Icelandic whaling company IP-Utgerd announced April 24 that it is stopping whaling completely, while the country’s largest whaling firm, Hvalur hf., says it won’t be hunting any whales for the second year in a row. IP-Utgerd, which mainly targeted minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata), cited financial difficulties after no-fishing zones were extended off the Icelandic coast, […]
Tag: COVID-19
For world’s rarest great ape, COVID-19 is latest in a litany of threats
JAKARTA — The COVID-19 pandemic has become the latest threat to the Tapanuli orangutan in Indonesia, the rarest great ape species of all and one already under severe pressure from a range of human threats. The critically endangered species, Pongo tapanuliensis, found in a single patch of rainforest in northern Sumatra, shares 97% of its […]
Petition: Beijing Bans Consumption of Wild Animals Due to Coronavirus
Beijing has passed a law that punishes people for hunting, trading or eating wildlife, according to the Daily Mail. Government officials passed the law April 24 in wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The wildlife trade and animal markets are thought to be the cause of the coronavirus pandemic. Two other Chinese cities, including Shenzhen, passed […]
Investigating the mystery behind Guinea-Bissau’s mass vulture deaths
In late February, a local worker in a rice field on the outskirts of Bafatá, Guinea-Bissau, discovered a group of around 200 recently-deceased vultures. This shocking scene was the first of many to emerge across the West African nation over the next few days. Soon, more incidents of mass vulture deaths were reported, both on […]
Petition: Mink on Fur Farms Tested Positive For Coronavirus
According to an email from Humane Society International United Kingdom (HSI), mink on two fur farms tested positive for coronavirus. The mink, located in the Netherlands, were tested after they were noted to have difficulty breathing, per HSI. Fur farms are notoriously dangerous and inhumane operations. Each fur farm where the mink was found had […]
Petition: California and New York Lawmakers Work on Bills Banning “Wet Markets” in their States
States are starting to call for bans on “wet markets.” California state senator Harry Stern and New York Assembly member Lisa Rosenthal created an advocacy group called Social Compassion in Legislation to create a plan to end wet markets in California and New York, according to LAD Bible. “Wet markets” are animal markets where animals […]
Petition: Illegal Bushmeat Smuggled into UK Could Lead to Another Pandemic
Experts are warning that the illegal bushmeat trade in the United Kingdom could lead to additional zoonotic disease transmission. According to the Mirror, the amount of illegal bushmeat smuggled into the country has doubled since 2015. Border staff seized over a thousand kg of meat in 2018/2019, a number that increases every year. Experts are […]
Petition: Lead Epidemiologist Says Coronavirus May be Linked to Breeding of Huge Rats in China Consumed to Detoxify the Body
China was breeding huge rats to eat before they were banned due to coronavirus. Called “bamboo rats,” the Chinese believe that eating bamboo rat meat makes them prettier and can detoxify their bodies. Until recently, bamboo rats were a celebrated food in China. Farmers had about 25 million of the rats before the government banned […]