Plan to prevent felines from killing much-prized native birds causes consternation. Call it the Kiwi cat wars. In the island nation said to harbour more cat owners per capita than any other country, a furore has broken out over a crusade to eradicate man’s second-best friend. The charge is being led by Gareth Morgan, a […]
Tag: Environment news
Rare crane egg given 24-hour guard
The first common crane egg laid in western Britain for more than 400 years has been given a round-the-clock guard. The first common crane egg laid in western Britain for more than 400 years has been given a round-the-clock guard, conservationists said. The nesting pair that produced the egg are part of the Great Crane […]
Government approved cull of endangered birds on Duke of Westminster’s Estate
Tens of thousands of endangered birds have been shot, trapped and poisoned on one of England’s largest shooting estates with the approval of the government agency responsible for protecting the species, a Guardian investigation has found. The government has licensed an annual cull of lesser black-backed gulls on the Abbeystead estate on the Bowland Fells […]
New to nature No 103: Tinkerbella nana
The family Mymaridae includes more than 1,400 species of diminutive insects called fairyflies. They are not flies at all, but tiny wasps that deposit their eggs inside the eggs of other insects. Most of these parasitoids are found in tropical latitudes and the southern hemisphere, where they attack unborn offspring of true bugs, beetles, flies, […]
Government licensed secret buzzard egg destruction, documents reveal
Eggs and nests of protected raptors destroyed to protect pheasant shoot, according to FoI documents. A government agency has licensed the secret destruction of the eggs and nests of buzzards to protect a pheasant shoot, according to documents released under the Freedom of Information Act. The action sets a historic precedent, being the first time […]
One-third of animal species will be hit by climate change, scientists warn
One-third of common land animals could see dramatic losses this century because of climate change, scientists predict. More than half of plants could be hit the same way as habitats become unsuitable for numerous species. The collapse of ecosystems would have major economic impacts on agriculture, air quality, clean water access, and tourism. Global temperatures […]
US windfarms avoiding prosecution for eagle deaths
More than 83,000 hunting birds are killed by windfarms each year but no wind energy company has been fined. The Obama administration has never fined or prosecuted a windfarm for killing eagles and other protected bird species, shielding the industry from liability and helping keep the scope of the deaths secret, an Associated Press investigation […]
Breed insects to improve human food security: UN report
The best way to feed the 9 billion people expected to be alive by 2050 could be to rear billions of common houseflies on a diet of human faeces and abattoir blood and grind them up to use as animal feed, a UN report published on Monday suggests. Doing so would reduce the pressure on […]