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 […]
Tag: wildlife crime
POLL: Should there be an EU-wide domestic ivory ban?
The EU has traditionally been a global leader in tackling the problem of wildlife trafficking and in encouraging other countries to take action. Last year it published a far-reaching Action Plan against Wildlife Trafficking, which set out a comprehensive list of actions to address the problem. So why is it dragging its heels when it […]
POLL: Should babies be allowed to buy hunting licenses?
On November 13, a law went into effect in Wisconsin permitting hunters of any age to carry a weapon while participating in a mentored hunt. Yes, you read that right: any age. Subsequently, 10 licenses have been sold to children under the age of 1, three licenses were sold to one-year-olds; four were sold to […]
POLL: Should wild horses be protected from roundups and slaughter?
The Senate took a step in the right direction with a vote to protect wild horses and burros from slaughter, but the fight to keep them safe on the range is far from over. America’s wild horses and burros have been federally protected from “capture, branding, harassment, or death” under the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and […]
POLL: Should drilling in the Arctic Refuge be allowed?
Talk about a poison pill: Alaska Republican Lisa Murkowski snuck a nasty little legislative proposal into the GOP tax bill. Her plan would open up portions of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to oil leases, allowing oil companies to start extracting oil from this vital natural resource. And last week, the bill cleared an […]
POLL: Should Australia’s commercial hunting of kangaroos be banned?
It was 2002, and soccer superstar David Beckham was, for the first time, leading England into the World Cup as team captain. At each match he wore a different pair of personalized, champagne-colored cleats, embroidered with his children’s names on the red fold-over tongue. Though England lost in the quarterfinals, Beckham, and his shoes, went […]
POLL: Should African Grey Parrots be protected from illegal trafficking?
African grey parrots are gorgeous birds who are well-known for their incredible intelligence that’s considered to be on the same level as a small child, and for their amazing ability to learn and mimic human speech. Unfortunately, the qualities that make us want them are also causing major problems for them. The demand for African […]
POLL: Should international shipping of shark fins be banned?
President Donald Trump has found himself in yet another controversy; for once, the focus is not on what came out of his mouth, but rather what he put in it. Over the weekend, Trump shared a dinner with Vietnamese leaders in Hanoi. According to reports, Trump was served a course of shark fin soup, which […]