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

 

 

WAV Comment – This is disgusting and illegal; yet cretins of the human race pump money into a go fund me site to clear wildlife from their area.  It just shows what some are like – as we say; cretins; probably too good a word for them.  Lets hope that all involved in this terrible crime to wildlife have the full force of the legal system thrown at them.

Also; .lets hope that all the residents who funded this killing spree of an innocent animal NEVER get their donations back – we hope the money will be given to Project Coyote by an act of law  Disgusting humans !

 

 

For Immediate Release: July 9, 2020

 

Coyote Pup Illegally Trapped & Fatally Maimed in Cruel Leghold Trap

 

Incident Under Criminal Investigation ~ Wildlife Protection Organizations Call for Justice

VALLEY VILLAGE, CA—California-based Project Coyote has released a video depicting a coyote pup captured in an illegally set leghold trap in the upscale neighborhood of Valley Village (adjacent to North Hollywood), and law enforcement agencies are currently investigating the incident for possible criminal violations.

The video shows—in graphic detail—the coyote pup struggling in the trap, desperate to free itself, with no cover in the searing summer heat. It is believed that the pup suffered in the trap for days before local residents heard it crying in pain and came to its rescue. The animal’s distress was so great, as is evident in the video, that at one point a caring girl felt compelled to offer water to the pup, but it suffered such severe injuries from the trap that it was later euthanized by Los Angeles Animal Services.

“Ironically this coyote was trapped through a GoFundMe campaign organized by Valley Village resident Lisa Johnson Mandell who solicited money from neighbors for ‘humane wildlife removal,’” said Project Coyote’s Southern California Representative Randi Feilich. “In talking to neighborhood residents, I found they were shocked to learn that donations were used to hire a trapper to set cruel, indiscriminate and illegal leghold traps. According to Feilich, the GoFundMe page has since been deactivated.

The trapper is believed to have violated multiple state laws and is now under investigation by Los Angeles Animal Cruelty Task Force and the California Department of Wildlife. “Leghold traps were banned by California voters in 1998 so this trap set is clearly in violation of that law,” said Camilla Fox, Project Coyote Founder and Executive Director. “Moreover, California law requires that trappers check their traps daily and obtain written permission from property owners when setting traps less than 150 yards from a residence, which this trapper clearly failed to do.”

“We commend the multiple law enforcement agencies involved in this case for their due diligence in investigating this incident, and we hope the trapper and anyone else responsible will receive the stiffest sentence possible under the law,” said Feilich, who spoke to authorities and neighborhood residents in producing the video released on Project Coyote’s YouTube page and on Valley Village’s Nextdoor site. “We also believe many residents who generously donated money to this GoFundMe page were misled by the organizer into thinking they were hiring a humane wildlife control business to remove the coyote, but instead their donations were used to fund the worst type of illegal animal cruelty, resulting in a slow and painful death to a young coyote pup.”

“Despite a state law banning leghold traps, many private trappers and ‘pest’ control businesses continue to use them in clear violation of the law,” said Fox. “Until these trappers receive more than a slap on the wrist, they will continue to flagrantly violate the law. We must crackdown on this unconscionable cruelty so another animal does not suffer such a painful and needless death.”

 

Watch the video of the captured coyote here.

Warning: Graphic Content

 

 

Project Coyote’s Coyote Friendly Communities program offers humane and proactive educational resources, tools and expertise to help communities peacefully and safely coexist with coyotes and other wild neighbors. Learn more here.

 

Regards Mark – and as they say:

 

 

 

 

 

Regards Mark

 

 

For Immediate Release: July 2, 2020

County Residents Urged to Oppose Killing of Wildlife
in Mendocino County
Board of Supervisors to vote on Controversial USDA “Wildlife Services” program

Ukiah, CA – The Mendocino Non-lethal Wildlife Alliance (MNWA) and Project Coyote urge Mendocino County residents to virtually attend the July 14th County Board of Supervisors meeting via the tele-meeting option and express their strong opposition to the County’s likely renewal of their $170,000 contract with USDA Wildlife Services. Those who are unable to attend the meeting on the 14th are encouraged to urge their Supervisor to oppose the renewal of the contract.

 

Residents are also encouraged to sign a related petition urging the Board to end their contract with Wildlife Services at this link:

https://www.thepetitionsite.com/842/567/041/stop-the-killing-now/#published

 

“The Public Trust Doctrine holds that wildlife is to be managed for the benefit of the public, and yet Mendocino County continues to spend tax dollars to contract with Wildlife Services to trap, shoot, and kill hundreds of bears, bobcats, coyotes, foxes, mountain lions and other wildlife each year at the behest of private ranchers and other agricultural interests,” said Camilla Fox, Executive Director of Project Coyote. 

For more than a century, Wildlife Services has killed millions of wild animals annually using shockingly cruel and inhumane methods. These methods include aerial gunning, body-gripping traps, poisoning, strangulation neck snares and M-44s (mini-cyanide bombs that explode in an unsuspecting animal’s mouth, causing an excruciating death). Wildlife Services only refrains from using these barbaric killing methods when they are forced to do so by lawsuit, ballot initiative or public pressure. 

“We do not believe that public tax dollars should be used to support an agency that has no moral code and a history of brutally killing not only native wildlife but also our beloved pets who get caught in their traps,” said Carol Misseldine, MNWA Steering Committee member.

A bare majority of the County Board has signalled their interest in not only renewing their contract with this rogue agency, but in actually expanding permissible killing methods to include neck wringing, cervical dislocation and the use of CO2—all of which can cause extreme pain and suffering. The intended private beneficiaries of the public tax dollars funding these contracts are primarily ranchers and their livestock. However, the scientific research is overwhelming and clear: killing wildlife to reduce livestock predation is not only ineffective, it is often counterproductive in that livestock predation often increases as a result of predator social systems being destabilized when older or alpha members are killed.

Counties throughout the country, including neighboring Marin and Sonoma, have already ended their contracts with Wildlife Services and have instead brought in non-lethal wildlife management methods and services to protect property and livestock. Such non-lethal wildlife exclusion techniques, including fencing, night corrals and Foxlights, have proven far more effective than senseless killing by Wildlife Services.

Gowan Batist, a fifth-generation Mendocino County resident and the farm manager at Fortunate Farm in Caspar, is a devout champion of using non-lethal strategies to protect her livestock. “I raise sheep, which are extremely vulnerable to predation; some say that lambs are basically nature’s tater tots.  But since implementing non-lethal control methods on my farm six years ago, I have not had a single loss to a coyote. The only loss I’ve had in those six years was to a mountain lion, and that was by a hungry teenage lion in the immediate aftermath of its mother being killed by a neighbor or Wildlife Services, which goes to what the science tells us: killing predators only increases livestock predation,” she said.

Maureen Mulheren and Mari Rodin are running for the County Supervisor seat currently held by John McCowen. McCowen, a strong proponent for the continuation of Wildlife Services’ killing program, is retiring at the end of his current term in January 2021.

Mulheren agrees that the County should not be spending public dollars on behalf of private interests. “The lethal predator control methods that the USDA Wildlife Service employs are ineffective and outdated. As Supervisor, I will vote to terminate the County’s contract with Wildlife Services and instead use that $170,000 in tax dollars on education about and implementation of non-lethal techniques.”

Rodin said, “I base my decisions on sound scientific data and in this instance the science indicates that the methods used by USDA Wildlife Service are both ineffective and counterproductive. Moreover, they appear to be unethical. As Supervisor, I will vote to terminate our contract with Wildlife Services and instead support the use of non-lethal methods to manage human conflicts with wildlife by a local entity.”

Due to the Covid-19 health emergency, the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors is conducting all business virtually. To provide public comment, individuals must fill out the “comment request form” at the link below no later than 8:00 am on the day of the meeting. Once the form has been received and reviewed, instructions will be sent for how to call into the Zoom meeting and provide public comment.

https://www.mendocinocounty.org/government/board-of-supervisors/agendas-and-minutes

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