Iceland’s being condemned for recently approving the killing of hundreds whales over the next five years. The International Whaling Commission (IWC) banned commercial whaling in 1986, but like Japan, Iceland continued to use the scientific whaling loophole. After leaving the IWC in the 1990s in protest and returning in 2002, Iceland resumed scientific whaling in […]
Category: Petitions
POLL: Should there be a federal ban on the use of lead ammunition?
Lead has been public enemy number one for decades due to its negative health effects. Legislators have enacted laws to protect citizens, but they’ve neglected our nation’s emblem: the bald eagle. Recent cases of bald eagle poisonings highlight the need for a national ban on lead ammunition and fishing tackle. In early February, a bald […]
POLL: Should big cats be protected from the exotic pet trade?
Animal advocates are applauding members of Congress for reintroducing legislation that would protect both us and big cats by banning private ownership. It’s currently estimated that there are more than 10,000 big cats being kept as pets or in roadside zoos in the U.S., but no one knows exactly where they are or who owns […]
POLL: Should lawmakers pass legislation to end the trade in shark fins?
Canada’s a step closer to protecting some of the ocean’s most important predators with the introduction of legislation that would ban the trade of shark fins. While Canada banned shark finning in 1994, which involves removing sharks’ fins and throwing their bodies back while they’re still alive, fins can still be imported and the global […]
World’s only tool-using vulture risks being lost forever
The Egyptian Vulture is one of seven flagship birds in our Flight for Survival campaign to raise awareness of the scope and scale of the illegal killing of migratory birds. Faced with a challenge as tough as an ostrich egg, lesser scavengers may quail. Not the Egyptian Vulture. One of evolution’s great problem-solvers, this ingenious […]
POLL: Should the Zambian Government be allowed to slaughter 2,000 hippos?
The Luangwa River will soon be awash with hippo blood. Apologies for that disturbing mental image, but it’s important that everyone understand the gravity of Zambia’s upcoming plan to cull about 2,000 hippos. The country claims its current hippo population of 12,200 hippos is unsustainable. As such, the government has rescheduled a long discussed plan […]
How Did a Dead Humpback Whale End Up in the Amazon Rainforest?
When they followed vultures into the rainforest on Marajó Island in Brazil, near the mouth of the Amazon River officials with the state health, sanitation and environment department made a surprising discovery. The birds were feeding on the carcass of a 10-ton, 26-foot-long humpback whale calf. The calf, about a year old, was in an […]
POLL: Should legal action be taken to protect grizzlies from trophy hunters?
Conservation and animal advocacy organizations are taking legal action to protect grizzly bears in Wyoming from a newly passed law in the state that opens the door to hunting them for the first time in decades. There was once estimated to be 50,000 grizzly bears in the U.S., but by 1975, there were only 136 […]
