When I campaigned for animal rights as a teenager in the 1980s, anti-fur campaigners produced an iconic poster. Alongside an image of a smartly dressed woman holding a bloody fur coat was a cracker of a slogan: “It takes up to 40 dumb animals to make a fur coat. But only one to wear it.” […]
Tag: wildlife crime
POLL: Should Norway stop the annual slaughter of whales?
In just a few days, Norway will start up a horrific annual tradition — the ruthless slaughter of hundreds of whales. But we’ve got a strategy to say ‘NO WAY!’ Whales are awe-inspiring, beautiful beings. We now know they communicate with each other in song, and experience human-like emotions. But in Norway, every year these […]
POLL: Should travel companies stop supporting zoos?
In a win for animals, online travel agency company Responsible Travel has pledged to stop promoting zoos. The company will instead be working to support better ways for consumers to learn about and appreciate wildlife. Facilities that keep animals in captivity have continued to use education and conservation as major justifications for continuing the practice, […]
Is ‘Baiting’ an ethical way to photograph wild owls?
Owls make for stunning photography subjects thanks to their unique appearance and air of perpetual astonishment, but they’re also the source of a hot debate in the wildlife photography community. The main point of contention? “Baiting,” or the practice of putting out mice or other treats to draw the birds of prey closer. I first […]
POLL: Should wild elephants be sold to Chinese zoos?
Last year more than 30 young elephants were captured from the wild in Zimbabwe and flown by plane to China. The elephants – some reported to be as young as three – were dispersed to a number of zoos throughout the country, including the Shanghai Wild Animal Park, the Beijing Wildlife Park and the Hangzhou […]
POLL: Should Canada ban the hunting of seals?
Not long after European settlers established a commercial seal industry in Canada in the early 1500s, business was booming. Back in the day, seal oil was sold in the Old World for use as a machine lubricant. And later, demand for newly in-vogue fur meant that hundreds of thousands of harp seals were killed each […]
POLL: Should the sale of rhino horns be legalized?
A top court in South Africa just made it legal to trade in rhino horns within the country. The South African government, in 2009, imposed a moratorium that banned domestic trade in rhino horns. But after years of legal battle between commercial rhino breeders and the government’s Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA), the constitutional court […]
POLL: Should Japan be sanctioned for slaughtering Minke whales?
A Japanese whaling fleet returned to port on Friday after an annual Antarctic hunt that killed more than 300 of the mammals, as Tokyo pursues the programme in defiance of global criticism. The fleet set sail for the Southern Ocean in November, with plans to slaughter 333 minke whales, flouting a worldwide moratorium and opposition […]