A new report published by Pro Wildlife has found that there are over a hundred species that are protected in their home country but can be freely traded within the boundaries of the European Union. Over 120 reptile and amphibian species are up for legal trade within the European Union due to lax trading restrictions. […]
Tag: european union

After tragic shooting of escaped tiger, should France ban circus animals?
Within just a few days last month, both Italy and Ireland banned the use of performing animals in circuses on a national level, joining 11 other members of the European Union that have already done so. France, unfortunately, is not one of those countries. A couple of weeks later, an 18-month-old tiger named Mevy escaped […]

Austria flouts EU law to cull otters
Lower Austria is planning to trap and shoot 40 otters in the very near future. This is in spite of the fact that otters are protected by the European Union Fauna and Flora Habitats Directive. This is in response to appeals from fishermen stating that there are too many otters. The numbers quoted for that […]

POLL: Are nature laws a reason for UK to stay in the EU?
UK Prime Minister David Cameron has come out in support of the EU’s Nature Directives, citing environmental conservation as a big reason citizens should vote to remain in the EU in the national referendum on 23 June. “EU membership underpins many crucial environmental protections in the UK, while amplifying our voice in the world on […]

POLL: Should fur farming be banned in the European Union?
In 1994, four of the world’s most famous supermodels were splashed across billboards under the slogan “We’d rather go naked than wear fur”. Fast-forward 21 years and it seems it is now another story for Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss, Elle Macpherson and Cindy Crawford, who have been pictured in fur coats, gilets and trimmed parkas. […]

Iceland’s fin whales are endangered. Stop this bloody cull
Last night, Hvalur 8 and 9, two whaling vessels owned by millionaire entrepreneur Kristjan Loftsson, left Reykjavik harbour in Iceland, bound on a north-westerly course for the open Atlantic. Hvalur 8 was last logged at 64 degrees latitude, 23 degrees longitude before it went out of range of commercially available data. Together with its sister […]

Fipronil named as fourth insecticide to pose risk to honeybees
A widely used insect nerve agent has been labelled a “high acute risk” to honeybees by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). A similar assessment by the EFSA on three other insecticides preceded the suspension of their use in the European Union. “The insecticide fipronil poses a high acute risk to honeybees when used as […]