009 |
NAIROBI, Kenya – The head of Kenya's wildlife service says Ethiopian and Kenyan authorities have seized more than 2,600 pounds (1,200 kilograms) of ivory from nearly 100 illegally killed elephants.
Julius Kipng'etich said Wednesday that specially trained dogs had sniffed out a... |
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| Boy, 3, attacked by lynx at Okla. zoo exhibit 29-09-2009 |
NORMAN, Okla. – A Norman, Okla., zoo has put up a new, solid fence in front of an exhibit after a 3-year-old boy was clawed by a 45-pound European lynx.
Little River Zoo director Janet Schmid said Tuesday the boy was looking at swans on Monday when he followed his sister, went... |
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| Shovelnose sturgeon proposed for listing 29-09-2009 |
BILLINGS, Mont. – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing federal protection for the shovelnose sturgeon to help protect the endangered pallid sturgeon.
The agency says anglers accidentally harvest the pallid sturgeon when they're seeking the more plentiful shovelnose ... |
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Climate pact must include forest scheme: WWF 29-09-2009 |
BANGKOK (AFP) – A leading environmental group on Tuesday urged delegates at UN climate talks in Bangkok to include plans to reward nations for saving their forests in any deal on global warming.
WWF International released a survey saying that investors showed "significant supp... |
| 850 Mostly Blind, Pale Creatures Discovered Underground 28-09-2009 |
Down under in Australia, down underground, scientists have found 850 previously unknown species living in subterranean water, caves and micro-caverns.
These insects, crustaceans, spiders and worms are likely only about one-fifth of the number of undiscovered species the resear... |
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| Feds to decide on listing ice seals as threatened 28-09-2009 |
ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A federal agency must decide within three weeks whether spotted seals, which depend on sea ice off Alaska's coast, should be listed as a threatened or endangered species.
In addition, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration agreed to decide by N... |
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| 15 Ways to Annoy Your Job Interviewer 28-09-2009 |
Of course, almost everyone knows you shouldn't light up a cigarette at a job interview, or text your closest friend, or eat, or bring your dog, or show up drunk, or challenge the interviewer to arm wrestle (all things people have actually done at job interviews). You'd never drea... |
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Feds reviewing humpback whale endangered status 27-09-2009 |
HONOLULU – The federal government is considering taking the humpback whale off the endangered species list in response to data showing the population of the massive marine mammal has been steadily growing in recent decades.
Known for their acrobatic leaps from the sea and co... |
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Fanged frog, 162 other new species found in Mekong 25-09-2009 |
BANGKOK – A gecko with leopard-like stripes on its body and a fanged frog that eats birds were among 163 new species discovered last year in the Mekong River region of Southeast Asia, an environmental group said Friday.
WWF International said that in 2008 scientists discover... |
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New Mekong species at risk from climate change: WWF 25-09-2009 |
BANGKOK (AFP) – Scientists discovered 163 new species in Southeast Asia's Greater Mekong region last year, but all are at risk of extinction due to climate change, the WWF said in a report released Friday.
The newly discovered creatures include a bird-eating frog with fangs,... |
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Fanged frog, 162 other new species found in Mekong 25-09-2009 |
BANGKOK – A gecko with leopard-like spots on its body and a fanged frog that eats birds are among 163 new species discovered last year in the Mekong River region of Southeast Asia, an environmental group said Friday.
WWF International said that scientists in 2008 discovered ... |
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Iceland plans huge whale meat export to Japan: firm 25-09-2009 |
REYKJAVIK (AFP) – Iceland's fin whaling company said on Friday it plans a huge export of about 1,500 tonnes of whale meat, mainly to Japan, after wrapping up its hunting season for this year.
Kristjan Loftsson, boss of company Hvalur, said the firm brought ashore 125 fin wha... |
| Climate Change Puts New Species at Risk 25-09-2009 |
BANGKOK, Sep 25 (IPS) - The rich and unique biodiversity of the Mekong region, which has been discovered only in recent years, is likely to be put at risk by environmental impacts that climate change is expected to bring, says the World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) in a report laun... |
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Alaskans bank on annual oil royalty dividend 23-09-2009 |
ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Isaac Nukapigak plans to spend his annual reward for living in Alaska just catching up with the basics of survival in his remote whaling village, where gasoline can top $9 a gallon and a gallon of fresh milk can set you back almost $15.
"It will help pay ... |
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Japan's new government stands by whaling 22-09-2009 |
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) – Japan's new government urged Australia on Tuesday to help prevent violent attacks by activists on Japanese whalers as it stood by the country's traditional support for whaling, an official said.
Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada met his Australia... |
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Putin hangs out with the big cats: Snow leopards 21-09-2009 |
MOSCOW – Once again, Vladimir Putin is hanging out with the big cats.
The Russian prime minister supervised the release of two snow leopards into a wildlife sanctuary near the southern resort of Sochi, fulfilling a pledge he made before Russia won the right to host the 2014 ... |
| Fed judge says grizzlies still threatened 21-09-2009 |
BILLINGS, Mont. – Facing the combined pressures of climate change, hunters and lax protections, 600 grizzly bears in and around Yellowstone National Park are going back on the threatened species list under a federal court order issued Monday.
The ruling highlighted climate c... |
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| U.S. scientists net giant squid in Gulf of Mexico 21-09-2009 |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. scientists in the Gulf of Mexico unexpectedly netted a 19.5-foot (5.9-meter) giant squid off the coast of Louisiana, the Interior Department said on Monday, showing how little is known about life in the deep waters of the Gulf.
Not since 1954, whe... |
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| New Worm Species Discovered on Dead Whales 21-09-2009 |
Nine previously unknown species of worms were found hiding out on whale cadavers deep in the ocean, where the worms were feasting on bone-munching bacteria.
The new species are bristleworms, or polychaetes, which have segmented bodies, and are among the most common marine orga... |
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China quake-hit pandas to return home: state media 20-09-2009 |
BEIJING (AFP) – Sixty giant pandas who were transferred to zoos around China after last year's devastating earthquake in Sichuan province destroyed their home are set to return in 2012, state media reported.
The 8.0-magnitude quake in May last year left more than 87,000 peop... |
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Pandas to return to famous China reserve in 2012 20-09-2009 |
BEIJING – Sixty pandas relocated last year from a famous Chinese nature reserve after their breeding center was severely damaged by a massive earthquake will return home after repairs in 2012.
The panda breeding center in the Wolong nature reserve in southwest China's Sichua... |
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Activists dressed as seals arrested at embassy 16-09-2009 |
WASHINGTON – Three animal rights activists protesting seal hunting have been arrested in front of the Canadian embassy in Washington.
U.S. Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan says officers arrested three members of PETA Wednesday morning on charges of disorderly conduct, unl... |
| Lawsuit accuses FEMA of ignoring species threats 16-09-2009 |
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The Federal Emergency Management Agency is being sued again over accusations that it violated the Endangered Species Act by issuing flood insurance without determining whether development would impact imperiled plants and animals.
WildEarth Guardians said... |
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| PETA wants to turn Va. prison into chicken museum 14-09-2009 |
TROUTVILLE, Va. – An animal rights group wants to rent a prison building the state plans to close and turn it into the nation's first chicken empathy museum. A People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals official sent a letter Monday to Gov. Tim Kaine asking to rent the Botetou... |
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| Interior Dept. gets ready for global warming 14-09-2009 |
WASHINGTON – Interior Secretary Ken Salazar moved Monday to prepare the nation's parks, refuges and endangered species for the onslaught of global warming.
Salazar signed an order setting up a Climate Change Response Council and eight regional response centers to study and r... |
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Japanese town starts dolphin hunt under global spotlight 11-09-2009 |
TAIJI, Japan (AFP) – To animal rights activists it's a cruel and bloody slaughter; for Japanese it's a long tradition: this week fishermen in a picturesque coastal town embarked on their annual dolphin hunt.
Every year, crews in motorboats here have rounded up about 2,000 of... |
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Bull-lovers skewer British matador's memoirs 11-09-2009 |
LONDON (AFP) – A 67-year-old Briton who has just made his comeback as a bullfighter in Spain has been forced to cancel book signings after protests from animal rights activists.
Frank Evans, a grandfather of five known in Spain as El Ingles, returned to the bullring in south... |
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Dead lion raises heat on scandal-hit Bangladesh zoo 11-09-2009 |
DHAKA, Sept 11, 2009 (AFP) – The death of a lion has brought to 20 the number of animals to have died in a Bangladesh zoo since the start of the year, leading to condemnation from wildlife experts on Friday.
Bibekananda Chowdhury, acting chief zookeeper at Dhaka Zoo, confirm... |
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Japan town presses on with annual dolphin hunt 10-09-2009 |
TOKYO (AFP) – A Japanese coastal town has gone ahead with its controversial dolphin hunt, shrugging off protests from animal-rights activists, local officials said Thursday.
Fishermen in Taiji town caught about 100 bottlenose dolphins and 50 pilot whales on Wednesday, in the... |
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Kenya's elephants dying amid drought 10-09-2009 |
NAIROBI, Kenya – A drought in Kenya has gotten so bad that it is felling even the giants of the animal kingdom — the country's famed elephants which are dying as rivers dry up and grasslands shrivel in parched game reserves.
The bones of the elephants bleaching under a rel... |
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Pigskin-picking camel snubs Eagles because of Vick 10-09-2009 |
LACEY TOWNSHIP, N.J. – Philadelphia Eagles fans thirsty for predictions on whether their team will win or lose each week won't get them from a New Jersey pigskin-prognosticating camel. Princess, the star of Popcorn Park Zoo, won't predict the results of any Eagles games this se... |
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Yawning toons make an ape gape 09-09-2009 |
PARIS (AFP) – Computer animations of yawning chimpanzees provoke the same irresistible grins in real chimps, according to an unusual study released Wednesday.
"Contagious yawning" is well known among humans, and earlier studies have shown that chimps are not immune to its su... |
| dge faults removal of wolf from endangered list 09-09-2009 |
BILLINGS, Mont. – Hunters can keep stalking gray wolves for now in the Northern Rockies, but the killing may be short-lived after a federal judge found problems with the recent removal of the animal from the endangered species list.
In a ruling late Tuesday, U.S. District Ju... |
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Pamela Anderson advert too 'racy' for US airports 09-09-2009 |
LOS ANGELES (AFP) – An animal rights television commercial featuring former Playboy centerfold Pamela Anderson has been deemed too racy for US airports, a statement said Wednesday.
Senior officials from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) said the CNN Airport ... |
| Vick to discuss dogfighting at Philadelphia school 08-09-2009 |
PHILADELPHIA – Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick will speak to a group of high school students about dogfighting and animal rights.
Vick is appearing Tuesday at Nueva Esperanza Academy in the city's Hunting Park neighborhood. He'll be joined by Wayne Pacelle, pres... |
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| Federal agency advances walrus listing petition 08-09-2009 |
ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A second Arctic marine mammal moved closer to an Endangered Species listing due to global warming Tuesday with a petition to grant the Pacific walrus protection passing its first review.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that a petition present... |
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Vick to Philly students: Resist following crowd 08-09-2009 |
PHILADELPHIA – Michael Vick, speaking to a group of Philadelphia high school students Tuesday, warned against the dangers of peer pressure and offered himself as a cautionary tale of what can happen when someone is a follower instead of a leader.
The Philadelphia Eagles quar... |
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Green group WWF hails next Japan PM's climate pledge 07-09-2009 |
TOKYO (AFP) – Environmental activists on Monday hailed incoming Japanese prime minister Yukio Hatoyama's pledge to slash greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent from 1990 levels by 2020.
"We welcome new prime minister Hatoyama's courage," said World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)... |
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Elephants kill seven Indian villagers 07-09-2009 |
BHUBANESWAR (AFP) – A herd of elephants in India has forced 500 villagers to flee to relief camps after the wild animals killed at least seven people and trampled hundreds of homes, officials said Monday.
Angry residents blockaded a major highway last week to demand action a... |
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Japan's next PM vows tough greenhouse gas cuts 07-09-2009 |
TOKYO (AFP) – Japan's next prime minister Yukio Hatoyama delighted environmental activists but worried business leaders on Monday by vowing to slash greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent from 1990 levels by 2020.
"We welcome new prime minister Hatoyama's courage," said Worl... |
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Report: Loggerhead turtles at risk of extinction 03-09-2009 |
WASHINGTON – It's a scene that scientists say is all too common: A commercial fishing boat pulls in a net full of shrimp or tuna and finds a loggerhead sea turtle mixed in with the catch.
Biologists like Matthew Godfrey say one or two such takings can happen every day among ... |
| San Diego Zoo's new panda cub is a boy 03-09-2009 |
SAN DIEGO – The panda cub born at the San Diego Zoo nearly a month ago is a boy.
The zoo said the yet-to-be-named cub's mother briefly left the den Thursday, allowing veterinarians to examine the 2.8-pound baby panda for the first time.
Senior zoo veterinarian Geoff Pye s... |
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Arctic thaw threatens much of world: WWF report 02-09-2009 |
GENEVA (AFP) – Global warming in the Arctic could affect a quarter of the world's population through flooding and amplify the wider impact of climate change, a report by environmental group WWF said Wednesday.
Air temperatures in the region have risen by almost twice the glo... |
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Great Barrier Reef under serious threat: report 02-09-2009 |
SYDNEY (AFP) – Australia's Great Barrier Reef is in serious jeopardy as global warming and chemical runoff threaten to kill marine species and cause serious outbreaks of disease, a report warned Wednesday.
The World Heritage-listed reef was already showing the impacts of cli... |
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Climate spotlight: 1,000 ice men melt in Berlin 02-09-2009 |
BERLIN – A thousand miniature people have slowly melted away in a Berlin square in an effort by the World Wildlife Fund to draw attention to melting ice caps in Greenland and Antarctica.
Brazilian artist Nele Azevedo carved the figures out of ice and placed them on steps in ... |
| Federal agency won't list butterfly as endangered 02-09-2009 |
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has ruled the Sacramento Mountains checkerspot butterfly does not warrant listing as an endangered species and protection of its habitat.
Agency officials, in a decision published Wednesday, said they found no current si... |
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Baby chicks ground alive by poultry producer: activists 02-09-2009 |
WASHINGTON (AFP) – Animal rights activists on Wednesday released a film in which thousands of discarded male chicks are shown being ground up while still alive -- cruel treatment which they said is typical of the modern poultry industry.
"These young animals are sorted, disc... |
| AP Exclusive: Video shows chicks ground up alive 01-09-2009 |
WASHINGTON – An undercover video shot by an animal rights group at an Iowa egg hatchery shows workers discarding unwanted chicks by sending them alive into a grinder, and other chicks falling through a sorting machine to die on the factory floor.
Chicago-based Mercy for Anim... |
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Video shows chicks ground up alive at egg hatchery 01-09-2009 |
DES MOINES, Iowa – An animal rights group publicized a video Tuesday showing unwanted chicks being tossed alive into a grinder at an Iowa plant and accused egg hatcheries of being "perhaps the cruelest industry" in the world.
The undercover video was shot by Chicago-based Me... |
| Chimps evacuating from LA fire tried to escape 01-09-2009 |
LOS ANGELES – Two chimpanzees that were evacuated from an animal sanctuary threatened by wildfire have been recaptured after they escaped from their crates while being unloaded at the Los Angeles Zoo.
Zoo spokesman Jason Jacobs says the female chimps fled Tuesday afternoon, ... |
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Wolf hunt is on in Idaho — for now 01-09-2009 |
BOISE, Idaho – Gray wolves were back in the cross hairs of hunters on Tuesday, just months after they were removed from the federal endangered species list and eight decades since being hunted to extinction across the Northern Rockies.
Hunters in Idaho began stalking gray wo... |
| Wolf hunts to open, judge eyes injunction request 31-08-2009 |
MISSOULA, Mont. – Gray wolf hunting was set to begin in the Northern Rockies, even as a federal judge eyed a request to stop the killing of the predators just four months after they were removed from the endangered species list.
U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy said Monday ... |
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Kenya's hippos hard hit by drought 30-08-2009 |
TSAVO WEST NATIONAL PARK, Kenya (AFP) – Kenya's persistent and bruising drought is having a serious impact on the country's wildlife, one of its main tourist attractions, obliging the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) to feed hippos to keep them alive.
In Tsavo West national park... |
| Bahamas set to ban catch and sale of sea turtles 30-08-2009 |
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Soups, stews and pies flavored with chunks of sea turtle meat will soon be illegal across the 700 islands of the Bahamas, environmental activists and scientists said Sunday.
Despite opposition from many fishermen, the Bahamas has amended fisheries law... |
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| Feds to consider protections for desert tortoise 28-08-2009 |
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – The federal government has agreed to consider whether a desert tortoise, an icon of the desert Southwest whose population has declined by half in the past 20 years, warrants protection under the Endangered Species Act.
Two environmental groups petitioned t... |
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| Feds to consider protections for desert tortoise 28-08-2009 |
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – The federal government has agreed to consider whether the Sonoran desert tortoise, a Southwest icon whose population has declined by half in the past 20 years, warrants protection under the Endangered Species Act.
Two environmental groups petitioned the U.... |
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| Va. SPCA exec's dog dies after 4 hours in hot car 26-08-2009 |
RICHMOND, Va. – An executive for an anti-animal cruelty group says her 16-year-old blind and deaf dog died after she accidentally left him in her hot car for four hours.
Robin Starr, the CEO of the Richmond Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, says she didn't re... |
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| Eyeless Creature Discovered in Undersea Tunnel 25-08-2009 |
A previously unknown species of an eyeless crustacean was discovered lurking inside a lava tube beneath the seafloor.
The creature, named Speleonectes atlantida, lives in the Tunnel de la Atlantida, the world's longest submarine lava tube on Lanzarote in the Canary Islands off... |
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| Utah's Hogle Zoo debuts 3 male Amur tiger cubs 25-08-2009 |
SALT LAKE CITY – Three male Amur tiger cubs have made their public debut at Utah's Hogle Zoo.
Formerly known as Siberian tigers, the Amurs are listed as a critically endangered species. Males weigh 400 to 650 pounds and can be up to 11 feet long. In the wild, they live in ea... |
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'Cyber-traffic' endangering primates in Cameroon 24-08-2009 |
YAOUNDE (AFP) – Advertisements on the Internet to woo buyers into taking "playful primates" from Cameroon into their homes have become one of the primary means of further threatening already endangered species.
Such sales would be illegal, since dealing in primates is forbid... |
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Fears that Chinese mafia bumping off Belgian homing pigeons 24-08-2009 |
BRUSSELS (AFP) – The world of Belgian homing pigeons is in a flap over fears that Chinese criminal gangs are bumping off their prized racers, after a gruesome discovery in the northern town of Antwerp.
Last week a passerby spotted two men of Asian appearance dumping rubbish ... |
| Reward offered for information about dead grizzly 23-08-2009 |
GREAT FALLS, Mont. – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is offering a reward for information leading to the conviction of whoever illegally shot and killed what officials say was one of Montana's largest grizzly bears.
The carcass of the big grizzly, called Maximus because h... |
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| Northwest fears that invasive mussels are headed its way 23-08-2009 |
WASHINGTON — Highly invasive mussels are lurking on the Northwest's doorstep, threatening to gum up the dams that produce the region's cheap electricity, clog drinking water and irrigation systems, jeopardize aquatic ecosystems and upset efforts to revive such endangered specie... |
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Fu Long the panda celebrates turning two in Vienna zoo 23-08-2009 |
VIENNA (AFP) – Fu Long the panda, Europe's first to be conceived naturally while in captivity, celebrated his second birthday with a huge bamboo cake at an Austrian zoo on Sunday.
Crowds of well-wishers turned out to watch the giant panda, whose name means "Happy Dragon" in ... |
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laskovayazaika@rambler.ru 22-08-2009 |
BRUSSELS (AFP) – The European Union will decide in the autumn whether to add bluefin tuna to a list of threatened species, a move that would mean a temporary ban on its sale on world markets, a spokeswoman said Saturday.
"An EU position will be established this autumn, in li... |
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Scientists: New species of worms release 'bombs' 20-08-2009 |
WASHINGTON – Thousands of feet beneath the sea live worms that can cast off green glowing body parts, a move scientists think may be a defensive effort to confuse attackers. Researchers have dubbed the newly discovered critters "green bombers."
The seven new species of worms... |
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China panda gives birth to twins: state media 19-08-2009 |
BEIJING (AFP) – A giant panda in northern China has given birth to twins, state media said Wednesday in rare good news for a species facing the threat of extinction.
Six-year-old Lousheng delivered a male and female cub in Shaanxi province on Tuesday after being artificially... |
| 29 species tagged for possible federal protection 18-08-2009 |
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says 29 species may warrant protection under the Endangered Species Act:
PLANTS:
_Yellowstone Sand Verbena in Wyoming
_Ross' bentgrass in Wyoming
_Hamilton milkvetch in Colorado and Utah
_Isely milkvetch in Utah
_Skiff milkvetc... |
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| Agency says 29 species may need federal protection 18-08-2009 |
SALT LAKE CITY – Twenty-nine species in more than 20 states — from a rare beach-dwelling plant in Yellowstone National Park to a caddis fly in Nebraska — may need federal protections to avoid extinction, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The agency said Tu... |
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Pandas could be extinct in 2-3 generations: report 17-08-2009 |
BEIJING (AFP) – China's giant panda could be extinct in just two to three generations as rapid economic development is infringing on its way of life, state media said on Monday, citing an expert at conservation group WWF.
The problem is that the pandas' habitat is being spli... |
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Kenya losing 100 lions every year: conservation group 17-08-2009 |
NAIROBI (AFP) – Kenya's lion population has been dropping by an average 100 lions each year since 2002, the Kenya Wildlife Service announced Monday, warning that the big cats could be extinct in the next two decades.
Cattle herders who kill the lions in retaliation for attac... |
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Roar of disapproval as Indian politician pats tiger 17-08-2009 |
NEW DELHI (AFP) – An Indian state minister sparked a row after entering a cage of tiger clubs and patting one of animals, flouting rules that allow only trained conservationists to handle endangered species.
Balasaheb Thorat, an agricultural minister in the state of Maharast... |
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Monkeys, like people, prefer mimics: study 14-08-2009 |
WASHINGTON (AFP) – Imitating others has long been seen as a useful way to explore the world -- monkey see, monkey do -- but imitation could also make monkeys popular, a study has found.
Experts examining the habits of capuchins have discovered the monkeys build closer bonds ... |
| Man spotted riding bicycle with gator on shoulders 12-08-2009 |
BOUTTE, La. – The 3-foot-long alligator on a bicyclist's shoulders was a real attention-getter. St. Charles Parish sheriff's deputies stopped the cyclist. He allegedly ran, leaving both wheels and his toothy little rider. Capt. Pat Yoes, a spokesman for the sheriff's office, sa... |
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China to mark 140th anniversary of giant panda 'discovery' 11-08-2009 |
BEIJING (AFP) – China is to retrace the steps of the French missionary who made giant pandas known to the West to mark the 140th anniversary of their discovery by the outside world, state media said Tuesday.
Pandas were virtually unknown outside China until 1869 when Pere Je... |
| Groups push for special wolf protections 11-08-2009 |
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – They're all gray wolves, but the Mexican gray wolf is notably different than its faraway cousins, and conservationists now say the animals need specific protection under federal law to avoid extinction.
Three conservation groups filed petitions this week ... |
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Flying frog among 353 new Himalayan species: WWF 10-08-2009 |
KATHMANDU (AFP) – A flying frog, the world's smallest deer and the first new monkey to be found in over a century are among 350 new species discovered in the eastern Himalayas in the past decade, the WWF said Monday.
But the environmental group said the vital habitats of the... |
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Tiny deer among 350 new species found in Himalayas 10-08-2009 |
KATMANDU, Nepal – The world's smallest deer, a flying frog and catfish that stick to rocks — as well as more than 350 other species — have been discovered over the past decade in the Himalayas, making it one of the world's most biologically rich regions, an environmental gr... |
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SD Zoo's online Panda Cam crashes due to overload 08-08-2009 |
SAN DIEGO – The San Diego Zoo's pandas have become such cyber-stars that their Panda Cam got caught in a popularity crunch.
The zoo says the online camera feed, which monitors 300-pound mom Bai Yun and her 4-ounce, 1-day-old cub, crashed Thursday morning because of increased... |
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Sri Lanka stands firm on gift of baby elephants 05-08-2009 |
COLOMBO (AFP) – Sri Lanka's president brushed aside protests from animal rights activists Wednesday when he formally gifted two baby elephants separated from their mothers to a Buddhist temple.
President Mahinda Rajapakse presented the "guardianship" of the two calves to top... |
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San Diego Zoo panda gives birth to 5th cub 05-08-2009 |
SAN DIEGO – The San Diego Zoo says its prized giant panda has given birth to her fifth cub, the 13th panda in the United States.
The zoo announced Wednesday that 17-year-old Bai Yun (by-yuhn) had delivered. No word yet on whether it's a male or female.
Her offspring weigh... |
| Pelican at Idaho zoo swallows cell phone 05-08-2009 |
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho – Can you hear me now? A pelican at the Tautphaus Park Zoo took something other than food in his bill when a cell phone that had been dropped in a pool at the exhibit made its way down the hatch. The flock in the exhibit were playing with the phone Monday unt... |
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| Wild! Ohio family visits 52 zoos in 52 weeks 04-08-2009 |
COLUMBUS, Ohio – It's been a wild year for members of an Ohio family, who say they've accomplished a goal of visiting 52 zoos in 52 weeks.
Columbus resident Marla Taviano, her husband and three daughters began last August with the Louisville Zoo in Kentucky and spent weekend... |
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Endangered Kashmir deer in comeback as violence dips 04-08-2009 |
DACHIGAM, India (Reuters) – An endangered species of red deer found only in Kashmir has made a rapid comeback in the past year due to a decline in violence and conservation efforts, wildlife officials said on Tuesday.
The population of the hangul, also known as the Kashmir s... |
| Novartis: Militants steal ashes of CEO's mom 04-08-2009 |
BASEL, Switzerland – Drugmaker Novartis says animal rights militants have stolen the ashes of its CEO's mother and set fire to his hunting lodge.
Swiss authorities say they don't know who was behind the arson at CEO Daniel Vasella's lodge in Bach, Austria, early Monday or th... |
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| Biologist finds rare garter snakes in California 03-08-2009 |
STOCKTON, Calif. – A Northern California biologist says he has found a population of giant garter snakes, a federally threatened species that many thought had vanished.
Biologist Eric Hansen of Sacramento says he discovered the snakes, which emit a fishy odor and can grow up... |
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'Bald' bird Asia's first songbird in 100 years 30-07-2009 |
HANOI (AFP) – A "bald" bird discovered in Laos is Asia's first new species of bulbul, or songbird, in more than 100 years, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) said Thursday.
Scientists from the Society, as well as the University of Melbourne, identified the bird, which h... |
| Glimmer of Hope for Threatened Tigers 30-07-2009 |
The wild tiger population is at a tipping point, according to the World Wildlife Fund. Tigers are experiencing a range collapse, occupying 40 per cent less habitat than just a decade ago, the group estimates. There may be as few as 1,300 tigers left in India, the species' strongh... |
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| Bolivia bans use of animals in circuses 30-07-2009 |
LA PAZ, Bolivia – Bolivia has enacted what animal rights defenders are calling the world's first law that prohibits the use of animals in circuses.
A handful of other countries have banned the use of wild animals in circuses, but the Bolivian ban includes domestic animals as... |
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| San Diego Zoo says giant panda Bai Yun is pregnant 29-07-2009 |
SAN DIEGO – San Diego Zoo officials say their prized giant panda is pregnant again.
Seventeen-year-old Bai Yun (by-yuhn) already is a mother of four.
Officials say ultrasound tests this week showed a panda fetus and there may be a twin.
Zoo veterinarian Meg Sutherland-... |
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Monaco seeks global bluefin tuna trade ban 28-07-2009 |
GENEVA (AFP) – Monaco has tabled a formal proposal to place overfished Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna on the list of the world's most endangered species -- a move that could ban all trade of the fish.
According to a draft proposal released on the website of CITES, t... |
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Animal activists vow to up campaign against Australian mulesing 28-07-2009 |
MELBOURNE (AFP) – Animal rights activists vowed to intensify calls for boycotts of Australian wool Tuesday, after farmers said they would continue sheep mulesing, the cutting of the hide to prevent disease.
The US-based group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA... |
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Namibia seal slaughter goes ahead after failed deal 27-07-2009 |
ISTANBUL (AFP) – An Australian-based fur company has begun culling baby seals in Namibia after animal rights activists failed to pay on time the millions of dollars they pledged to buy the company out, the owner said Friday.
"Nothing came from these associations and we have ... |
| EU gives final OK to seal product ban 27-07-2009 |
BRUSSELS – European Union nations have given their final approval to a ban on imports of seal products in an effort to force Canada to end its annual seal hunt.
A majority of the EU's 27 member states see the way Canada conducts its hunt, the world's largest, as inhumane.
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Pandas face uncertain future after China quake 27-07-2009 |
BEIJING – About 35 pandas at a reserve in southwestern China face an uncertain future after nearly a quarter of their habitat was destroyed by last year's powerful earthquake that killed nearly 70,000 people, according to a study published Monday.
Large parts of Sichuan prov... |
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Giant pandas at further risk after Sichuan quake: study 27-07-2009 |
WASHINGTON (AFP) – More than 60 percent of the wild giant panda population in China's Sichuan province was affected by the powerful quake that rocked the region and killed thousands in May 2008, a study said Monday.
Ecologists also found that the massive 8.0-magnitude earthq... |
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AWOL zoo bird recaptured in Philadelphia park 26-07-2009 |
PHILADELPHIA – Officials at the Philadelphia Zoo say they're happy that an AWOL avian has been found and is returning to its perch.
Zoo spokesman Bill Larson says a tropical bird that flew the coop two days ago was recaptured Saturday morning in the city's Fairmount Park.
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China announces first panda from frozen sperm 25-07-2009 |
BEIJING – For the first time, a giant panda cub has been born in China after being conceived using frozen sperm, officials announced Friday — an innovation scientists hope will help the endangered species avoid extinction.
The new cub's birth Thursday means breeders will n... |
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China announce Just after dawn, the pinkish, hairless cub emerged, and its mother licked the baby to clean it, accordins first panda from frozen sperm 24-07-2009 |
BEIJING – China announced the first successful birth of a panda cub from artificial insemination using frozen sperm, giving a new option for the famously unfertile endangered species, officials said Friday.
Female panda You You (pronounced Yo Yo) gave birth to the new cub Th... |
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Fledgling fowl takes flight from Philadelphia Zoo 24-07-2009 |
PHILADELPHIA – Attention, bird watchers: A flamboyant feathered friend has apparently flown the coop at the Philadelphia Zoo.
Zoo officials say the juvenile sun conure (CON'-yer) parrot disappeared Thursday during the Festival of Flight bird show. Spokesman Bill Larson says ... |
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Bangladesh leopard renews hopes for species survival 23-07-2009 |
DHAKA (AFP) – Bangladeshi conservationists said Thursday the discovery of a rare leopard captured by villagers in the southeast of the country renewed hopes for the survival of the critically endangered species.
Professor Anwarul Islam, chief executive of Wildlife Trust of B... |
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PETA: Video shows Ringling Bros. abusing animals 23-07-2009 |
NEW YORK – An animal-rights group has released a video showing what it says is the abuse of Ringling Bros. circus elephants.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals on Wednesday released what it says is a secretly recorded video showing handlers striking elephants backst... |
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Homes tough to find for dogs seized in raids 23-07-2009 |
ST. LOUIS – As teams begin evaluating hundreds of pit bulls seized in the largest U.S. raid on dogfighters, the Humane Society of Missouri has issued an urgent call to rescue groups to help find homes for the dogs deemed eligible for adoption.
On Friday, teams of animal beha... |
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Multiplying like bunnies? Not this jackrabbit 23-07-2009 |
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Rabbits are certainly known for their propensity for multiplying, but one species of jackrabbit is having trouble keeping up. There are an estimated 150 white-sided jackrabbits left in the United States, and federal wildlife officials announced Wednesday the... |
| New Species of Horny Toad Identified in California 23-07-2009 |
A meticulous review of genetic, anatomical and ecological information has identified two new species of horned lizards, also known as horny toads, in California.
The findings mean what was thought to be one species is actually three. And that has implications for how the creat... |
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Shark attack victims fight for their attackers 21-07-2009 |
WASHINGTON (AFP) – They may have lost fingers, or perhaps even an arm or leg, but these former surfers and vacationers paced down the halls of Congress in Washington to seek protection for sharks, their very attackers.
"I'm here to lobby for the bill to save the sharks, I lost... |
| Group says LA Zoo was fined in elephant's death 21-07-2009 |
LOS ANGELES – An animal rights group says the Los Angeles Zoo was fined $3,281 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for failing to provide adequate veterinary care in the 2006 death of Gita the elephant.
Catherine Doyle, campaign director for In Defense of Animals, says she... |
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"Vegan streaker" held over attack plans 21-07-2009 |
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – A Dutch animal rights activist, known in the Netherlands as the 'vegan streaker', has been arrested on suspicion of planning an attack against Queen Beatrix because she wears fur.
The prosecution office said Tuesday it was investigating whether the man ... |
| UK policeman to face charges in deaths of 2 dogs 21-07-2009 |
LONDON – Britain's Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals says a police officer who left two police dogs in his car during a heat wave will be prosecuted for their deaths.
RSPCA spokesman Andy Robbins says the officer will be charged with causing unnecessary ... |
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| 2 men who filmed Namibia seal hunt convicted 17-07-2009 |
JOHANNESBURG – Two foreign journalists who were arrested in Namibia while filming the clubbing of seals were convicted Friday of entering a protected marine area without a permit.
British journalist Jim Wickens and his South African cameraman, Bart Smithers, appeared in a ma... |
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Pair convicted in Namibia for filming seal hunt 17-07-2009 |
WINDHOEK (AFP) – Two European journalists were fined on Friday by a court in Namibia for filming the annual seal hunt along the coast of the southern African nation, their lawyer said.
British investigative journalist Jim Wilckens and South African cameraman Bart Smithers we... |
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Hunt called off for drug lord's hippo 16-07-2009 |
BOGOTA (Reuters) – Colombia has called off the hunt to kill a drug lord's escaped hippo and will instead try to relocate the beast after its mate was shot dead by order of the government, sparking outrage from animal rights groups.
The giant animals were imported from Africa... |
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Attack victims push Congress for shark protectionshippo 15-07-2009 |
WASHINGTON – Nearly a dozen shark-attack victims — many of them badly scarred or missing limbs — pressed Congress on Wednesday to protect a sea creature they'd rather not run into again.
The group wants to strengthen laws protecting sharks from "finning," in which fins a... |
| PETA suggests nondairy Michael Jackson sculpture 15-07-2009 |
DES MOINES, Iowa – People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals have come up with an idea for sculptor Sarah Pratt and the Iowa State Fair — instead of using butter for a Michael Jackson sculpture, how about a nondairy spread?
Officials with the fair, known for its butter c... |
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| Colombia calls off hunt for drug lord's hippo 15-07-2009 |
BOGOTA (Reuters) – Colombia has called off the hunt to kill a drug lord's escaped hippo and will instead try to relocate the beast after its mate was shot dead by order of the government, sparking outrage from animal rights groups.
The giant animals were imported from Africa... |
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| Boston zoos may get funds after euthanasia scare 13-07-2009 |
BOSTON – Massachusetts lawmakers said Monday they would try to restore $4 million in state funds for two local zoos after operators suggested that without the money, animals might have to be destroyed — a claim the governor called a scare tactic.
Zoo New England, which run... |
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Whale and dolphins washed up on Senegal coast: WWF 10-07-2009 |
DAKAR (AFP) – A four tonne sperm whale and eight dolphins have been washed up on Senegal beaches over the past month, the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) said Friday.
The mammals were washed up a year after the mystery over 100 whales that were beached north of the Senegal c... |
