The season for red grouse-shooting is about to begin. But its driven form, where beaters flush birds towards the guns, is having a terrible impact on the environment and on other birdlife, to the cost of every nature-lover and taxpayer. Mark Avery, former conservation director of the RSPB, explains why this most unsporting sport should […]
Tag: slaughter
POLL: Should the EU support a total ban on the ivory trade?
Wildlife officials in nearly 30 African states say they are appalled by an EU decision to oppose a comprehensive global ban on the ivory trade. In a position paper released on 1 July, the European commission said that rather than an all-encompassing ban it would be better to encourage countries with growing elephant numbers to […]
POLL: Should the slaughter of pilot whales in the Faroes be stopped?
Last week a pod of 30-50 pilot whales was slaughtered in the first grindadráp (grind) of the year, on the island of Viðoy in the Danish Faroe Islands archipelago. The ordeal began this morning when locals spotted a pod of between 100-150 pilot whales passing by Svínoy. Several boats then drove the pod of whales […]
POLL: Should China’s dog meat festival be banned?
Although dogs have been eaten in parts of East Asia for hundreds—and possibly thousands—of years, a relatively new festival in Yulin, China, has sparked global controversy and polarized many Chinese, over both the treatment of the animals and the practice of eating them. The ten-day Lychee and Dog Meat Festival started in Yulin, in southern […]
POLL: Should the killing of animals by Wildlife Services be stopped?
The highly secretive arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture known as Wildlife Services killed more than 3.2 million animals during fiscal year 2015, according to new data released by the agency. The total number of wolves, coyotes, bears, mountain lions, beavers, foxes, eagles and other animals killed largely at the behest of the livestock […]
POLL: Should black bears be killed for Royal Guards’ fur caps?
Spending on British soldiers’ bearskin Busby hats has rocketed by nearly 500% since 2008 – despite thousands of troops being axed. Seven years ago a Labour Defence Minister, Baroness Taylor, met with animal rights campaigners to review designs of the controversial headgear. Activists hoped the Ministry of Defence would finally stop buying traditional caps made […]
Top scientists back federal plan to protect Alaska predators
A group of scientists has backed a federal plan to restrict the trapping and gunning down of bears and wolves in Alaska’s wildlife refuges, in the face of bitter opposition from the state government. The US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has proposed an overhaul of hunting regulations for Alaska’s 16 national wildlife refuges, which […]
Japan Kills 200 Pregnant Minke Whales
Japan has killed 333 minke whales—including more than 200 pregnant females—as part of this year’s Antarctic whale hunt, according to the country’s Institute for Cetacean Research. On Wednesday, four ships returned from their 115-day expedition to conduct “scientific” whaling activities. The hunt was in blatant disregard of the International Court of Justice’s 2014 ruling that […]