CITES agrees on near-total ban on sending wild elephants to zoos

France24 – AFP, 27 August 2019

Geneva (AFP) - The regulator of global wildlife trade will impose a near-total ban on sending African elephants captured from the wild to zoos after a final vote on the issue on Tuesday.

Following a heated debate at a meeting of parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in Geneva, countries approved a proposed text after a revision by the European Union watered down the ban slightly.

The decision met with strong opposition from Zimbabwe in particular, which tried in vain to block the vote.

But with 87 in favour, 29 against and 25 abstaining, the vote for the amended text secured the two-thirds majority needed to pass.

The vote in plenary altered slightly a decision decided at the start of the 12-day conference, set to wrap up Wednesday, prohibiting the transfer of all African elephants caught in the wild to so-called captive facilities.

Specifically, the countries voted to limit trade in live wild African elephants only to conservation in their natural habitats, basically ending the practice of capturing elephants and sending them to zoos and entertainment venues around the world.

But the EU amendments to the text added a loophole, saying the elephants should remain in their "natural and historical range in Africa, except in exceptional circumstances where ... it is considered that a transfer to ex-situ locations will provide demonstrable in-situ conservation benefits for African elephants."

The clause, which also opened for such transfers "in emergency situations," said the decision should only be made in consultation with the CITES Animals Committee, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) elephant specialist group.

The EU amendment also made clear that African elephants caught in the wild and already in zoos could be transferred to other facilities outside of Africa.

While elephants in western, central and eastern Africa have long been listed among the species in need of most protection under CITES, and thus banned from all trade, some trade has been permitted in southern Africa, where elephant populations are healthier.

Zimbabwe has for instance captured and exported more than 100 baby elephants to Chinese zoos since 2012, according to the Humane Society International.

Wildlife meeting backs more protection for giraffes

France24 – AFP, 22 August 2019

Geneva (AFP) - Wildlife-supporting countries on Thursday backed regulating international trade in giraffes in a bid to offer more protection to the gentle giants, feared to be facing a "silent extinction".

The vote in Geneva by parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) recognises for the first time that international trade is part of the threat facing giraffes.

The decision, which passed with 106 votes in favour to 21 votes opposed and seven abstaining, took place in committee and still needs a stamp of approval by the full CITES conference before it wraps up on August 28.

The African giraffe population as a whole has shrunk by an estimated 40 percent over the past three decades, to just under 100,000 animals, according to the best figures available to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

And yet Thursday's vote, which implies listing all giraffes under CITES Appendix II and thus requiring tracking and regulation of all trade in the species, was highly controversial.

The proposal to list the giraffe came from a range of countries in western, central and eastern Africa, where giraffe populations have been particularly hard hit.

Chad's representative argued that "illegal cross-border trade (poses) a significant threat to the survival of giraffes."

But they met harsh resistance from southern African countries where the populations have traditionally been better protected and are healthier.

Countries, including South Africa, Botswana and Tanzania, maintained there was little evidence that international trade is contributing to the decline of the giraffe.

And they argued that imposing international regulations was unfair to countries that have strived to protect their giraffes.

"Such a decision fails to recognise our conservation achievements," the Tanzanian representative said.

The vote implies that legal trade in giraffe parts, including those obtained by trophy hunters on Africa's legal game reserves, will be globally regulated.

Countries will be required to record the export of giraffe parts or artefacts, something only the United States currently does, and permits would be required for their trade.

The CITES Secretariat itself had voiced scepticism that trade was a major factor behind the decline of the giraffe, which has largely been linked to habitat loss.

But supporters argued that without a CITES listing, there is little available data on international trade.

They also pointed to US data indicating that in the decade prior to 2015 around 40,000 giraffe parts, mainly bones, had been traded.

Conservationists hailed the vote.

"This listing could not come soon enough," Adam Peyman, head of the Humane Society International?s wildlife programme, said in a statement.

"Securing CITES Appendix II protection for the giraffe throws a vital lifeline to this majestic species, which has been going quietly extinct for years."

Ban on sending wild elephants to zoos a step closer

Yahoo – AFP, August 18, 2019

A large majority of countries voted in Geneva to ban the transfer of elephants
caught in the wild to zoos (AFP Photo/Tony KARUMBA)

Geneva (AFP) - The regulator of global wildlife trade will likely ban sending African elephants captured from the wild to zoos after countries supported the move Sunday, in what conservationists hailed as a "historic win".

A large majority of countries voted in Geneva to prohibit the transfer of elephants caught in the wild to so-called captive facilities -- a practice animal protection groups have long described as "cruel".

The vote was the first rendered during a 12-day meeting of the parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, which kicked off on Saturday with thousands of conservationists and policymakers from more than 180 countries in attendance.

With 46 in favour, 18 against and 19 abstaining, the vote cast in one of two committees secured the two-thirds majority needed to pass, but will still needs to be approved by the full conference before the meeting concludes on August 28.

"This decision will save countless elephants from being ripped away from their families in the wild and forced to spend their lifetimes imprisoned in substandard conditions at zoos," Iris Ho, a senior wildlife specialist with Humane Society International (HSI), said in a statement.

Specifically, the countries voted to limit trade in live wild African elephants only to conservation in their natural habitats, effectively ending the practice of capturing elephants and sending them to zoos and entertainment venus around the world.

While elephants in western, central and eastern Africa have long been listed among the species in need of most protection under CITES, and thus banned from all trade, some trade has been permitted in southern Africa, where elephant populations are healthier.

Zimbabwe has for instance captured and exported more than 100 baby elephants to Chinese zoos since 2012, according to HSI.

"The preliminary decision is a remarkable recognition that elephants don't belong in the entertainment industry," Cassandra Koenen, who heads the wildlife division at World Animal Protection, said in a statement.

"It's a huge step in the right direction."

Ghost month grub: Dead pets get earthly feast at Vietnam animal cemetery

Yahoo – AFP, Tran Thi Minh Ha, Jenny VAUGHAN, August 15, 2019

For Nguyen Thi Xuan Trang, giving her dog Quoc -- who she thought of as a son --
a proper burial has brought her peace of mind (AFP Photo/Nhac NGUYEN)

Sausages, grapes, milk and mooncakes are laid at the gravestones of beloved cats and dogs at Hanoi's pet cemetery -- an earthly feast for the souls of dead animals believed to return from the afterlife for a meal to mark ghost month.

Dozens of pet owners turned out for a solemn ceremony at the "Te Dong Vat Nga" pagoda -- which means all lives are equal -- where thousands of dogs and cats have been laid to rest in the burial grounds on site.

It is a feasting ritual more often performed across Vietnam for dead ancestors whose souls are believed to wander the earth during ghost month and are honoured with a large meal offering before it closes at the end of August.

But the charismatic dog-loving Buddhist who runs the pet graveyard believes animal souls should be treated with the same dignity as human ones.

"We love dogs and cats not just in this life but in the next life as well," said Nguyen Bao Sinh, who opened the graveyard 50 years ago.

Thousands of dogs and cats have been laid to rest at Hanoi's pet cemetary (AFP 

Photo/Nhac NGUYEN)

He says he's cremated or buried around 10,000 animals -- including the odd turtle, bird or fish -- and charges $45 to $65 a year to pet owners to set up plaques and mini gravestones for their lost pets.

It's a small price to pay for those who want to make sure their beloved animals are comfortable in the afterlife.

"Bon deserves to have a decent resting place permanently so that he can be at peace," Nguyen Anh Minh told AFP after leaving milk, yoghurt and grapes for his husky who died earlier this year.

For Nguyen Thi Xuan Trang, giving her dog Quoc -- who she thought of as a son -- a proper burial has brought her peace of mind.

"I bought him peanuts and a mooncake because those were his favourite foods," she said.

Cemetary owner Nguyen Bao Sinh said people thought he was crazy when he 

opened the site in a country where dog and cat meat is sometimes offered as menu 

items for hungry diners (AFP Photo/Nhac NGUYEN)

Cemetery owner Sinh said people thought he was crazy when he opened the site in a country where dog and cat meat is sometimes offered as menu items for hungry diners.

Though cats and dogs are more commonly kept as pets in Vietnam these days, it's not unusual to see guard dogs confined to cages or illicit animal parts like rhino horn or pangolin scales used in traditional medicine.

Sinh, a former soldier who's now deceased dog accompanied him to the battlefield during the Vietnam War, hopes the pet graveyard will help people see animals in a new light -- and spread a message of kindness.

"Animals and humans are equal," he said. "When you love an animal you will not be cruel to human beings."

Singapore to ban sale of elephant ivory from 2021

Yahoo – AFP, August 12, 2019

Singapore authorities made their largest ever seizure of smuggled ivory last month,
impounding a haul of nearly nine tonnes of contraband tusks from an estimated
300 African elephants valued at $12.9 million (AFP Photo/Handout)

Singapore said Monday it will impose a blanket ban on the domestic sale of elephant ivory and products from 2021 as the government tightens its campaign against illegal wildlife trade.

The announcement on World Elephant Day followed two years of consultations with non-government groups, ivory retailers and the public.

Authorities in the city-state made their largest ever seizure of smuggled ivory last month, impounding a haul of nearly nine tonnes of contraband tusks from an estimated 300 African elephants valued at $12.9 million.

The illegal cargo was discovered in a container from the Democratic Republic of the Congo being shipped to Vietnam via Singapore and also included a huge stash of pangolin scales.

Singapore has banned international trade in all forms of elephant ivory products since 1990.

Such items could be sold domestically if traders could prove they were imported before that year or acquired prior to the inclusion of the relevant elephant species in an international convention protecting endangered species.

In a statement Monday, Singapore's National Parks Board banned the sale of elephant ivory and products with effect from September 1, 2021.

Violators face a jail term of up to one year and fines on conviction.

Traders can donate their ivory stocks to institutions or keep them after the ban takes effect, the board said.

Public consultation by the government last year showed that 99 percent of those who responded were in favour of a total ban.

Elephant ivory is coveted because it can be fashioned into items like combs, pendants and other jewellery.

The global trade in elephant ivory, with rare exceptions, has been outlawed since 1989 after the population of the African giants dropped from millions in the mid-20th century to around 600,000 by the end of the 1980s.

Mushroom never seen before in the Netherlands pops up in Drenthe

DutchNews, August 8, 2019

A sample of pycnoporellus fulgens. Photo: Mushroom Observer via
Wikimedia Commons

In national park Drents-Friese Wold a species of mushroom has been found that had never been seen before in the Netherlands, RTV Drenthe reports. 

Pycnoporellus fulgens, which has no Dutch name because it never needed one before, only occurs in ancient pine forests where human intervention has been kept to a minimum. 

‘The find shows that the beautiful old pine forests in Drenthe can be compared to the natural, unspoilt pine forests in Scandinavia,’ said mycologist Rob Chrispijn who discovered the mushroom. 

The species is rare and usually grows in mountainous areas. Mycologists are now trying to find out why the mushroom suddenly put in an appearance in the lowlands. 

The Dutch Mycological Society has proposed to name the species the ‘Oranje sparrenhoutzwam’, or Orange sprucewood mushroom.

Indonesian man walking in reverse to save forests

Yahoo – AFP, August 5, 2019

Medi Bastoni walks 20 to 30 kilometres backwards every day under the scorching sun,
with a rear-view mirror attached to his backpack to avoid bumping into objects (AFP
Photo/Medi BASTONI)

Jakarta (AFP) - An Indonesian man is walking 700 kilometres (435 miles) from his home on a volcano in East Java to Jakarta in the hope of drawing attention to the archipelago's quickly shrinking forests -- and he is doing it backwards.

Medi Bastoni, a 43-year-old father of four, set out on his arduous, in-reverse journey in mid-July, with the goal of reaching the capital by August 16, a day before the Southeast Asian nation's independence day anniversary.

"Of course I'm exhausted, but I'm willing to do this to fight for the next generation," Bastoni told AFP.

"(My home) is losing all of its trees so I have to do something. I can take the pain and fatigue."

Walking backwards is a siganl to Indonesians to reflect on the past and remember 

how national heroes fought for the good of the country (AFP Photo/Medi BASTONI)

When he arrives, Bastoni said he hopes to meet with president Joko Widodo and highlight deforestation across the archipelago including at his home on Mt. Wilis, a dormant volcano.

Indonesia suffers from one of the high rates of deforestation in the world, according to Greenpeace.

Bastoni walks 20 to 30 kilometres backwards every day under the scorching sun, with a rear-view mirror attached to his backpack to avoid bumping into objects.

Along the way, supporters cheer him on, offer him meals or a place to stay overnight. But Bastoni always leaves at dawn to stay on schedule.

Walking backwards is meant as a siganl to Indonesians to reflect on the past and remember how national heroes fought for the good of the country, he said.