Lions, chimps, sharks get added protection under UN convention

Yahoo – AFP, October 28, 2017

Ponso, the only surviving chimpanzee of a colony of 20 apes, sits in a tree on
Chimpanzee Island in Ivory Coast, where the ape population has plummeted by
90 percent in just two decades (AFP Photo/ISSOUF SANOGO)

Lions, chimpanzees, giraffes, leopards and a wide variety of sharks received added protection at a UN wildlife conference in the Philippines, organisers said Saturday.

Some 34 endangered species were selected to receive heightened conservation efforts at the Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS) conference that just concluded in Manila.

Protecting migratory species poses particular difficulties since they cross borders, including possibly moving to countries with less stringent wildlife protection systems said Bradnee Chambers, CMS executive secretary.

"If the species is moving around all of these countries, everybody has to pitch in," he said at the end of the week-long conference.

Lions, leopards and chimpanzees were singled out as needing more conservation work. The chimpanzee in particular is at risk as their numbers have dropped in recent years due to habitat loss, the organisers said.

The giraffe, which is in decline throughout Africa with fewer than 90,000 animals left in the wild, was also listed.

All four of these African mammals were approved by a "wide majority" for additional protection measures, a CMS statement noted.

Other animals that were listed were three species of shark including the whale shark, the largest fish in the world. Host country the Philippines had lobbied for this creature, which has become a major tourist attraction.

More than 120 states are party to the CMS, but this does not include China and many other Asian countries.

"We're trying to work to bring China onboard as a member of the convention. We have been engaging them and they are actually doing quite a bit," Chambers told reporters.

"What it required is positive engagement with the country to see how to find solutions instead of just bashing the country and looking at the negative side."

Puppy eyes: The tail wagging the dog?

Yahoo – AFP, October 19, 2017

New research suggests dogs are masters of body language and use their facial
expressions to communicate and manipulate their owners

Your dog may be a master manipulator, deliberately making puppy eyes to pull at your heart strings, according to a study Thursday into a ploy many mutt owners have long suspected.

The research suggests that dogs may be in control of their facial expressions, using them to communicate, researchers reported in the journal Scientific Reports.

Until now, it was assumed that dog expressions were involuntary.

The new study suggests, however, that man's best friend may be very well aware of the reaction a scowl or grin will elicit from its master.

"The findings appear to support evidence... that expressions are potentially active attempts to communicate," said study co-author Juliane Kaminski of the University of Portsmouth.

In a series of experiments with different types of pet dogs, the team discovered that the animals "move their faces" more when humans were paying attention to them.

Raising the brows, which makes the eyes appear bigger to produce heart-melting "puppy dog eyes", was the most commonly-used expression, the researchers found.

When humans had their backs turned, or were distracted, the dogs' faces were much less active -- regardless of whether the human was offering a food treat or not.

Previous research has shown that dogs are aware of how attentive humans are.

One study, for example, showed they stole food more often when a human had their back turned or eyes closed.

"We now know dogs make more facial expressions when the human is paying attention," said Kaminski.

It was too soon, however, to state categorically that dogs have a perception of what a human may be thinking or feeling -- a state of awareness considered a sign of high intelligence displayed by humans, the team added.

Research in non-human primates has suggested some of our far-flung cousins may also be aware that others can read their facial expressions -- which changed when they had an audience.

1,600 Dutch meat farmers qualify for ‘better life’ trade mark

DutchNews, October 19, 2017

Pigs on a factory farm. Photo: Depositphotos.com

Some 1,600 Dutch farmers now rear chickens and pigs under the ‘Beter Leven’ trade-mark, which indicates better living conditions for the animals. 

The scheme was launched ten years ago when six poultry farmers gave their hens more room and a covered outdoor space to forage, so qualifying for the trade mark just launched by animal protection group Dierenbescherming. 

By 2012 the number of participating farms had reached 800 and now 31 million animals are being reared under ‘better life’ conditions, broadcaster NOS said on Thursday. The trade mark has a three-star system – the more stars the better the way the animals are reared. 

Despite the shift to more animal friendly farms, some 2,500 Dutch poultry, pig and other farmers still offer their animals no additional facilities, NOS said. Much of their meat is sent abroad to countries where animal welfare is not as high on the agenda. 

‘We are leading the way in the Netherlands, but we are not yet done,’ Niels Dorland of  Dierenbescherming told NOS. ‘We have to keep on going because 2,500 is still far too many.’ 

Supermarkets

Earlier this month, animal rights lobby group Wakker Dier said supermarkets are still not doing enough to encourage the sale of chicken with a quality label and some are selling more of the cheapest meat to produce. 

The organisation conducted a random test among 12 big supermarket chains and found that two thirds of chicken products did not have any form of quality label. ‘That means supermarkets are promoting the sale of chickens raised in the poorest circumstances,’ a Wakker Dier spokesperson said. 

Almost 30% of chicken products now have some form of quality label, up seven percentage points compared to last year. But given that last year’s increase was 25%, this year’s figures are not good news, the organisation said. 

Related Article:

‘World first CO2 neutral eggs’ are laid in Limburg

Two tigers rescued from Aleppo find new Dutch home

Yahoo – AFP, October 13, 2017

Four Paws: One of the tigers rescued from the destroyed Magic World
amusement park near Aleppo. (AFP Photo/Ahu Savan An)

The Hague (AFP) - Two tigers rescued from an abandoned zoo in the war-torn Syrian town of Aleppo are to be given a new home in a Dutch sanctuary, the animal refuge said Friday.

Brother and sister, Sultan and Sayeeda, will arrive Monday in The Netherlands after they were among 13 animals evacuated earlier this year from the "Magic World" zoo and amusement park in the ravaged Syrian city.

The Four Paws charity, which goes to the aid of animals in distress around the world, brought the tigers out of Syria and into Turkey at the end of July along with five lions, two bears, two hyenas and two dogs.

After a short stay in Turkey to be cared for and treated for neglect, the animals were taken to Jordan in mid-August. While most of the 13 beasts are staying there, Sultan and Sayeeda, who were badly emaciated and de-hydrated, are to be cared for at the Felida refuge in northern Nijeberkoop.

The felines, which will be housed in the sanctuary's quietest areas, will receive special medical treatment to help them get over the trauma of the war and develop a more natural behaviour.

They "were living in a war zone. They were thirsty and hungry. They could hear lots of noise from the bombings" and suffered a lot of stress as a result, said Simone Schuls, the director of the refuge.

"It's a great second chance for these animals," she said, adding the pair may eventually be rehoused elsewhere depending on their recovery.

In April in a tough mission in Iraq, Four Paws also rescued a lion and a bear, the last survivors of the ravaged zoo in Mosul.

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‘World first CO2 neutral eggs’ are laid in Limburg

DutchNews, October 10, 2017

Photo: Kipster.com

A chicken farm in Castenray, in the province of Limburg, claims to have produced the first CO2 neutral egg, public broadcaster NOS reports. 

Kipster, which advertises itself as ‘the world’s most animal and environmentally friendly chicken farm’, says the CO2 neutral egg is a ‘world first’.

‘Our chickens are white. They weigh less than brown chickens and eat less. So we save on raw materials. They eat what are called ‘residual flows’ such as left over bread and agricultural by-products. We don’t feed them corn, for instance,’ chicken farmer Ruud Zanders told NOS. 

The farm has also been fitted with 1,100 solar panels to boost sustainable energy usage. ‘We use 40% of the energy we generate and sell the rest. This makes our farm, and the eggs, CO2 neutral,’ NOS quotes Zanders as saying. 

The chickens’ living quarters, which were designed with the input of the animal protection organisation Dierenbescherming, consists of a glass covered inside garden with trees and tree trunks for the birds, and two outside spaces. ‘Retired’ chickens, the Kipster website writes, ‘are not dumped in Africa to disrupt the market there but are processed here into high-quality products’.

The eggs will cost 23 to 24 cents apiece compared to 16 to 17 cents for a conventional free-range egg. The entire stock for the next five years has been sold to supermarket Lidl, where they will go on sale later this month, NOS said.