Online fundraiser for bushfire-hit koalas tops Aus$1 mn

Yahoo – AFP, November 21, 2019

The Port Macquarie Koala Hospital near Sydney has raised more than
Aus$1 million on GoFundMe to help bushfire-hit koalas (AFP Photo/SAEED KHAN)

Sydney (AFP) - An online fundraiser for koalas injured in devastating bushfires topped Aus$1 million ($680,000) on Thursday, making it Australia's biggest campaign on the GoFundMe platform this year.

Deadly bushfires have ravaged vast swathes of eastern Australia, and wildlife carers estimate the blazes have killed hundreds of koalas this month in New South Wales state alone.

A crowdfunding page set up by the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital to provide automatic water drinking stations for wild koalas soared past Aus$1 million, with donations from more than 20,000 people from countries including the United States, France and England.

The wildlife charity's "Help Thirsty Koalas Devastated by Recent Fires" drive, which had an initial goal of just Aus$25,000, got more donations than any other campaign in Australia this year, GoFundMe said, and is the second-biggest since the platform launched Down Under in 2016.

It is one of 700 bushfire-related fundraisers launched on the platform in the past 10 days, which to date have raised a combined total of Aus$2 million.

An online fundraiser for koalas injured in Australia's devastating bushfires

tops Aus$1 million ($680,000)

The next-biggest has raised Aus$60,000 to support firefighters and people impacted by the blazes, which have killed six people, razed hundreds of homes and scorched about 1.5 million hectares (3.7 million acres) of land since October.

The koala hospital, some four hours north of Sydney, has rescued 31 koalas from the scorched bush in recent weeks, and said it had been "overwhelmed by the kindness, good wishes and support from the Australian and international community".

It plans to use the excess funds to deliver koala drinking stations to other parts of the state, purchase a water-carrying vehicle to replenish the stations, and to establish a koala breeding programme.

With more than 1.3 million hectares (3.2 million acres) of land scorched in the state, the fires have also destroyed large tracts of the tree-dwelling marsupial's habitat.

A so-called "Koala Ark" would be built for recovering koalas, the hospital said, hoping they will eventually breed and be returned to the wild.

Poisoned Sumatran elephant found dead in Indonesia

Yahoo – AFP, November 21, 2019

The dead elephant's stomach contents would be analysed to confirm its cause
of death (AFP Photo/Cek MAD)

A Sumatran elephant has been found dead from an apparent poisoning, an Indonesian conservation official said Thursday, in the second killing of the critically endangered subspecies this week.

The 25-year-old female elephant's corpse was discovered at a palm oil plantation in East Aceh regency Thursday, hundreds of kilometres from where another was found decapitated and with its tusks ripped off on Monday -- a suspected poaching case.

"Our initial findings found that the Sumatran elephant was allegedly killed by poison," said Rosa Rika, a doctor with Aceh's conservation agency.

The dead elephant's stomach contents would be analysed to confirm its cause of death, she added.

Last year, a Sumatran elephant was found dead from poisoning in another part of the region, after several similar cases in recent years.

Rampant deforestation to create plantations has reduced Sumatran elephants' natural habitat and brought them into conflict with humans, while their tusks are also prized in the illegal wildlife trade.

On Wednesday, some three dozen wild elephants stormed into a village in Aceh, destroying two homes.

Last month, Aceh said poachers who threatened endangered animals in the province could receive up to 100 lashes starting from next year. The conservative region administers public whippings for a range of offences under local Islamic law.

Indonesia's environment ministry estimates there are fewer than 2,000 Sumatran elephants still in the wild.

As France dithers, Paris bans use of wild animals in circuses

Yahoo –AFP, Ambre TOSUNOGLU, Mariette Le Roux, 15 November 2019

Polls show a vast majority of French people to be against the use of animals
for entertainment

While France mulls whether to join a majority of EU nations in banning wild animals in circuses, the city of Paris pressed ahead Friday with its own plan to outlaw the practice amid fresh concerns over cruelty.

A proposal was adopted by the municipal council late Friday that will see permits withheld from 2020 for circuses that wish to operate in the French capital while employing exotic creatures.

"We can congratulate ourselves on this decision which marks a societal advance desired by all French people," said Penelope Komites, a Paris councillor responsible for nature in the city, adding she hoped the national government would follow suit.

Polls show a vast majority of French people to be against the use of non-domestic animals for entertainment, and dozens of cities and towns have banned travelling circuses featuring wild beasts.

But there is no national ban and the country still has dozens of circuses confining hundreds of animals -- roughly 500 according to anti-circus campaigners One Voice, and more than double that according to rights group PETA France.

There are no official statistics.

Most circus animals are lions, but there are also tigers, elephants, two hippos, baboons, macaques, snakes and parrots, camels, bears, ostriches and even zebras.

"The number of animals has decreased drastically due to public pressure," One Voice president Muriel Arnal told AFP.

But hundreds still "live in tiny, tiny cages inside trucks. They have nowhere to hide, they are stressed, and also they have nothing to do. Then they are taken out for the show or for... training which is very violent... They are never at peace."

Worldwide, abot 40 countries have fully or partially banned the use of wild 

animals in circuses

'Strong announcements'

The controversy was revived this week when a performing bear called Mischa died at an animal refuge southwest of Paris, two months after he was rescued from owners who allegedly subjected him to years of ill-treatment.

Mischa was allegedly kept in horrendous conditions with two other bears owned by an animal trainer couple, who displayed them at fairs and in restaurants.

Two years ago, a circus tigress named Mevy escaped from her enclosure to roam the streets of Paris where she was controversially shot dead in the name of public safety.

Circus elephants and camels have also escaped in France in the past.

In western Europe, 12 countries have a full, national ban on wild animals in circuses, and another 11 have partial, species-specific injunctions, according to a map compiled by One Voice.

Four European countries, including France, have only municipality-level bans, and two -- Lithuania and Luxembourg -- have none at all.

Worldwide, about 40 countries have fully or partially banned the practice.

The French government in April launched a working group to investigate the well-being of animals in circuses, zoos and dolphinariums. In May 2017, the French government banned the breeding in captivity of dolphins and killer whales.

And last Sunday, Environment Minister Elisabeth Borne promised further "strong announcements in the coming weeks".

Meanwhile, Paris and about 65 other French municipalities have moved on their own to put an end to the practice.

The French government in April launched a working group too investigate the 

well-being of animals in circuses, zoos and dolphinarium

'Life not worth living'

Under the new Paris prohibition, any circus that agrees to give up its animals will get funding of about 50,000 euros ($55,000) over three years to help it adapt.

"It's about time!" said Amandine Sanvisens, president of animal rights group Paris Animaux Zoopolis.

PETA also welcomed the move, which it said sent "a clear message to the French government that it is high time to ban the use of wild animals in circuses at a national level."

Arnal said that for circus animals, "It is not a life worth living."

Many "are not fed unless they perform. Then there is the beating... You cannot force a tiger to jump through fire unless they are afraid of something that is more frightening than fire."

A poll by Opinion Way last month found that about two-thirds of French people object to the use of wild animals in circuses, which only about 10 percent have visited in recent years.

But circus owners disagree: William Kerwich of the Cirque Royal defends the practice as a "tradition" and accused Paris of playing politics "to get votes in the next municipal election."

Komites said the new measure cannot be enforced, for now, for two of France's biggest circus companies -- Bouglione and Gruss -- who have refused to sign up voluntarily.

The Bouglione group owns the property where it hosts the Cirque d'Hiver in Paris, unlike most other circuses which operate on public property.

The Gruss group, meanwhile, will have no choice but to yield once its licence comes up for renewal.

Polls show a vast majority of French people to be against the use of animals for entertainment

Worldwide, abot 40 countries have fully or partially banned the use of wild animals in circuses

The French government in April launched a working group too investigate the well-being of animals in circuses, zoos and dolphinariums.

Related Article:

Rescued circus elephant Ramba arrives at Brazil sanctuary

'It's a sin': Cambodia's brutal and shadowy dog meat trade

France24 – AFP, 11 November 2019

Siem Reap (Cambodia) (AFP) - Cambodian dog meat traders drown, strangle and stab thousands of canines a day in a shadowy but sprawling business that traumatises workers and exposes them to deadly health risks like rabies.

Khieu Chan bursts into tears when describing a job that haunts him as he goes to sleep: he kills up to six dogs a day, slicing their throats.

"Please forgive me. "If I don't kill you, I can't feed my family," the 41-year-old tells the 10 dogs awaiting their fate in a cage.

A cheap source of protein, dog meat is still eatem in several Asian countries from China and South Korea to Vietnam and non-Muslim communities in Indonesia.

Animal welfare activists say consumption has declined as the region's middle class has grown -- more people own pets, and there's greater stigma associated with eating dog.

But the brutal trade has flown under the radar in Cambodia where new research shows a thriving business involving roving dog catchers, unlicensed slaughterhouses and many restaurants in cities selling so-called "special meat".

An estimated two to three million dogs are slaughtered annually in Cambodia, according to the NGO Four Paws, which identified more than 100 dog meats restaurants in the capital Phnom Penh and about 20 in the temple town of Siem Reap.

"It has this massive trade," says Katherine Polak, a Thailand-based veterinarian who works with the NGO, which recently presented findings to the government.

Officials were "shocked" by the magnitude, she claims.

Rabies crisis

Motorbike riders criss-cross northern Cambodia trading pots, pans and cookware for unwanted dogs, loading them into a heavy rectangular cage on the back seat and making deliveries to middlemen.

Live specimens fetch $2 to $3 per kilo, incentivising suppliers to collect as many as possible.

Researchers say the dog meat trade is a public health crisis because it carries potentially infected animals all over the country.

Cambodia has one of the highest incidence rates of rabies in the world and most cases are from dog bites.

The trade also undermines local canine immunisation efforts by removing and killing vaccinated dogs.

Unsanitary slaughterhouses have no safety regulations as they aren't overseen by the government, and workers wear no protective gear.

"I got bitten by a dog but I did not get vaccinated because when I returned it was late at night," Pring That told AFP in a village in Siem Reap as he cooked dog meat stew with fermented fish paste.

Instead, the 33-year-old cleaned the wound with soap and lemon.

Industrial-scale slaughterhouses in developing countries put some distance between workers and animals.

But the Cambodian dog trade is hands on.

After receiving delivery, shirtless men poke dogs with sticks into holding cages.

They are then hung, strangled with rope, clubbed over the head or drowned in a pit filled with fetid water.

Just after sunrise in a village in Siem Reap, one worker pulled a dog out of a cage and hung it on the branch of a tree near drying laundry.

After gasping for breath for several minutes, it stopped moving.

It was then placed in boiling water to remove fur and chopped into parts.

"On a good day, I kill 10 dogs or 12 dogs," says former soldier Hun Hoy.

"I also feel pity for them, but I have to strangle them," the 59-year-old adds.

'Hear their cries'

Suppliers can earn from $750 to $1,000 in a country where wages in garment factories are under $200.

Productivity is crucial.

"It's faster to hit them," explains Dara, 30, a collector, trader and butcher.

"I know it's a sin," he adds.

Drowning is the preferred method of slaughter a few hours away in Kampong Cham and Kandal provinces.

"By putting them in the cage and drowning them in a pit, we don't have to hear their cries," said one woman.

Meat and parts are sold onto restaurants, where they are a popular with day labourers as a barbecued snack or a $1.25 soup.

The psychological trauma to bring cheap meat to the table is immense and those who find a better job take it.

Next to his dog cage in Takeo, Khieu Chan spoke about meeting Four Paws during their investigation of the trade.

In an unconventional twist, they gave him land for farming if he would close his restaurant.

One recent afternoon he helped the NGO gingerly take the sickly dogs out of the cage placed under a tree.

But before they were removed and sent to Phnom Penh for treatment, he knelt by the bars to say goodbye.

He says: "Now you have freedom. You are spared from death."

An animal rights collective, known as Dog Meat Free Indonesia Coalition,

together with world-renowned celebrities launched a global campaign to stop

the trade in dog meat on Thursday (02/11) at Hotel Gran Mahakam in South

Jakarta, in light of recent disturbing findings of animal cruelty in the Southeast 

Asian country. (Photo courtesy of Dog Meat Free Indonesia Coalition)

Related Article:

Advocacy Groups, Celebrities Call for End to Barbaric Dog Meat Trade in Indonesia

Vietnam deer rediscovered after nearly 30 years

France24 – AFP, 11 November 2019

Paris (AFP) - A very rare species of small, deer-like animal thought to be on the verge of extinction has been spotted in the northwestern jungle of Vietnam for the first time in nearly 30 years.

Known as the Silver-backed Chevrotain or Mouse deer, a specimen was last recorded in 1990, according to a study published Monday in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution.

The species, Tragulus versicolor, was first described in 1910 based on several animals found near Nha Trang, about 450 kilometres (280 miles) northeast of Ho Chi Minh City.

With no confirmed sightings since 1990, experts assumed the species must have been pushed to the brink of extinction by hunting.

However Vietnamese biologist An Nguyen, who works with Global Wildlife Concervation and is a PhD student at the Leibnitze Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, had been wondering for years whether the Silver-backed Chevrotain might still be holding on somewhere.

Working with colleagues Barney Long and Andrew Tilker, the experts got together with local villagers to sift through reported sightings.

Some were consistent enough with the Silver-backed Chevrotain to justify putting up more than 30 motion-activated cameras in nearby forested habitats.

"The results were amazing. I was overjoyed when we checked the camera traps and saw photographs of a chevrotain with silver flanks," said Nguyen.

Tilker cautioned in a blog post however that "just because we found this species relatively easily doesn't mean it is not threatened".

Forests in southeast Asia are under tremendous pressure from growing populations and development "so we need to get ahead of the curve" on conservation, Tilker added.

In May, a United Nations body of biodiversity experts, known as IPBES, issued a landmark report warning that up to one million species face the risk of extinction due to humanity's impact on the planet.

Drought-hit Zimbabwe to transfer thousands of animals

Yahoo – AFP, November 11, 2019

Threatened: Hundreds of elephants are to move home in the biggest wildlife
transfer in Zimbabwe's history (AFP Photo/MARTIN BUREAU)

Harare (AFP) - Zimbabwe’s wildlife agency said Monday it would move hundreds of elephants and other animals in a dramatic bid to save them from a lethal drought.

At least 120 elephants have already died over the past two months as the country grapples with one of the worst droughts in its history.

"We are moving 600 elephants, two prides of lion comprising between five and 10 members, a pack of wild dogs, 50 buffalo, 40 giraffes and 2,000 impalas," parks and wildlife authority spokesman Tinashe Farawo told AFP.

The animals will be moved from Save Conservancy, a major park in southeastern Zimbabwe, to three other game reserves.

"This will be the biggest translocation in our history," said Farawo.

Permits for the operation have already been secured, Farawo said.

The transfer will start "during the rain season, when pastures and foliage start flourishing," he added. The rain season usually kicks off from around the middle of November.

"We want to avoid a situation where we trans-locate animals, only for them to starve to death because there is no food in their new habitat," he explained.

The relocation was announced after the death of dozens of elephants in Hwange, Zimbabwe's biggest game reserve, located in the northwest of the country.

Hungry elephants have been breaking out of wildlife areas and raiding human settlements in search for food, posing a threat to communities.

Farawo said 200 people have died in "human-and-animal conflict" over the past five years.

Several southern African countries are in the grip of one of the worst droughts in decades, caused by months of above-average temperatures and erratic rainfall.

This year's drought has wilted grasslands and dried up water holes, making it increasingly difficult for animals to survive.

Botswana last month announced that more than 100 elephants had died in two months in its famed Chobe National Park.

The drought has left more than five million rural Zimbabweans -- nearly a third of the population -- at risk of food shortages before the next harvest in 2020, the UN has warned.

Food shortages for people have been amplified by the combined effects of drought and the country's enduring economic crisis.

Malaysia hands jail term to laundrette cat killer

Yahoo – AFP, November 6, 2019

A Malaysian man was sentenced to 34 months in jail for killing a pregnant cat
by stuffing it into a laundrette dryer (AFP Photo/Jeff Haynes)

Kuala Lumpur (AFP) - A Malaysian man who killed a pregnant cat by putting it into a laundrette dryer has been sentenced to 34 months in jail, official media reported, in a case that sparked outrage.

K. Ganesh was handed the prison term Tuesday after being found guilty of breaking animal protection laws at the self-service laundry outside Kuala Lumpur in September last year, official news agency Bernama reported.

He will remain free on bail for now as he plans to appeal.

The 42-year-old was the second man to be sentenced over the killing after a taxi driver was jailed for two years for the crime in January.

Malaysians reacted with fury when CCTV footage went viral showing the cat being stuffed into the dryer late at night.

Two men then inserted tokens into the machine to set it running and left. A female customer later found the animal's carcass and the matter was reported to the police.

Sentencing Ganesh, Judge Rasyihah Ghazali said: "I hope this sentence will serve as a lesson to the accused and the public to not be cruel to animals."

He was also fined 40,000 ringgit ($9,700), Bernama reported late Tuesday. AFP could not immediately contact Ganesh's lawyers.

A third person was earlier detained over the killing but prosecutors dropped the case.

Lost pup turns out to be a rare purebred dingo

Yahoo – AFP, November 6, 2019

Dingo pup Wandi romps at the Australian Dingo Foundation headquarters
near Melbourne (AFP Photo/Shari TRIMBLE)

Sydney (AFP) - He's furry, playful, and has puppy eyes. It's little wonder Wandi was mistaken for a dog when he was found in an Australian backyard -- but DNA testing has confirmed he's a rare 100 percent dingo.

The pup was discovered whimpering and alone in a country town in Victoria in August with talon marks on his back, leading to speculation it could have been dropped by a large bird of prey.

Rescuers at first thought Wandi was either a dog or a fox, but months later DNA samples have revealed that he is in fact a purebred dingo.

Most of the creatures seen in the wild are usually, to some degree, dingo-dog hybrids.

Wandi was found whimpering in a rural back yard with talon marks on his back, 

leading to speculation he may have been dropped by a bird of prey (AFP Photo/

Shari TRIMBLE)

Australian Dingo Foundation director Lyn Watson said that when Wandi "fell out of the sky" it was an "answer to a prayer" -- he can now join 40 other dingoes in a breeding program at the charity's sanctuary.

"When we sent his DNA off we were hoping that he would be of high content, but we were pleasantly surprised to find he was as much dingo as you could get," she told AFP.

Watson hopes Wandi -- whose unusual origins story and endearing looks have attracted global attention -- will help recast the narrative surrounding dingoes and change government policies toward the much-maligned animal.

There is currently much debate in the scientific community over the classification of dingoes, believed to have come to Australia from Asia about 4,000 years ago.

An Australian Dingo Foundation handler shows of Wandi, a 

rare 100 percent purebred dingo (AFP Photo/Shari TRIMBLE)

While some consider the dingo to be a wild dog, many researchers now believe it is a separate species with a range of characteristics that differentiate it from domestic and feral canines.

Often thought of as a threat to domestic animals and livestock, some also argue the apex predator is helpful in controlling pests such feral cats and foxes, as well as numbers of native herbivores such as kangaroos.

This uncertainty has major consequences for the conservation of dingoes.

The species is protected in areas where it is considered a threatened species vulnerable to extinction, but elsewhere listed as a pest that can be controlled through measures such as shooting and baiting.

The discovery after DNA testing that Wandi is 100 percent purebred dingo has 

given experts new hope for the maligned species. Most dingoes in the wild are

dingo-dog hybrids (AFP Photo/Shari TRIMBLE)

Though rare, there have also been a number of recorded attacks on humans -- mostly at the popular tourist destination of Fraser Island.

Wandi, who was named after the town of Wandiligong where he was rescued, is now settling in to his new home at the Dingo Discovery Sanctuary near Melbourne.

"He’s very bright and he seems to be very friendly with all of our volunteers -- of course they all dote on him," Watson said.

But with legal restrictions on releasing dingoes into the wild, the pup may have to live out his days in captivity -- though Watson is optimistic that attitudes will eventually shift to allow him to roam free.

"We know the day will come when we come to our senses and fully understand the situation in the wild and that there should be dingoes there," she said.