Human mythology, folklore, and fairy tales are full of stories about someone doing a seemingly innocent thing that ends up releasing chaos and death. A common element in these stories, from Pandora’s box to Humpty Dumpty, is that once it happens, it can never be fixed. The mess created when the little children opened the […]
Tag: poison
POLL: Should anti-Zika toxin be sprayed over public areas?
Huddled around their hives, beekeepers around the south-eastern US fear a new threat to their livelihood: a fine mist beaded with neurotoxin, sprayed from the sky by officials at war with mosquitos that carry the Zika virus. Earlier this week, South Carolina beekeepers found millions of dead honey bees carpeting their apiaries, killed by an […]
England’s last golden eagle feared dead
England’s only resident golden eagle is likely to have died after failing to appear this spring, wildlife experts fear. The bird, which has been a resident at Riggindale near Haweswater, Cumbria, since 2001, has not seen by RSPB staff since last November, and would normally be seen at this time of year building a nest […]
More Bald Eagles Have Died Mysteriously
While we watched the live cam in awe as a bald eagle hatched two babies at the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, D.C., over the weekend, a mysterious bald eagle tragedy was unfolding a hundred miles away in Delaware. On Saturday, someone phoned state officials after finding five disoriented eagles in a farm field in […]
African elephants ‘killed faster than they are being born’
More African elephants are being killed for ivory than are being born, despite poaching levels falling for the fourth year in a row in 2015. The new data, released on UN world wildlife day on Thursday, shows about 60% of elephant deaths are at the hands of poachers, meaning the overall population is most likely […]
Maryland officials search for killer of 13 bald eagles found in field
Wildlife officials have said 13 bald eagles found dead in Maryland last month did not die from natural causes. A hunt for whomever killed the birds is under way. The bodies of the 13 eagles were found in a field in Federalsburg, Maryland on 20 February. It was first thought the birds may have fallen […]
Meet pesticides, the silent bird killers that protect our crops
The illegal killing of birds with poisoned baits and their accidental deaths from pesticides occurs on a global scale: Tens of millions have died, leading to a decline in numerous species’ populations. Birds of prey are targeted with poison baits if they are seen as predators by racing-pigeon enthusiasts, gamekeepers, livestock farmers, poultry farmers and […]
POLL: Should toxic ammunition be banned in the EU?
Birds in Europe will continue to be put at risk from lead poisoning, as the European Commission today announces it will continue allowing the chemical’s use in ammunition. Lead ammunition use will be regulated on a limited basis under the EU chemicals regulation REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals), despite it being responsible […]