Hi Mark,

Heartbreaking news out of northeast Washington: a female adult wolf from the Wedge pack was killed yesterday by the state.

Now just two wolves remain of this pack.

Kill orders for up to two wolves of the Togo wolf family remain in place.

The state-sanctioned wolf slaughter in Washington on behalf of industry must end.

Please support our fight for wolves with a gift to the Wolf Defense Fund.

Washington’s stubborn reluctance to create new rules to manage conflicts with livestock flies in the face of common sense and science — and is deeply cruel.

And it leads to more decimated packs and orphaned wolves, who are left to fend for themselves without the skills to survive.

The state isn’t even following its own weak policy guidelines. It’s using a trigger-happy approach and killing wolves instead of enforcing nonlethal procedures that would save both wolves and cattle.

Since 2012 the state has killed 31 wolves. Nearly all were slaughtered for conflicts on public lands, with 26 killed for the same livestock owner. The original Wedge pack was destroyed in 2012. Now a new pack is clinging to survival.

Last week we petitioned Washington Gov. Jay Inslee to order the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission to draft enforceable rules that limit when the state can kill endangered wolves.

We’re seeking a reversal of the commission’s denial, last month, of a formal petition for wolf-management rules.

The senseless wolf-killing has to end. We’ll keep fighting the state until it adopts a new policy. Endangered wolves need to be protected and allowed to thrive in the wild, safe with their families — not shot down from helicopters or while immobilized in painful traps.

The Wedge and Togo packs are depending on us. We can’t give up on them.

Please give today to the Wolf Defense Fund so we can see this fight through.

For the wild,

Kierán Suckling
Executive Director
Center for Biological Diversity

• 

With thanks to Stacey at Our Compass  https://our-compass.org/author/ourcompasses/ for sending this info over. 

Regards Mark.

This vegan kitchen in the African Bush feeds an all-female anti-poaching unit

In Zimbabwe’s Lower Zambezi Valley, the world’s first all-female, vegan anti-poaching unit, called Akashinga, is thriving.

The community-driven unit — part of the International Anti-Poaching Foundation (IAPF), founded by former sniper Damien Mander — protects the land and its wildlife from trophy hunters and poachers.

Mander and the Akashinga women were recently the subjects of 2020’s Akashinga: The Brave Ones a documentary produced by Academy Award-winning director James Cameron.

The unit is completely plant-based; everyone is fed by the Akashinga Back to Black Roots Vegan Kitchen and Garden, run by Nicola Kagoro, also known as Chef Cola.

Funded by VegFund since 2018, the kitchen served more than 54,000 meals in 2019. This number is set to grow significantly in the coming years—the IAPF intends to expand its unit by 2025 to 1,000 rangers. Currently, it has 171 rangers, staff, and trainees.

Back to Black Roots Vegan Kitchen and Garden prepares nutritious, tasty camp meals and rations for the Akashinga staff, using locally-sourced traditional foods and, due to its location in the bush, no electricity.

As it grows, the kitchen will use more low-impact tools and technology. It plans to have an orchard for fresh fruit and even intends to construct a cabin to grow mushrooms.

‘Back To Black Roots’

One of the kitchen’s main goals is to encourage more traditional African diets, hence its name “Back to Black Roots.”

For centuries prior to European colonization, people across many African countries ate predominantly vegetarian meals. Chef Cola wants to encourage a shift back to this way of eating, to not only benefit the rangers, but local food suppliers too.

She told VegFund: “We use a lot of dried grains mixed with fresh produce, both vegetables, and fruits. The focus in sourcing is on empowering the local community and supporting small entrepreneurs (who might have banana farms or tomato gardens).”

Another goal of the kitchen is to teach about the environmental, ethical, and health benefits of plant-based living.

Chef Cola was educated via Cornell University’s T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutritional Studies. Dr. T. Colin Campbell, author of the 2004 book The China Study is one of the leading physicians in the plant-based movement.

She said: “I took that knowledge and shared it with my team. We all internalized and continue to reference Dr. T. Colin Campbell in our kitchen and garden.”




Click HERE to go Dairy-Free

Take the Dairy-Free Challenge HERE

Learn about eggs HERE

Download Your FREE Vegan PDF HERE

Order a FREE vegan kit: HERE

Bacon alternatives HERE

Take PETA’s Cruelty-Free Shopping Guide along with you next time you head to the store! The handy guide will help you find humane products at a glance. Order a FREE copy HERE

Searching for Cruelty-Free Cosmetics, Personal-Care Products, Vegan Products, or more?
Click HERE to search.

Click HERE to find out How to Wear Vegan!

Want to do more than go vegan? Help others to do so! Click below for nominal, or no, fees to vegan literature that you can use to convince others that veganism is the only compassionate route to being an animal friend:

PETA: HERE

Vegan Outreach: HERE

Get your FREE Activist Kit from PETA, including stickers, leaflets, and guide HERE

Have questions? Click HERE

 

From the Wolf Conservation Center:

https://engage.nywolf.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=151

 

Emergency: Stop the Senseless Killing of Washington’s Wolves

As you read this, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) sharpshooters are taking to the sky to find and kill another endangered wolf – a member of the Wedge wolf pack – in response to depredation of cattle on grazing lands in Stevens County. 

WDFW currently has an active kill order for the Togo wolf pack as well.

Science shows that killing a wolf can increase the risk that wolves will prey on livestock in the future. It is counterproductive and unsustainable.

Yet WDFW has resorted to killing wolves living in this same spot rugged forest land for years. In fact, they killed the original Wedge pack in 2012 for the very same reason. The original Wedge pack was accused of preying on livestock in the Colville National Forest eight years ago and, under Washington’s wolf management plan, the state opted to issue kill orders in an attempt to protect the livestock. The state killed the entire family of six state endangered wolves.

In the eight years since the original Wedge pack was destroyed, not much has changed. Livestock owners still graze their cows on rugged, forested public lands that are better suited for native ungulates, and WDFW is still killing wolves to benefit the profit margins of private businesses. In fact, 26 of the 31 state-endangered wolves that have been killed since 2012 were shot on behalf of the same livestock operator.

While it’s too late to protect the other 31 endangered wolves WDFW has gunned down since 2012, other Washington wolves still need our help.

Please take action to respectfully call on WDFW Director Kelly Susewind to immediately end the assault on Washington’s wolves.

Recipients

• Governor Jay Inslee
• Director Kelly Susewind

 

Take Action:

https://engage.nywolf.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=151

 

 

Well worth your support – read more on the wolf protectors at:

 

https://nywolf.org/about-the-wcc/

 

https://nywolf.org/learn/

 

https://nywolf.org/meet-our-wolves/

 

https://nywolf.org/save-the-wolves/

 

https://nywolf.org/calendar/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

22/7/20 – From the Center for Biological Diversity

 

https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/

 

We’ll Go to Court to Save Northwest Grizzlies

 

Hi Mark,

The administration’s war on grizzly bears just took an ugly turn.

After being denied its wish to make Yellowstone grizzlies the targets of trophy hunts, the administration is abandoning grizzly recovery in Washington’s North Cascades.

We can’t allow it to drop a plan to recover this iconic species, so we let the Interior Department and National Park Service know we intend to sue.

You can help our legal battle for grizzlies with a gift to the Saving Life on Earth Fund.

The North Cascades is one of the largest wild areas in the lower 48. Its mix of glaciers, mountains, forests, lakes and rivers creates one of the most biodiverse ecosystems in the country — and is excellent habitat for grizzly bears, which once thrived there.

Scientists believe the North Cascades could support 280 grizzlies. But today there may be as few as two.

For grizzlies to fully recover in the United States, there must be a robust, healthy population in the North Cascades. But the administration is throwing out a recovery plan for bears in this region. So we’re taking legal action to overturn its disastrous move.

Earlier this month we prevailed in our fight for Yellowstone grizzlies after the administration tried to strip away their Endangered Species Act protection so states could hold trophy hunts.

While Yellowstone’s bears are safe for now, the fight for grizzlies is not over.

To trash a plan to help grizzlies survive again in an ecosystem that even the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recognizes as a primary recovery area is a political giveaway to anti-wildlife forces. It’s also illegal.

We can’t fight the extinction crisis if keystone species like grizzly bears aren’t a part of rich, biodiverse ecosystems like the North Cascades.

We’ll see the administration in court if it doesn’t reverse its decision.

Please support our fight for grizzlies with a gift to the Saving Life on Earth Fund.

For the wild,

Kierán Suckling
Executive Director
Center for Biological Diversity

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Many thanks to activist Violette in France for her kind words about Slavica; and for sending this over:  Regards Mark

 

blob:https://www.facebook.com/dd6fe3e7-ddf0-4196-ac94-c0563949dfc4

 

 

Turkey: Two videos show brown bears tortured by hunters

In recent weeks, two videos showing hunters shooting or torturing bears have caused outrage in Turkey. Animal rights groups denounce laws protecting this species that are not strict enough and a feeling of impunity among hunting enthusiasts, who are relatively few in the country.

Both videos circulated in WhatsApp groups before being reported to the Turkish association Haytap (Federation for Animal Rights – Turkey), which posted them on its Facebook page on 9 and 12 July.

The first video shows a bear visibly injured and covered in blood in the head and upper
body. There are at least two male voices commenting on the scene, one of them commands a dog: “Attack, attack”. A dog then bites the bear, followed by a second. At one point, a hunter armed with a rifle can be seen walking a few metres from the bear, who does not shoot to finish off the injured animal.
According to the Haytap association, the scene took place about two months ago in the village of Arhavi, in the northeastern province of Artvin.

The second video shows two men holding the corpse of a class and having fun hitting his head while uttering insults.

According to Haytap, the video was also filmed about two months ago in the village of Agaçseven, in Trabzon province, also in the north-east of the

country. One of the shoemakers refers to the beginning of the video to the Ramadan period, which took place from April 23 to May 23. Both videos have been viewed hundreds of thousands of times on social media and have been the subject of several television topics.

“These hunters take pleasure in torturing animals”

The Haytap association has filed a complaint against these hunters and hopes to obtain firm prison sentences against them, thus creating a legal precedent. Ahmet Kemal Senpolat is President of Haytap and lawyer:
For each of the videos, we filed a complaint against two individuals, thanks to the report of the inhabitants. Bears are protected by law in Turkey, there are about 3,000 left and are mainly located in the Northern Black Sea region where both videos were filmed.
We hope that this time the law will be enforced and that they will receive firm prison sentences, not simple fines as is the case when there are cases of torture against domestic animals such as cats or
dogs.
The videos are terrible and show, in our opinion, that these hunters take pleasure in torturing
animals. In Turkey, there is a great deal of sensitivity on these issues and it was villagers from these regions who saw the videos circulated on WhatsApp groups who reported them to us. They did not dare to raise the alarm themselves for fear of reprisals from the hunters. Despite the precautions they took, they told us that they still received threats when both cases were published in the open and the videos were broadcast on television.

 

“These conflicts could be avoided if their natural habitat were preserved”

Yagci is a member of another Turkish animal rights association, Hakim (HAKIM Animal Rights Monitoring Committee), of the Turkish TvD Vegan Association and a documentary filmmaker.
We are fortunate in Turkey to still have several thousand wild bears living in the wild [in 2019, there were 52 bears in France]but unfortunately their habitat is quickly nibbled by human activities such as the construction of infrastructure such as dams or roads.
When I was shooting a documentary in Kars (eastern Turkey), I saw bears regularly crossing a railway track to fetch food from a
landfill. Often these bears were hit by trains and environmental activists told me that they were trying to rescue them, to no avail.
Sometimes hunters say they kill bears because there is a conflict between humans and animals, but we believe that these so-called “conflicts” could be avoided if humans preserved their natural habitat.
We regularly carry out awareness campaigns against hunting and they are successful, the Turks are sensitive to the cause of animals and reject any form of abuse, including
hunting. But unfortunately the laws do not follow this trend and, until recently, a law had to be proposed to vote to expand the number of species hunted and facilitate hunting tourism. The process was eventually postponed.

 

 

WAV Comment – The ‘Daily Mirror’ is a UK national newspaper; and they have an exclusive here on US dentist, and the killer of Cecil the lion; Walter Palmer; returning this time to Mongolia to kill sheep with a bow and arrow.  The HIS, who we very much respect, have made a statement about this below.  They have to be politically correct because of their position; we don’t; so we call this utter tosser nothing but a soiled asshole; just like his President and the members of his family who do the same ‘he man’ activities !

All photos with courtesy of the Daily Mirror.

 

Above – dim and Dimmer Trump

 

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/dentist-who-killed-cecil-lion-22337583

 

Dentist who killed Cecil the lion back hunting as new photo shows sick slaughter

 

Above – Cecil the lion

 

EXCLUSIVE: Walter Palmer, 60, sparked global backlash after killing much-loved lion Cecil in Zimbabwe, almost exactly five years ago – now he’s been pictured showing off a slaughtered sheep

The dentist who slayed Cecil the lion five years ago is hunting again.

Walter Palmer, 60, paid up to £80,000 to slaughter a huge ram in Mongolia.

But after the outrage over the death of Cecil, the American “driller killer’s” face is hidden on photos boasting of the hunt.

Humane Society International said: “Clearly the killing for kicks continues”.

In a new photo – with his face hidden from view – the man who killed Cecil the lion shows off a slaughtered wild sheep.

 

 

The image was taken on a sickening trip that proves dentist Palmer has returned to trophy hunting.

It comes despite the global backlash the American sparked after slaying much-loved lion Cecil in Zimbabwe, almost exactly five years ago.

Palmer paid up to £80,000 for the trip to hunt Altai argali – the world’s biggest type of sheep – in Mongolia.

Dr Teresa Telecky, wildlife vice-president at Humane Society International, said: “For trophy hunters to travel to Mongolia to kill a beautiful and ­endangered ram is an absolute outrage.

“The argali ram is a species in danger of extinction, so the idea that these animals can be killed for pleasure is abhorrent.

“The killing of Cecil the lion five years ago caused international shock. But clearly the killing for kicks continues.

“It’s time for the law to stop wildlife killers in their tracks by banning trophy hunting.”

The Mirror is campaigning for an end to trophy hunting and calling on the UK Government to ban the import of animals killed for pleasure.

Palmer’s trip to Mongolia last August is thought to have lasted up to a week, after travelling 5,800 miles from his home state of Minnesota.

Palmer and his friend Brent Sinclair met local guides before heading into the mountains to track their prey.

The two men have travelled the world together to kill animals for fun.

It is understood the ram, said to be a “much older male”, was killed with an arrow from around 30 yards.

A source claims Palmer has several more trips planned.

The insider said: “At the time of Cecil’s death, Walter took a back seat. But he’s been hunting ever since he was a boy. It’s a way of life to him. Walter has undertaken several hunts since Cecil’s death.

“The trip to Mongolia was his idea. The ram was on his list of hunts he wanted to complete.”

The sheep is still in Mongolia for now.

US officials have yet to grant the permit for it to be exported to America.

Of their hunt to kill the Altai argali, Sinclair was careful not to name Palmer on social media posts, instead calling him “amigo”.

Writing on his public Facebook page, Sinclair said of the driller killer: “I have booked more hunting trips with this guy over the past 20 years than I can count.

 

“Together, we have travelled to many far reaches of the world.”

He talked about them once killing an elephant, but said the trip to slaughter the sheep may be “at the top of the pinnacle and hard to beat”.

He added: “Thanks, Amigo for the adventure… look forward to our next one.”

 

 

The Mirror spoke to Palmer as he emerged from a bar in Bloomington, Minnesota, after he had taken an early lunch.

He smiled at first, but his face turned to anger when shown the pictures of his hunt in Mongolia.

He refused to talk, driving off in his £95,000 Porsche Cayenne Turbo.

Dad-of-two Palmer refuses to hunt with a gun, using a bow and arrow instead.

He is known to spend hours practising at his million-dollar five-bedroom home in Eden Prairie, near Minneapolis, and his holiday house in Marco Island, Florida.

Palmer was with Sinclair, who arranges hunts for wealthy Americans, when Cecil the lion was killed.

The magnificent creature was a huge attraction in Hwange National Park.

At the time, he was being tracked through a GPS satellite collar by a research team at Oxford University as part of a long-term study.

The 13-year-old black-maned lion was wounded with an arrow, then tracked and killed with a second dart the following morning, around 12 hours later.

Police investigated after a claim that Cecil was slaughtered illegally. There were accusations bait was used to lure him out of his protected habitat.

 

However, Zimbabwe’s High Court threw out charges against Palmer’s guide Theo Bronkhorst.

The court agreed with the defence that it could not have been a crime because the American had a legal permit to hunt.

It is thought the trip cost Palmer around £40,000. Afterwards, the dentist said: “If I had known this lion had a name and was important to the country or a study, obviously I wouldn’t have taken it.

“Nobody in our hunting party knew before or after the name of this lion.”

Two weeks after Palmer’s trip to Mongolia last year, the US President’s eldest son Donald Trump Jr also ­travelled there to hunt the sheep.

It cost American taxpayers £60,000 for the cost of secret service agents.

Critics argue that Trump Jr’s love of killing big game is the reason why his dad has rolled back restrictions on imports of hunting trophies.

Above – the asshole sleeps