NEWSWILDLIFE

A year has come and gone and 20 dolphins are still being kept illegally in substandard conditions as part of the Indonesian traveling circus industry. After it was discovered that the dolphins were acquired without the proper permits, the Indonesian government set up a Memorandum of Understanding last year to transfer the dolphins to Jakarta Animal Aid Network and Earth Island Institute for rehabilitation and release.

The transfer was scheduled to take place on March 10, 2011. At the last minute, the Indonesian government backed out. The dolphins continue to be transported in tiny tanks and perform circus tricks while the brand new facility built to accommodate the dolphins’ rehab still stands empty.

Dismayed by the lack of action from the Indonesian government, Barbara Napoles launched a petition asking Indonesia to release the dolphins as agreed upon in the MOU. “These dolphins were wild-captured by fishermen and sold to the circus,” Barbara told me. “They, along with 52 other traveling circus dolphins, deserve better living conditions.”

Only a handful of airlines still engage in the transportation of primates destined for research labs as cargo. Now imagine this scenario: A major airline partakes in this practice, but after becoming aware of the cruel future that awaits their cargo, the airline decides to change their policy and opt out of carrying research-bound primates.

Sounds good, right? Well, hold your victory dance, the story doesn’t end there. The airline then is told that they cannot stop transporting primates until a hearing takes place that will decide if they can change their own policy.

This is the reality that Air Canada is facing.

While Christmas shopping at a Green Earth store in Windsor, Ontario, last month, Dan MacDonald noticed products called Frog-O-Spheres — plastic tanks containing live frogs. Some of the frogs were pressed up against the plastic, while others floated lifelessly. MacDonald watched in disbelief as some kids and their father shook one of the aquariums. “Is this thing real?” the dad asked a store clerk as the frog’s limp body rolled around the tank.

“The disrespect to this animal on every level was unbelievable,” MacDonald said. “I was outraged a place called Green Earth could demonstrate such a blatant and pathetic exploitation of a living thing.”

MacDonald knew something had to be done, so he started a campaign on Change.org calling for Green Earth stores to stop selling the Frog-O-Spheres. “I've been an animal activist for many years, so I took it upon myself, because I was so touched and disturbed by what I saw,” he said.

This is a guest post by Karen Van Atta Luce, petition creator and volunteer with the Wild Burro Protection League.

Not too long ago, burros were considered important heritage animals. These gentle animals literally built the Southwest, hauling supplies and serving as loyal companions. They embody the cultural crossroads of Native Americans, Mexicans and settlers in the region.

For hundreds of years, wild burros have been part of the ecosystem, supporting other wildlife by enriching the desert in places like Big Bend Ranch State Park.

If you go even further back in time, the bible says that Mary rode a burro into Bethlehem on Christmas Eve, and Jesus rode a burro into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.

Rick Spilsbury is a Western Shoshone, native to Nevada. He lives in Ely and writes a blog called No Shoot Foot that you can check out here: http://noshootfoot.blogspot.com/

By: Rick Spilsbury

Being in Nature is like going back to your soul. You know what I'm talking about; that feeling that you are more complete when you feel you're a part of a natural place.

And you should. No man is an island. We are just a part of life on Earth – and we should relish that. As humans, we crave the feeling of a complete soul. And we are more likely to feel that feeling when we are in Nature. In fact, fresh air actually feels like the breath of life – because it is. This perception makes sense if we think of the life all around us as the rest of our soul. And the life around us is that consciousness which lives on after our body dies.

And if this all makes sense, then destroying nature for money is destroying a part of your soul.

Hundreds of people around the U.S. have joined Stiv Wilson's petition on Change.org asking the National Park Service to re-instate its plastic bottle ban in the Grand Canyon. But he's not the only person angered enough to launch a petition. Independently of Stiv, others have come to Change.org to launch their own campaigns and are now coordinating their voices. Here are what the petition creators say: 

Deborah Patterson, Artist and Art Teacher, Baltimore, Maryland (Deborah's petition)

Over the years, I have signed many, many petitions to protect and support the environment, but this is the first one I have ever started. When I read that Coca-Cola had actually threatened to reduce or eliminate their support for the National Park system if the Grand Canyon banned the sale of disposable water bottles, I knew I had to do something.  Our national parks are owned by the citizens of the United States, whose taxes help maintain them.  The corporate world has no right to exercise this kind of coercion, which in schools is called "bullying."  At whatever level and in whatever form it needs to stop, and the only way to stop it is to stand up to it.

Devin Saez, Architect, Los Angeles, California (Devin's petition)

Hundreds of people around the U.S. have joined Stiv Wilson's petition on Change.org asking the National Park Service to re-instate its plastic bottle ban in the Grand Canyon. Signers are worried about the effects of plastic litter and pollution, and want the National Park Service to protect the beauty and wildlife of the Grand Canyon, one of America's greatest natural treasures. They are also angered that corporate interests, namely Coca-Cola's desire to keep making profits on bottled water, could take precedent over the public's interest in doing what's best for the park. Below is a statement from one petition signer we'd like to highlight. You can see many others by looking at the petition.

Wayne L. Hamilton, PhD. served America's national parks for more than two decades, as a research scientist at Yellowstone National Park and as a ranger at Zion National Park, among other positions. Since retiring from the Park Service in 1996, Wayne has worked as a research scientist in Baja California. His father, Warren F. Hamilton, was a Grand Canyon National Park Ranger between 1933 and 1940, and served as Superintendent of Everglades National Park and Zion National Park, and as the National Park Service's Assistant Regional Director of the Western Regional Office.

Post by Wayne L. Hamilton:

Hundreds of people around the U.S. have joined Stiv Wilson's petition on Change.org asking the National Park Service to re-instate its plastic bottle ban in the Grand Canyon. Signers are worried about the effects of plastic litter and pollution, and want the National Park Service to protect the beauty and wildlife of the Grand Canyon, one of America's greatest natural treasures. They are also angered that corporate interests, namely Coca-Cola's desire to keep making profits on bottled water, could take precedent over the public's interest in doing what's best for the park. Below is a statement from one petition signer we'd like to highlight. You can find many others by looking at the petition.

Erica Donnelly, Marine Biologist:

"I am a marine scientist in Santa Cruz, California who researches plastic ingestion in birds including Northern Fulmars, Albatrosses, and Shearwaters. We find plastic fragments from a variety of sources (both local and non-local) inside of bird stomachs.  Almost every bird we examine contains internal plastic that can effect the animal directly (internal blockages, abrasions, etc.) or indirectly (chemical toxicity from pollutants that adhere to plastics).

Seabirds are just one example of how are extensive use of disposable plastics is impacting wildlife. Micro-plastic infiltrate our ground water, water ways, and soil creating a national health issue, not just a localized problem on the coast.  We must get to the source of the issue and curtail our dependency on single use, disposable plastics.  Please help make a step in the right direction by banning plastic bottles."

You can join Erica and hundreds of others by signing Stiv Wilson's petition today.

Actress Kristin Bauer, who plays  the vampire Pam on HBO's True Blood, has launched a campaign on Change.org with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine urging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect captive chimpanzees.

Last month, North Carolina wildlife agents stormed a Randolph County rehabilitation farm and killed nine tame deer on Wayne Kindley's property. Armed agents claimed to have a warrant authorizing their actions, saying the animals could have Chronic Wasting Disease.

Lab test results, however, were negative—none of the nine deer killed by wildlife officials had the disease.

Surprised? Don't be. CWD has never been found in North Carolina and the closest known case was documented in northern Virginia, hundreds of miles away. In addition, seven of the nine killed deer were fallow deer, a species not susceptible  to CWD.

So why is it the North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission's policy to storm a farm and slaughter tame deer, some of which were in rehabilitation?

That's just what more than 20,000 people around the world want to know as they push to change the way game wardens operate within the state. Unfortunately, state officials are either attempting to ignore the issue or outright pushing back, threatening local businesses to take down petitions.

Even before test results showed the deer to be free of disease, local community members rallied against the senseless slaughter. Jo Henderson, who had raised one of the fawns killed on the farm, is currently collecting signatures in town, while thousands more sign the petition on Change.org, demanding an investigation into the killings and protections for tame deer.

The response from community members has been massive, but at a recent public meeting with the commission, discussions of the deer killings was decidedly pushed-aside for "a later time." Even though Henderson was invited by wildlife officials to attend the meeting, the commission closed the meeting without public comment.

But Henderson and others refuse to back down. As officials fled from the quickly adjourned meeting, Henderson shouted "Shame on you" and vowed to continue her fight to change the law. Meanwhile, more killings have taken place. You can help protect deer by signing the petition here.

 Photo credit: ZapTheDingbat