Yellowstone National Park’s annual culling of the last wild herd of bison, or buffalo, in the United States has been controversial since it began in 2000, and now it has prompted a First Amendment battle between National Park Service officials and reporters determined to document the grim spectacle. The U.S. National Park Service originally proposed […]
Tag: cull
POLL: Should the wolf cull in Finland be stopped?
Finnish hunters have been authorised to kill nearly 20% of the country’s wolf population in a controversial trial cull that begins this weekend, aimed at managing stocks. Authorities hope the sanctioned hunt of nearly 50 of the country’s estimated 250 grey wolves will curb illegal poaching, which some rural landowners have resorted to in recent […]
POLL: Should the killing of animals by Wildlife Services be stopped?
After anti-government protesters took over Oregon’s Malheur National Wildlife Refuge earlier this month to support two ranchers convicted of arson, it emerged that the convicts, Steven and Dwight Hammonds, had received thousands of dollars in financial support from the federal government. The public aid included the killing of five coyotes by a US Department of […]
POLL: Should the wolf cull in Ontario be stopped?
As all controversial government announcements are released when no one is watching, so too was the announcement by the Wynne govt. to begin a wolf cull in Northern Ontario. Posted on Ontario’s Environmental Bill of Rights Registry on December 17, the Ontario govt. is proposing to remove the previous requirements for hunters to purchase a […]
POLL: Should Mauritius be allowed to cull its bats?
Despite widespread protests by conservation groups and citizens, Mauritius will start culling its native Mauritius fruit bats (Pteropus niger) tomorrow. These bats are listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. According to a press statement released by Mauritius’s Ministry of Agro Industry and Food Security today, culling of 18,000 bats will […]
POLL: Should invasive species be eradicated in the EU?
Anyone caught exporting or possessing invasive species such as grey squirrels, ruddy ducks and water hyacinth in the EU will soon face heavy fines and confiscations, under a new blacklist filed at the WTO, which the Guardian has seen. Raccoons, Javan mongooses, and South American coypus are among the 37 types of flora and fauna […]
POLL: Should raptors be culled to protect racing pigeons?
Feathers are flying in the bird world. Potential changes to the law, following a campaign by pigeon fanciers to reduce attacks on their pets by raptors, have met with opposition from the RSPB. The Raptor Alliance, a body representing many of the UK’s 42,000 pigeon owners, is writing to MPs warning that an “iconic traditional […]
POLL: Should the grey squirrel be culled to protect the red squirrel?
The last safe haven for red squirrels on the English mainland is under unprecedented threat from an invasion of grey squirrels. Conservationists protecting the native reds in Kielder Forest, Northumberland, say sightings of grey squirrels on the fringes of the forest have escalated in recent months and there have been more than a dozen greys […]