Category: Environmental
Since it stopped in 2021, an Icelandic company plans to hunt Minke whales once again.
Iceland, Norway and Japan are now the only 3 nations which still hunt whales.
Licenses issued last December were to two companies for the 2025 – 2029 period.
Annual catches of 209 Fin whales and 217 Minke whales could be hunted each year in a season running from mid June until September.
In 2018 six 6 Minke were hunted, and in 2021 one 1 Minke was hunted.
Icelandic whalers have not hunted Minke recently as it is not considered profitable.
But now the Tjaldtanji company said it intended to give it a try this summer – 2025.
They intend to hunt off northwest Iceland.
Iceland’s only other active Hvular, which only hunts fin whales, said in April it would not hunt for a second year because of a lack of profitability.
Animal rights activists, along with the Icelandic tourism industry, have both condemned the proposals.
The Icelandic Whale Watching Association recently proposed that some of the hunting grounds be defined as whale sanctuaries.
Whalers said that there is excitement amongst locals to get Minke meat in this summer.
WAV Comment – we suggest that there is a lot more incentive to business in the area by undertaking whale watching; combined with education and souvenirs; rather than the murder of these beautiful, intelligent creatures. Humankind could learn a lot from them if given the chance.
Wildlife groups have expressed serious concern about how individual koalas had been chosen for culling, because the animals are assessed from a distance
Published – April 30, 2025 09:00 am IST
A koala sits in a tree at a koala park in Sydney, Australia, May 2023. | Photo Credit: AP
Snipers in helicopters have shot more than 700 koalas in the Budj Bim National Park in western Victoria in recent weeks. It’s believed to be the first time koalas have been culled in this way.
The cull became public on Good Friday after local wildlife carers were reportedly tipped off.
A fire burned about 20% of the park in mid-March. The government said the cull was urgent because koalas had been left starving or burned.
ark in Sydney, Australia, May 2023. | Photo Credit: AP
Snipers in helicopters have shot more than 700 koalas in the Budj Bim National Park in western Victoria in recent weeks. It’s believed to be the first time koalas have been culled in this way.
The cull became public on Good Friday after local wildlife carers were reportedly tipped off.
A fire burned about 20% of the park in mid-March. The government said the cull was urgent because koalas had been left starving or burned.
Wildlife groups have expressed serious concern about how individual koalas had been chosen for culling, because the animals are assessed from a distance. It’s not clear how shooting from a helicopter complies with the state government’s own animal welfare and response plans for wildlife in disasters.
The Victorian government must explain why it is undertaking aerial culling and why it did so without announcing it publicly. The incident points to ongoing failures in managing these iconic marsupials, which are already threatened in other states.
Why did this happen?
Koalas live in eucalypt forests in Australia’s eastern and southern states. The species faces a double threat from habitat destruction and bushfire risk. They are considered endangered in New South Wales, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory.
In Victoria, koala population levels are currently secure. But they are densely concentrated, often in fragments of bush known as “habitat islands” in the state’s southwest. Budj Bim National Park is one of these islands.
Over time, this concentration becomes a problem. When the koalas are too abundant, they can strip leaves from their favourite gums, killing the trees. The koalas must then move or risk starvation.
If fire or drought make these habitat islands impossible to live in, koalas in dense concentrations often have nowhere to go.
In Budj Bim, Victoria’s Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action and Parks Victoria have tackled koala overpopulation alongside Traditional Owners by moving koalas to new locations or sterilising them.
But Budj Bim is also surrounded by commercial blue gum plantations. Koalas spread out through the plantations to graze on the leaves. Their populations grow. But when the plantations are logged, some koalas have to return to the national park, where food may be in short supply.
Animal welfare groups say logging is one reason Budj Bim had so many koalas.
It’s hard to say definitively whether this is the case, because the state environment department hasn’t shared much information. But researchers have found habitat islands lead to overabundance by preventing the natural dispersal of individuals.
So why was the culling done? Department officials have described the program as “primarily” motivated by animal welfare. After the bushfire last month, koalas have been left starving or injured.
Why shooters in helicopters? Here, the justification given is that the national park is difficult to access due to rocky terrain and fire damage, ruling out other methods.
Euthanising wildlife
Under Victoria’s plan for animal welfare during disasters, the environment department is responsible for examining and, where necessary, euthanising wildlife during an emergency.
For human intervention to be justified, euthanasia must be necessary on welfare grounds. Victoria’s response plan for fire-affected wildlife says culling is permitted when an animal’s health is “significantly” compromised, invasive treatment is required, or survival is unlikely.
For koalas, this could mean loss of digits or hands, burns to more than 15% of the body, pneumonia from smoke inhalation, or blindness or injuries requiring surgery. Euthanised females must also be promptly examined for young in their pouches.
The problem is that while aerial shooting can be accurate in some cases for larger animals, the method has questionable efficacy for smaller animals – especially in denser habitats.
It’s likely a number of koalas were seriously injured but not killed. But the shooters employed by the department were not able to thoroughly verify injuries or whether there were joeys in pouches, because they were in the air and reportedly 30 or more metres away from their targets.
While the department cited concerns about food resources as a reason for the cull, the state’s wildlife fire plan lays out another option: delivery of supplementary feed. Delivering fresh gum leaves could potentially have prevented starvation while the forest regenerates.
Lessons for the government
The state government should take steps to avoid tragic incidents like this from happening again.
Preserving remaining habitat across the state is a vital step, as is reconnecting isolated areas with habitat corridors. This would not only reduce the concentration of koalas in small pockets but increase viable refuges and give koalas safe paths to new food sources after a fire.
Future policies should be developed in consultation with Traditional Owners, who have detailed knowledge of species distributions and landscapes.
We need better ways to help wildlife in disasters. One step would be bringing wildlife rescue organisations into emergency management more broadly, as emphasised in the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission and the more recent Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements.
This latter report pointed to South Australia’s specialised emergency animal rescue and relief organisation – SAVEM – as an effective model. Under SA’s emergency management plan, the organisation is able to rapidly access burned areas after the fire has passed through.
Victoria’s dense communities of koalas would be well served by a similar organisation able to work alongside existing skilled firefighting services.
The goal would be to make it possible for rescuers to get to injured wildlife earlier and avoid any more mass aerial culls.
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Outcry over orphaned joeys after Australia shoots hundreds of koalas from helicopters
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https://www.discoverwildlife.com/animal-facts/koala-cull-budj-bim-national-park-australia
Huge outcry as Australia shoots 700 koalas from helicopters
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Why were hundreds of koalas shot in an aerial cull in Victoria?
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Authorities Snipe Hundreds of Koalas From Helicopters in Controversial ‘Aerial Cull’ in Australia
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Sniping koalas from helicopters: here’s what’s wrong with Victoria’s unprecedented cull
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PETITIONS
https://www.thepetitionsite.com/293/450/038/
Stop the Slaughter: They Shot Innocent Koalas From Helicopters.
The tragic culling of over 700 koalas in Budj Bim National Park in Victoria is a horrifying reminder of how our wildlife is being failed by shortsighted policies. This decision to shoot these beloved creatures from helicopters, after a bushfire ravaged their habitat, was not only a shocking act of cruelty but also a devastating loss to the ecosystem.
Sign this petition to demand the Victorian government stop culling koalas and implement humane, science-based solutions to protect these populations!
Some of the koalas killed were mothers with joeys, leaving helpless young behind to face an uncertain future. The culling fails to address the underlying causes of koala population pressure – namely habitat destruction from logging, fires, and inadequate wildlife management.
Rather than resorting to mass extermination, there are more effective and compassionate ways to address these issues, including habitat restoration and wildlife corridors.
We cannot afford to continue taking such drastic measures when more humane solutions exist. We must push the Victorian government to adopt long-term, science-based approaches to koala conservation that focus on preserving their habitats, rescuing those in need, and ensuring a future where these iconic marsupials can thrive.
Sign now to demand that the Victorian government stop the culling and put in place real protections for koalas and their habitats.
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https://koalaalliance.org.au/petitions
Outraged by the recent shooting of 750 koalas at Budj Bim by the Victorian Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action? Take action NOW.
(PLEASE SIGN
>> SIGN HERE:
>> SIGN HERE:
There are very strong ethical reasons to modersise the global animal welfare policy. ‘Forward For Animals’ is an organisation calling on EU decision makers to do just that.
On thousands of farms right across the EU, animals are constantly suffering in silence from both cruelty and neglect. We have exposed this so many times on WAV; along with the other excellent organisations (in this particular case) within the EU.
Laws that were created to allegedly give these same animals ‘protection’ in some instances are now over 40 years old. They never have given animals ‘protection’ – they are laws which have always been, and continue to be, unfit for purpose. As a result, sentient living animals continue to suffer daily.
Forward For Animals in the latest campaign from the Eurogroup for Animals network. It looks to expose the reality of life for suffering farm animals throughout the EU; to debunk the myths spewed out by the industry; and to provide positive ways forward for all stakeholders.
The European Commission launched a much needed revision for animal welfare some 5 years ago, with the promise of presenting the proposal by 2024. Suprise, suprise, the EU has failed to deliver once again – the promise to review the rules and make them open to the public – a commitment to modernise and change the rules continues to be pushed back and delayed further.
Responding to continued and increased pressure to deliver on the proposals, the Commissioner for Animal Welfare; Oliver Varhelyi, has promised updated updated legislation for animals on EU farms by 2026. This includes the promise to deliver a ban on all cage systems used in farming.
The laws must reflect citizens mandates, evidence from us in welfare, along with the scientific community.
There must be a firm and legal commitment to end animal suffering across farming, transport, trade, science and everything ‘environmental’.
The campaign highlights that dignity, kindness, compassion and safety should be the basic rights for all sentient beings in Europe.
Later in the year, citizens will have the opportunity to participate in, and to give their support for the campaign.
Link – Forward For Animals https://www.eurogroupforanimals.org/forward-animals
As many of you know of course, today was the day where the world said farewell to Pope Francis, of Rome. Francis, unlike so many before him, took this name upon ascension, in reference to the Patron Saint of Animals, St. Francis of Assisi.
The Hindustan Times explains …
St. Francis of Assisi, born Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone around 1181 or 1182 in Assisi, Italy, is a prominent figure among Catholics. He was a renowned Italian mystic and poet who renounced his wealth to embrace radical poverty. Francis of Assisi founded the Franciscan Order, ..
“He was particularly concerned for God’s creation and for the poor and outcast. He loved, and was deeply loved for his joy, his generous self-giving, his openheartedness. He was a mystic and a pilgrim who lived in simplicity and in wonderful harmony with God, with others, with nature and with himself. He shows us just how inseparable the bond is between concern for nature, justice for the poor, commitment to society, and interior peace,” the former Catholic Church leader added.
https://www.ncronline.org/news/earthbeat/why-francis-assisi-patron-saint-ecology
While of course, as all men (and women naturally) are, by our very nature, fallible creatures – Pope Francis was not perfect in his pursuit of the high moral example set by the Saint St. Francis in the important – for us, area of ecology and animal welfare – he was nevertheless a man who followed his path with honesty, humility, and great dedication.
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https://www.all-creatures.org/articles/an-tpr-pope-francis-mother-earth.html
Pope Francis and Mother Earth
Earth in Transition
June 2015
The full encyclical is available here. It’s less than 200 short pages, written in a simple, everyday style, and is the work of a thoughtful and caring person.
Francis’s encyclical, Laudato Si, is much more than a commentary on climate change; it’s a sweeping indictment of the entire global capitalist system that’s wrecking the planet.
Those who say that the Pope shouldn’t get involved in the issue of what’s happening to Planet Earth and all its inhabitants are either very stupid or very afraid. Or, in the case of the political establishment, both.
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Even PETA sees fit to make a Pope the Person of the Year, 2015 …
https://www.peta.org/blog/pope-francis-is-petas-2015-person-of-the-year/
Why Is Pope Francis PETA’s 2015 Person of the Year?
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.. and another comment again, recently ..
https://www.peta.org.uk/blog/pope-francis/
Pope Francis
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We at WAV would like to join the many around the Globe who today say Farewell to Pope Francis. He was an inspiration, and a steward to God’s Creation.
Rest in Peace, Francesco
https://www.birdguides.com/news/poachers-assault-conservationists-in-zakynthos/
Masked hunters have ambushed and beaten up a team of international ornithologists from the Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) on the Greek island of Zakynthos.As a result of the attack three birders were injured and taken to hospital for treatment, CABS said. Local police have launched an investigation.The incident, which happened on 16 April 2025 at 12.30 pm, occurred at the Keri peninsula, an area that is known for the illegal shooting of migratory birds. Despite a total ban on spring hunting on the island many hunters were reported to be present, with most of them were carrying shotguns.
A Slovenian member of CABS had his nose broken in the incident on Zakynthos (CABS).
Brutal attack
CABS explained that while documenting the situation, some poachers approached its team and started to hurl insults and threaten them.
Stefania Travaglia, an Italian member of the CABS team, said: “Within minutes they were joined by other angry hunters and the situation went totally out of control.”
Emma Phipps, also of CABS, added: “They also threw stones and warned us never to return to Keri again if we would value our lifes.”
Travaglia added that, without warning, her team members were punched in the face, thrown to the ground and kicked in the stomach. A body camera and a smartphone, both of which recorded the incident, were also stolen by the attackers.
The men only stopped their attack and ran off when they realised that the police had been called for help and a patrol was on the way to the scene. While the officers were trying to find and identify the attackers, one female and two male birders were transported to the Saint Dionysios General Hospital in Zakynthos where doctors treated a broken nose as well as several open wounds and bruises.
Suspects identified
It is understood that local police have already identified a number of suspects which have been brought in for questioning.
CABS president Karl-Heinz Kreutzer condemned the attack as a “brutal and cowardly assault” and called upon the authorities to leave no stone unturned to bring those responsible to justice. He added that CABS will not bow to violence and intimidation tactics and that its members will continue with its activities on Zakynthos until the end of the month.
To find out more about CABS or support its work, visit www.komitee.de.
Published: 19 April 2025
The jaguar’s future looks increasingly uncertain as Big Agribusiness tears down its home in Brazil’s tropical forests to make way for cattle ranching.
Jaguars are key for healthy ecosystems. Gerald Corsi / Getty Images
In a fight between a jaguar and a cow, who do you think would win? If you guessed South America’s most powerful predator, you’d be wrong.
As industrial agriculture like cattle ranching destroys Brazil’s forests, it also threatens jaguars – a keystone species vital to biodiversity and climate stability.
This new investigation reveals that JBS, the world’s largest meat processor, is one of the actors behind this crisis.
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https://animalvictory.org/petition/sign-find-man-who-brutally-beat-goose-with-curtain-rod/
The battered goose was left “almost lifeless in pain.” Rescuers rushed him to a veterinarian in an attempt to save his life, but he went into cardiac arrest and died while being sedated for surgery.
Now the slain goose’s mate is left alone. Canada geese mate for life, making this horrific crime even more heart wrenching.
The slain goose’s mate is now alone (via Tidewater Wildlife Rescue)
The man who bludgeoned this goose not only committed a shocking act of animal cruelty—he also broke the law, as Canada geese are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, making this a federal crime.
Please sign the petition today to help Animal Victory hold this individual accountable for his abhorrent behavior when he is found and arrested! Animal Victory is offering a $500 reward for information leading to the identification, arrest, and conviction of the person responsible!
Bludgeoned to death in front of his mate
Target: Department of Wildlife Resources, Wildlife Crime Division
WHY THIS PETITION MATTERS:
We, the undersigned, want the man responsible for this crime to be found and charged. We demand this individual be prosecuted for each and every law he violated!
Research has consistently shown a strong link between animal cruelty and human violence. Individuals who commit such heinous acts against animals often pose a threat to society as a whole, as animal abuse is frequently a precursor to other violent crimes. Failing to hold this man accountable not only denies justice for the innocent goose he brutalized but also endangers the community at large. It is imperative that we send a clear message that such cruelty will not be tolerated.
Individuals are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law. Animal Victory relies upon the authorities and the court system to determine guilt or innocence.
Note: Efforts are underway to find this man. The goose was attacked in the area of 144 Business Park Dr, Virginia Beach, VA Anyone with information is asked to call Tidewater Wildlife Rescue by calling 757-255-8710.
NEWS
Please sign Petition on Page
Take your pick of the F&M news –
https://www.politico.eu/article/uk-eu-meat-dairy-ban-foot-and-mouth-disease-enforcement-smuggling/
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/terrifying-virus-shuts-europe-borders-35037628
https://www.politicsweb.co.za/documents/on-footandmouth-disease-in-kzn–john-steenhuisen
https://www.politico.eu/article/hungary-confirms-fifth-foot-and-mouth-outbreak-as-virus-persists/
World Animals Voice 