Faroese villagers have slaughtered about 250 pilot whales in the past 24 hours according to Sea Shepherd activists monitoring the traditional summer hunts in the north Atlantic islands. The whale pods, which migrate past the islands in July and August, were herded by flotillas of small boats on to two beaches where villagers waded into […]
Category: Polls
POLL: Should there be a ban on importing lion trophies?
Conservationists and politicians have called on the EU to ban the import of lion heads, paws and skins as hunters’ trophies from African countries that cannot prove their lion populations are sustainable. The slaughter of a radio-tagged lion called Cecil in Hwange national park by the American dentist, Walter Palmer, was described as a tragedy […]
POLL: Should lion canned hunting be banned?
Up to 7,000 lions are living behind bars in South Africa. Raised in captivity on private breeding farms and hunting “reserves,” some of these animals are petted as cubs by tourists, who can also walk alongside or even feed more mature lions. Eventually, many are shot in “canned” hunts, in which lions are pursued and […]
POLL: Should the ban on bee-killing pesticides be continued?
Farmers will be able to use blacklisted pesticides linked to serious harm in bees after the UK government temporarily lifted an EU ban. Opponents called the decision “scandalous” and criticised the government’s secrecy, which The Guardian revealed has included gagging its own expert advisers. But prime minister David Cameron defended the move. “We should follow […]
POLL: Should whale hunting in Alaska be banned?
For the Inupiat villagers who have made their homes on this finger of land in the Chukchi Sea for generations, nothing is more important than the bowhead whale. The calendar revolves around seasons for hunting, fishing and gathering. It’s a lifestyle Alaskans call “subsistence”, which is as much cultural tradition as economic necessity in one […]
POLL: Should feral cats be slaughtered to save native animals?
The Australian government has pledged to kill two million feral cats and create new safe havens for native animals in an attempt to improve the fortunes of 20 mammal, 20 bird and 30 plant species that are at risk of extinction. Federal environment minister, Greg Hunt, unveiled a five-year threatened species strategy at Melbourne zoo […]
POLL: Should the use of wild animals in circuses be banned?
Animal welfare groups in Denmark are intensifying their calls for a total ban on wild animals in the country’s circuses after an annual elephant “bathing show” ended with one of the agitated animals smashing a vehicle as bystanders narrowly escaped injury. The annual eventin the small seaside town of Karrebaeksminde sees elephants from a local […]
POLL: Can killing more elephants actually help to save them?
Is killing an endangered animal for sport the best way to save the species from extinction? The World Bank—one of the largest sources of financing for biodiversity conservation projects in developing countries—thinks it is. The World Bank approved a U.S. $46 million grant to Mozambique, one of the world’s poorest countries, late last year to […]