tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43487285893295766212024-03-14T05:30:27.406+00:00CFZ: Daily NewsCorinnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02510292249777697226noreply@blogger.comBlogger23142125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348728589329576621.post-36763929043894064242021-08-03T14:42:00.003+01:002021-08-03T14:42:51.217+01:00NOTICE<p> <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dear Friends, </span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-8d0a0d45-7fff-b173-c14a-7577427d5230"><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I have been doing blogs on Blogger/Blogspot for so long that it seems really strange not to be doing them anymore, but as many of you will have found out, dear Louis - who really is a Saint among men for putting up with me during the full-moon - has done a magnificent all singing all dancing website for us. You can find it at <a href="http://cfz.org.uk">cfz.org.uk</a>…</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As Pete Townshend would have said “<a href="http://cfz.org.uk" target="_blank">meet the new blogs, the same as the old blogs</a>, except they are not, they are much better”. These blogs on Blogspot will remain as legacy sites, so never fear that all the stuff that you have read over the years should still be available for you to read, up to and including the day wh</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">en either the sun goes supernova or the ice caps finish melting and we sink graciously beneath the sea. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v1mL43xWBqs/YQlGg2RwsrI/AAAAAAAAhjM/tnOFRuq41eEugLocWwKn7I3sFlcVRPmNACLcBGAsYHQ/s454/sig.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="454" height="106" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v1mL43xWBqs/YQlGg2RwsrI/AAAAAAAAhjM/tnOFRuq41eEugLocWwKn7I3sFlcVRPmNACLcBGAsYHQ/w141-h106/sig.jpg" width="141" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon</span></span></p><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348728589329576621.post-54407358496203788382021-07-16T11:53:00.003+01:002021-07-16T11:53:47.369+01:00Subject: Wild Justice 69 - new legal action, Shooting Times update <p> </p><div class="definition-parent" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; padding-top: 0px;"><table align="center" class="floated-none" style="border-spacing: 0px; border-style: none; border-width: medium; float: none; text-align: center; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="padding: 0px;"><a class="aw-image-link" href="https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=EfjOy&m=3kr7qWg8pODTXDc&b=q9Til_nagnSKIHp9IjBZ8Q" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #f49a4d; word-break: break-word;" target="_blank"><img alt="Image" class="model" height="400" src="https://hostedimages-cdn.aweber-static.com/NTM3NjA4/optimized/b18000ea60b84a66980a45d3e9b911bc.jpeg" style="border: 0px none; display: block; height: 400px; max-width: 100%; outline-style: none; outline-width: medium; text-decoration: none; width: 600px;" width="600" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div class="definition-parent" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"><div class="paragraph" style="border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </div><div> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">Good morning! Our main news today is that we are mounting a challenge of DEFRA's regulations that relate to burning vegetation on peatland soils. However, we know that many of you are interested in our tussle with the <em>Shooting Times</em> over an article they published back in February so we'll take this opportunity to tell you about that and a few other things too. But first, our challenge of the Burning Regulations...</span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">1. <strong>Burning Regulations</strong></span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">Back in early June, in Wild Justice newsletter 63, we told you that we had sent a Pre-Action Protocol letter to DEFRA saying that the Burning Regulations which they had brought in were, in our view, unlawful because, essentially, they weren't good enough - they aren't strong enough and they aren't clear enough. DEFRA responded saying something along the lines of 'Oh yes they are'. Our legal advice is that their defence is weak and flawed so we have taken the next stage in the three-step process of judicial review - we issued detailed papers in the High Court on Tuesday. These lengthy papers contain a financial statement, a witness statement about the issue by Wild Justice and the top-level legal argument which is a called a Statement of Facts and Grounds by our lawyers. </span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">DEFRA will have to respond to these arguments in detail - unless they'd like to give in now - and then a judge will or won't give us permission for judicial review of the Burning Regulations. We almost certainly won't hear whether or not we have permission until the autumn. If we get permission we move on to even more detailed legal arguments and a hearing before a judge at a later date who will pronounce on whether we are right, or DEFRA is right (and sometimes it is a bit of both - see our challenge of NRW's general licences - <strong><a class="validating" href="https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=EfjOy&m=3kr7qWg8pODTXDc&b=mMQvzmMRFBIU0CNg29nXTA" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #f49a4d; word-break: break-word;" target="_blank">click here</a></strong>).</span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="background-color: white;">You can read our press release on the matter - </span><strong><a class="validating" href="https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=EfjOy&m=3kr7qWg8pODTXDc&b=6gTSfsj4NuA7c55epG.6oQ" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #f49a4d; word-break: break-word;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: white;">click here</span></a></strong>. The Wild Justice quote in that release is '<em>There's a climate crisis and a biodiversity crisis, and this type of burning adds to both. Instead of acting decisively, DEFRA is fiddling while the uplands burn</em>.'. We'd say that is undoubtedly true, DEFRA probably wouldn't agree, but DEFRA's measures have been very widely criticised by other environmental and conservation groups, by many peers in the House of Lords and by the Committee on Climate Change in its very recent report to Parliament, so it's a widely held view. Our legal challenge seeks to establish that not only is DEFRA dragging its feet on this matter but it is doing so in a way that is unlawful because of existing legal commitments under environmental law. It's a complex case, but one which we believe is well worth taking - win or lose. Our lawyers at Leigh Day say that the Regulations '<em>create a façade of effectiveness preventing real progress from being made' -</em> that's a good way of putting it too! </span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">Obviously these challenges cost money BUT, no, we aren't asking you to contribute to this challenge at this stage. Thanks to the generosity of Wild Justice supporters we have built up a fighting fund and so we have the first stage (the PAP letter) and the second stage (which will end with a decision on permission over proceeding to a court hearing) covered. If we get permission to go to court then we will ask you for help in funding that last, third stage.</span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">Talking of money, very briefly...</span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">2. <strong>We have filed our company accounts for 1 November 2019 - 31 October 2020 - </strong>you can see them <strong><a class="validating" href="https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=EfjOy&m=3kr7qWg8pODTXDc&b=Cvr5tjbsd5Tl0vInEsm1eQ" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #f49a4d; word-break: break-word;" target="_blank">here on our blog</a></strong> or on the Companies House website (but they are quite dull).</span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">3. <strong>The Perfect 10 or the Imperfect 8 - an update. </strong></span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"><strong>I</strong>n late May we told you (in newsletter 62 and <strong><a class="validating" href="https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=EfjOy&m=3kr7qWg8pODTXDc&b=Dp.x3rmL67CUl2sTW_mmWg" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #f49a4d; word-break: break-word;" target="_blank">this blog post</a></strong>) about an article, published in <em>Shooting Times,</em> which described a man going out to try to shoot the 'Perfect' 10 species in a day, which we had reported to DEFRA as a potential breach of the terms of the general licences. We updated you recently (newsletter 67 and three blog posts, <strong><a class="validating" href="https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=EfjOy&m=3kr7qWg8pODTXDc&b=jfAhWB0dudBbM1OsvZo4eg" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #f49a4d; word-break: break-word;" target="_blank">The Shooting Times and the general licences</a></strong>, <strong><a class="validating" href="https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=EfjOy&m=3kr7qWg8pODTXDc&b=HK8QoR0AzGDhNJTX6GT70A" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #f49a4d; word-break: break-word;" target="_blank">A letter to the Shooting Times</a></strong> and <strong><a class="validating" href="https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=EfjOy&m=3kr7qWg8pODTXDc&b=RF3XwZZxFoV0gkInBpT0gg" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #f49a4d; word-break: break-word;" target="_blank">What that Shooting Times article might have said</a></strong>) about the fact that when the Essex Police sought to interview the writer of the article he changed his story (presumably to the truth) and admitted that the article was, in large parts, false. We wrote to the <em>Shooting Times</em> pointing out that they had not only published an article that was not true, but had it been true then it was describing behaviour that might be illegal and that they should make amends for that. There is a small correction printed in <em>Shooting Times</em> this week and you can see what we think of it in another blog post published today - <strong><a class="validating" href="https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=EfjOy&m=3kr7qWg8pODTXDc&b=CayfviT.5_ITiWNS2CNJYw" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #f49a4d; word-break: break-word;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2669de;"><span style="background-color: white;">click here</span></span></a></strong>.</span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">That's more or less it for now. There will be another newsletter very soon telling you about our plans for Hen Harrier Day and what the three of us got up to, with some friends, on some grouse moors and other moors when we all met up earlier this week.</span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">If you like what we are doing, please consider making a donation through PayPal, bank transfer or a cheque in the post - <a class="validating" href="https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=6y36e&m=3bwsfgRnytDTXDc&b=XvmoXSe_HXo69UivUnTY8w" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #f49a4d; word-break: break-word;" target="_blank"><strong>see details here</strong></a>. All our work is funded solely by donations.</span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">Back soon!</span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; margin-left: 40px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">Wild Justice (Directors: Mark Avery, Chris Packham and Ruth Tingay).</span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;">Image of heather burning - thanks to Sarah Hanson.</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348728589329576621.post-53333731032755544172021-07-15T11:48:00.002+01:002021-07-15T11:48:23.923+01:00The meaningless destruction of the Malay tapir<p> </p><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: "Lucida Grande", Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: inherit; padding-top: 0px;"><div class="preheader" style="border-top-width: 0px; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 560px; min-width: 280px; padding-top: 0px; transition: width 0.25s ease-in-out, max-width 0.25s ease-in-out; width: calc(28000% - 167440px);"><div style="border-collapse: collapse; border-top-width: 0px; display: table; line-height: inherit; padding-top: 0px; width: 560px;"><div class="snippet" style="border-top-width: 0px; color: #bbbbbb; display: table-cell; float: left; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px; max-width: 280px; min-width: 140px; padding: 10px 0px 5px; width: calc(14000% - 78120px);"><p style="line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Malay tapirs need your help</p><div style="font-size: 0px; height: 0px; line-height: inherit; max-height: 0px; overflow: hidden; position: absolute;"></div></div><div class="webversion" style="color: #bbbbbb; display: table-cell; float: left; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px; max-width: 280px; min-width: 139px; padding: 10px 0px 5px; text-align: right; width: calc(14100% - 78680px);"><p style="line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">No images? <a href="https://faunaflorainternational.cmail19.com/t/j-e-fdlhldl-tttjuklyui-t/" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #bbbbbb; line-height: inherit; transition: opacity 0.1s ease-in;" target="_blank">Click here</a></p></div></div></div><div class="header" id="emb-email-header-container" style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 600px; min-width: 320px; transition: width 0.25s ease-in-out, max-width 0.25s ease-in-out; width: calc(28000% - 167400px);"><div align="center" class="logo emb-logo-margin-box" style="border-top-width: 0px; color: #c3ced9; font-family: Roboto, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 26px; line-height: 32px; margin: 4px 20px 12px; padding-top: 0px;"><div align="center" class="logo-center" id="emb-email-header" style="border-top-width: 0px; line-height: inherit; padding-top: 0px;"><img alt="Fauna & Flora International" src="http://i1.cmail19.com/ei/j/C6/085/922/192055/csfinal/logoLarge.60460f7.png" style="border: 0px; display: block; height: auto; line-height: inherit; max-width: 221px; width: 221px;" width="221" /></div></div></div></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; font-family: "Lucida Grande", Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: inherit;"><div class="layout one-col fixed-width stack" style="border-top-width: 0px; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 600px; min-width: 320px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding-top: 0px; transition: width 0.25s ease-in-out, max-width 0.25s ease-in-out; width: calc(28000% - 167400px); word-break: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><div class="layout__inner" style="background-color: #fefefe; border-collapse: collapse; border-top-width: 0px; display: table; line-height: inherit; padding-top: 0px; width: 600px;"><div class="column" style="border-top-width: 0px; color: #353638; display: table-cell; float: none !important; font-family: "PT Serif", Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 26px; max-width: 600px !important; padding-top: 0px; transition: width 0.25s ease-in-out, max-width 0.25s ease-in-out; vertical-align: top; width: 600px !important;"><div align="center" style="border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="https://faunaflorainternational.cmail19.com/t/j-l-fdlhldl-tttjuklyui-r/" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #00a851; line-height: inherit; transition: opacity 0.1s ease-in;" target="_blank"><img alt="Siamese crocodile hatchling being held by conservationist" class="gnd-corner-image gnd-corner-image-center gnd-corner-image-top" src="http://i1.cmail19.com/ei/j/C6/085/922/192055/csfinal/tapir-aa16b7c84915d054-9900000000079e3c.jpg" style="border: 0px; display: block; height: auto; line-height: inherit; max-width: 900px; width: 600px;" width="600" /></a></div><div style="line-height: inherit; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 20px; margin-top: 20px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; line-height: inherit; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: middle;"><h1 style="color: #00a851; font-family: lora, palatino, "book antiqua", georgia, serif; font-size: 30px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 43px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="font-lora" style="line-height: inherit;"><span style="color: #353638; line-height: inherit;"><strong style="line-height: inherit;">The meaningless destruction of the Malay tapir</strong></span></span></h1></div></div><div style="line-height: inherit; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 20px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; line-height: inherit; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: middle;"><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="font-arial" style="line-height: inherit;">Malay tapirs are <strong style="line-height: inherit;">glorious</strong>. These adorable animals spend their time innocently wandering around the rainforests of Southeast Asia, blissfully grazing on foliage and keeping to themselves. Often disguised in the deep undergrowth, they rarely encounter humans face to face, so we actually know surprisingly little about them.</span></p><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 20px;"><span class="font-arial" style="line-height: inherit;"><strong style="line-height: inherit;">But what we do know is shocking. </strong></span></p><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 20px;"><span class="font-arial" style="line-height: inherit;">The forests they call home have become a literal death trap. The trails they use daily have been filled with tiger snares, and<strong style="line-height: inherit;"> tapirs are being caught in the crossfire</strong>.</span></p><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 20px;"><span class="font-arial" style="line-height: inherit;">The effect is devastating. <strong style="line-height: inherit;">The poorly sighted tapirs, who try so hard to stay out of trouble, end up walking right into the traps.</strong></span></p><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 20px;"><span class="font-arial" style="line-height: inherit;">It is a sickening sight. The snares cause horrific pain, tightening with each tug as the tapirs try to pull free, and the struggle can last for many hours, the cables tearing through their skin. The result is a slow and agonising death.</span></p><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 20px;"><span class="font-arial" style="line-height: inherit;">And the most depressing part is yet to come.</span></p><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 20px;"><span class="font-arial" style="line-height: inherit;">As tapir meat is considered forbidden by most locals, when these poor creatures are eventually found by poachers, they are<strong style="line-height: inherit;"> ruthlessly and uselessly discarded.</strong></span></p><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 20px;"><span class="font-arial" style="line-height: inherit;">It’s like twisting a knife in a wound - not only are these tapirs being subjected to such barbaric pain, but the whole process is totally needless and utterly devoid of sense. It is heartbreaking beyond measure.</span></p><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 20px;"><span class="font-arial" style="line-height: inherit;">This is why <strong style="line-height: inherit;">we need your help</strong> – tapirs have a relatively slow reproduction rate so their population could take many years to recover. The only way to end this tragedy is to clear the snares, and clear them fast.</span></p><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 20px;"><span class="font-arial" style="line-height: inherit;"><strong style="line-height: inherit;">Through your donations</strong>, we can get rangers patrolling the forest, detecting and safely removing snares to help protect tapirs and other wildlife. This will make a crucial difference in securing the future of the Malay tapir.</span></p><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 20px;"><span class="font-arial" style="line-height: inherit;">Let’s save these wonderful creatures before it is too late.</span></p></div></div><div style="line-height: inherit; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 20px;"><div class="btn btn--flat btn--large" style="border-top-width: 0px; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 20px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://faunaflorainternational.cmail19.com/t/j-l-fdlhldl-tttjuklyui-y/" rel="noreferrer" style="background-color: #53616f; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; color: rgb(255, 255, 255) !important; display: inline-block; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px; padding: 12px 24px; text-decoration: none !important; transition: opacity 0.1s ease-in;" target="_blank">SAVING MALAYAN TAPIRS</a></div></div><div style="line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 20px;"><div class="divider" style="background-color: #cbcbcb; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 2px; line-height: 2px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-top: 0px; width: 40px;"> </div></div></div></div></div><div class="layout fixed-width stack" style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 600px; min-width: 320px; overflow-wrap: break-word; transition: width 0.25s ease-in-out, max-width 0.25s ease-in-out; width: calc(28000% - 167400px); word-break: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><div class="layout__inner" style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; border-top-width: 0px; display: table; line-height: inherit; padding-top: 0px; width: 600px;"><div class="column wide" style="border-top-width: 0px; color: #353638; display: table-cell; float: left; font-family: "PT Serif", Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 26px; max-width: 400px; min-width: 320px; padding-top: 0px; transition: width 0.25s ease-in-out, max-width 0.25s ease-in-out; vertical-align: top; width: calc(8000% - 47600px);"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; line-height: inherit; margin: 12px 20px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; line-height: inherit; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: middle;"><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="font-arial" style="line-height: inherit;">Please help save Malay tapirs - there are only 2,500 left. <strong style="line-height: inherit;">If everyone reading this donates just £3</strong><strong style="line-height: inherit;">,</strong> you could help put rangers in the field to carry out crucial snare removal, helping to keep the forests safe for the magnificent Malay tapir. Thank you.</span></p></div></div></div><div class="column narrow" style="color: #353638; display: table-cell; float: left; font-family: "PT Serif", Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 26px; max-width: 320px; min-width: 200px; transition: width 0.25s ease-in-out, max-width 0.25s ease-in-out; vertical-align: top; width: calc(-12000% + 72200px);"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; line-height: inherit; margin: 12px 20px; padding-top: 0px;"><div class="btn btn--flat fullwidth btn--large" style="border-top-width: 0px; line-height: inherit; padding-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://faunaflorainternational.cmail19.com/t/j-l-fdlhldl-tttjuklyui-j/" rel="noreferrer" style="background-color: #00a851; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; color: rgb(255, 255, 255) !important; display: block; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px; padding: 12px 24px; text-decoration: none !important; transition: opacity 0.1s ease-in;" target="_blank">DONATE £3</a></div></div></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348728589329576621.post-74447443984420411492021-07-15T11:45:00.003+01:002021-07-15T11:45:52.008+01:00Brunswick the shark <p> <a href="https://www.google.com/url?rct=j&sa=t&url=https://943thepoint.com/great-white-sharks-who-have-visited-the-jersey-shore/&ct=ga&cd=CAEYNSoUMTE0MDUzMzc0ODUzMTg4MjMzNjgyGjZkYTliYTQyZWU1MjhhZjA6Y29tOmVuOlVT&usg=AFQjCNEz9MntLSeLyqtLieERjMS8pIledg" rel="noreferrer" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; color: #427fed; display: inline; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Meet "Brunswick" And 8 Other Bone Chilling <b>Great</b> White Sharks Who Have Visited Our Jersey Shore</a></p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11px;"></span><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding: 2px 0px 8px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; color: #737373; font-size: 12px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="https://webmail.eclipse.net.uk/#NOP" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #737373; text-decoration: none;">943thepoint.com</a></div><div style="color: #252525; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; padding: 2px 0px 0px;">Cats are predators and natural hunters, but kittens must be taught how to stalk and kill. <b>Wild cats</b> often injure animals and carry them back so their ..</div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348728589329576621.post-83230465772611388272021-07-15T11:43:00.001+01:002021-07-15T11:43:14.850+01:00Big cat in Carolinas<p> <a href="https://www.google.com/url?rct=j&sa=t&url=https://www.kiro7.com/news/trending/north-carolina-man-reels-record-setting-127-pound-blue-catfish/Q2KN4GLNLRB35NXSJ2WYCDCXFI/&ct=ga&cd=CAEYMCoUMTE0MDUzMzc0ODUzMTg4MjMzNjgyGjZkYTliYTQyZWU1MjhhZjA6Y29tOmVuOlVT&usg=AFQjCNFNAV9g5G2S5yvicpnRbug-p3PWeA" rel="noreferrer" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; color: #427fed; display: inline; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">North Carolina man reels in record-setting 127-pound blue catfish</a></p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11px;"></span><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding: 2px 0px 8px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; color: #737373; font-size: 12px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="https://webmail.eclipse.net.uk/#NOP" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #737373; text-decoration: none;">KIRO Seattle</a></div><div style="color: #252525; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; padding: 2px 0px 0px;">It is the third-<b>largest</b> blue catfish ever caught in the U.S. ... "But once we got that <b>big</b> one in the boat and it bottomed out my 110-pound scale, we ... new North Carolina state record blue <b>cat</b> would've been on the other end of the line</div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348728589329576621.post-27278578046082982992021-07-13T18:54:00.005+01:002021-07-13T18:54:55.528+01:00BBC: Anglers on alert for invasive Pacific pink salmon<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2fEE7vCfwXM/YO3THu7cCZI/AAAAAAAAhhk/KYaqCnVl6aYOCm_x5LMajn_z68kMcyLCwCLcBGAsYHQ/s976/B871E3BF-9760-4D68-BB49-153FA6DB2DE2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="549" data-original-width="976" height="360" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2fEE7vCfwXM/YO3THu7cCZI/AAAAAAAAhhk/KYaqCnVl6aYOCm_x5LMajn_z68kMcyLCwCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h360/B871E3BF-9760-4D68-BB49-153FA6DB2DE2.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b class="ssrcss-hmf8ql-BoldText e5tfeyi3" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(63, 63, 66); color: #3f3f42; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></b><p></p><p><b class="ssrcss-hmf8ql-BoldText e5tfeyi3" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(63, 63, 66); color: #3f3f42; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Anglers have been asked to report catches and sightings of an invasive species of salmon in Scottish rivers.</b></p><div class="ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(63, 63, 66); color: #3f3f42; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Pink salmon are native to Pacific Ocean waters but have spread to parts of northern Europe after being released into rivers in Russia in the 1960s.</p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(63, 63, 66); color: #3f3f42; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"Unprecedented numbers" of the fish were found in Scottish rivers in 2017, and high numbers were again seen in 2019.</p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(63, 63, 66); color: #3f3f42; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The salmon have already been caught this year in the Ness in the Highlands.</p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(63, 63, 66); color: #3f3f42; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Fisheries Management Scotland (FMS) has asked anglers to report where else the fish have been found.</p><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></p><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-57733537" target="_blank">Read on…</a></p></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348728589329576621.post-60076484664680652772021-07-13T18:52:00.001+01:002021-07-13T18:52:06.021+01:00BBC: Giant goldfish problem in US lake prompts warning to pet owners<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-O_rO36DVQf0/YO3SaU7za_I/AAAAAAAAhhc/1Bhn0RkDAAM9IoKAoJPLimTlx-AFhvihgCLcBGAsYHQ/s976/FA51881C-9B0E-4234-8544-CF952BF2FACF.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="549" data-original-width="976" height="360" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-O_rO36DVQf0/YO3SaU7za_I/AAAAAAAAhhc/1Bhn0RkDAAM9IoKAoJPLimTlx-AFhvihgCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h360/FA51881C-9B0E-4234-8544-CF952BF2FACF.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /> <b class="ssrcss-hmf8ql-BoldText e5tfeyi3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; border: 0px; color: #3f3f42; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">A city in the US state of Minnesota has urged residents not to release their unwanted pet fish into the wild after finding huge goldfish in a lake.</b><p></p><div class="ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84" data-component="text-block" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; color: #3f3f42; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The common household pets can grow far bigger in the wild and cause major disruption to ecosystems.</p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84" data-component="text-block" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; color: #3f3f42; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The city of Burnsville shared images showing several monster goldfish caught during a survey of Keller Lake.</p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84" data-component="text-block" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; color: #3f3f42; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">It said goldfish could contribute to poor water quality by disturbing sediment and uprooting plants.</p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84" data-component="text-block" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; color: #3f3f42; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"Please don't release your pet goldfish into ponds and lakes!" the city wrote in a tweet.</p><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></p><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-57816922" target="_blank">Read on…</a></p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84" data-component="text-block" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(63, 63, 66); color: #3f3f42; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p></p></div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348728589329576621.post-13461020740435627532021-07-08T12:01:00.000+01:002021-07-08T12:01:03.835+01:00Saving Grauer’s gorillas<p> </p><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: "Lucida Grande", Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: inherit; padding-top: 0px;"><div class="header" id="emb-email-header-container" style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 600px; min-width: 320px; transition: width 0.25s ease-in-out, max-width 0.25s ease-in-out; width: calc(28000% - 167400px);"><div align="center" class="logo emb-logo-margin-box" style="border-top-width: 0px; color: #c3ced9; font-family: Roboto, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 26px; line-height: 32px; margin: 4px 20px 12px; padding-top: 0px;"><div align="center" class="logo-center" id="emb-email-header" style="border-top-width: 0px; line-height: inherit; padding-top: 0px;"><img alt="Fauna & Flora International" src="http://i1.cmail19.com/ei/j/D2/6E3/B4A/013403/csfinal/logoLarge.60460f7.png" style="border: 0px; display: block; height: auto; line-height: inherit; max-width: 221px; width: 221px;" width="221" /></div></div></div></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; font-family: "Lucida Grande", Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: inherit;"><div class="layout one-col fixed-width stack" style="border-top-width: 0px; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 600px; min-width: 320px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding-top: 0px; transition: width 0.25s ease-in-out, max-width 0.25s ease-in-out; width: calc(28000% - 167400px); word-break: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><div class="layout__inner" style="background-color: #fefefe; border-collapse: collapse; border-top-width: 0px; display: table; line-height: inherit; padding-top: 0px; width: 600px;"><div class="column" style="border-top-width: 0px; color: #353638; display: table-cell; float: none !important; font-family: "PT Serif", Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 26px; max-width: 600px !important; padding-top: 0px; transition: width 0.25s ease-in-out, max-width 0.25s ease-in-out; vertical-align: top; width: 600px !important;"><div align="center" style="border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="https://faunaflorainternational.cmail19.com/t/j-l-fidhdtt-tttjuklyui-r/" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #00a851; line-height: inherit; transition: opacity 0.1s ease-in;" target="_blank"><img alt="Siamese crocodile hatchling being held by conservationist" class="gnd-corner-image gnd-corner-image-center gnd-corner-image-top" src="http://i1.cmail19.com/ei/j/D2/6E3/B4A/013403/csfinal/GrauersMikeDavison-9900000000079e3c-9900000000079e3c.jpg" style="border: 0px; display: block; height: auto; line-height: inherit; max-width: 900px; width: 600px;" width="600" /></a></div><div style="line-height: inherit; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 20px; margin-top: 20px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; line-height: inherit; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: middle;"><h1 style="color: #00a851; font-family: lora, palatino, "book antiqua", georgia, serif; font-size: 30px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 43px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="font-lora" style="line-height: inherit;"><span style="color: #353638; line-height: inherit;"><strong style="line-height: inherit;">Great apes in grave danger</strong></span></span></h1></div></div><div style="line-height: inherit; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 20px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; line-height: inherit; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: middle;"><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="font-arial" style="line-height: inherit;">What’s happening is a tragedy. Nothing short of it.</span></p><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 20px;"><span class="font-arial" style="line-height: inherit;">Over the last few decades, Grauer’s gorillas have been practically <strong style="line-height: inherit;">obliterated</strong>. They’ve been under assault from all sides - hunted by humans, carved up for bushmeat, sold as pets, plagued with diseases and had <strong style="line-height: inherit;">their forest home decimated</strong> by illegal logging and mining.</span></p><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 20px;"><span class="font-arial" style="line-height: inherit;">Unsurprisingly the cost in lives has been brutal.</span></p><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 20px;"><span class="font-arial" style="line-height: inherit;">A staggering 77% of the population was wiped out in just 20 years - <strong style="line-height: inherit;">three-quarters of the population gone in less than a lifetime</strong>.</span></p><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 20px;"><span class="font-arial" style="line-height: inherit;">The devastating civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo brought humans to their doorstep, and <strong style="line-height: inherit;">the destruction that followed was sickening</strong>. In the blink of an eye, these gentle giants found themselves thrust into the centre of the fighting - their homes demolished, entire families slaughtered.</span></p><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 20px;"><span class="font-arial" style="line-height: inherit;">And while the civil war is technically over, the violence has barely subsided. The gorillas are still being forced to <strong style="line-height: inherit;">struggle for survival</strong>, and today there are fewer than 4,000 alive.</span></p><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 20px;"><span class="font-arial" style="line-height: inherit;">If the loss continues at this gruesome rate, <strong style="line-height: inherit;">they simply won’t survive much longer.</strong></span></p><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 20px;"><span class="font-arial" style="line-height: inherit;"><strong style="line-height: inherit;">We need to save them.</strong></span></p><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 20px;"><span class="font-arial" style="line-height: inherit;">Recovery is going to be difficult - the damage is deep, and the suspension of tourism since the Covid-19 outbreak has caused a dramatic fall in the funds going towards their protection. It will take a lot of work to help bring Grauer’s gorilla back from the brink.</span></p><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 20px;"><span class="font-arial" style="line-height: inherit;">But <strong style="line-height: inherit;">we have proved it can be done</strong> – we have already aided their cousins, the mountain gorillas, helping their population rise from just a few hundred to over a thousand today. Now - with your support - we can help Grauer’s gorilla recover too.</span></p><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 20px;"><span class="font-arial" style="line-height: inherit;"><strong style="line-height: inherit;">Your donations</strong> could help fund vital forest patrols across the gorillas’ habitat, enabling rangers to monitor the wildlife, destroy illegal snares and raise awareness among local communities. This will be crucial in securing the future of this captivating great ape.</span></p><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 20px;"><span class="font-arial" style="line-height: inherit;">With your support, we can keep Grauer’s gorillas flourishing and free - ending the suffering they never deserved.</span></p></div></div><div style="line-height: inherit; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 20px;"><div class="btn btn--flat btn--large" style="border-top-width: 0px; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 20px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://faunaflorainternational.cmail19.com/t/j-l-fidhdtt-tttjuklyui-y/" rel="noreferrer" style="background-color: #53616f; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; color: rgb(255, 255, 255) !important; display: inline-block; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px; padding: 12px 24px; text-decoration: none !important; transition: opacity 0.1s ease-in;" target="_blank">SAVING GRAUER'S GORILLAS</a></div></div><div style="line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 20px;"><div class="divider" style="background-color: #cbcbcb; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 2px; line-height: 2px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-top: 0px; width: 40px;"> </div></div></div></div></div><div class="layout fixed-width stack" style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 600px; min-width: 320px; overflow-wrap: break-word; transition: width 0.25s ease-in-out, max-width 0.25s ease-in-out; width: calc(28000% - 167400px); word-break: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><div class="layout__inner" style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; border-top-width: 0px; display: table; line-height: inherit; padding-top: 0px; width: 600px;"><div class="column wide" style="border-top-width: 0px; color: #353638; display: table-cell; float: left; font-family: "PT Serif", Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 26px; max-width: 400px; min-width: 320px; padding-top: 0px; transition: width 0.25s ease-in-out, max-width 0.25s ease-in-out; vertical-align: top; width: calc(8000% - 47600px);"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; line-height: inherit; margin: 12px 20px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; line-height: inherit; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: middle;"><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="font-arial" style="line-height: inherit;">Please help save Grauer's gorillas. <strong style="line-height: inherit;">If everyone reading this donates just £3,</strong> you could fund essential patrol teams deterring illegal poaching, helping to protect this extraordinary primate. Thank you.</span></p></div></div></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348728589329576621.post-24796253682811736572021-07-07T10:19:00.000+01:002021-07-07T10:19:05.996+01:00Wild Justice 68<p> </p><div class="definition-parent" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; border-top-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><table align="center" class="floated-none" style="border-spacing: 0px; border-style: none; border-width: medium; float: none; text-align: center; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="padding: 0px;"><a class="aw-image-link" href="https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=EfjOy&m=3eiBt_ZxI8DTXDc&b=pL5_ZsF0PrpxtAXWCQwFTw" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #f49a4d; word-break: break-word;" target="_blank"><img alt="Image" class="model" height="400" src="https://hostedimages-cdn.aweber-static.com/NTM3NjA4/optimized/5571361feca041908e8797e5579501d0.jpeg" style="border: 0px none; display: block; height: 400px; max-width: 100%; outline-style: none; outline-width: medium; text-decoration: none; width: 600px;" width="600" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div class="definition-parent" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><div class="paragraph" style="border-top-width: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">Good morning!</span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">Our main news today is that Wild Justice has made significant progress on reform of the general licences that apply in Northern Ireland. But first, here are a couple of snippets from elsewhere, and some 'thank you!'s. </span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"><strong>Thank you</strong> for your continuing support, both in terms of moral support, practical support by signing petitions and writing letters, and your financial support. Wild Justice couldn't be the challenging organisation that it is without your help. Thank you to the large numbers of you who helped get the #stateofnature petition, calling for legally binding targets in the Environment Bill, to over 208,000 signatures. The petition is being handed in to DEFRA later today. The contribution of Wild Justice supporters to that total was immense - thank you. And thank you for your ongoing financial support for everything we do - we couldn't do it without you.</span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"><strong>And thank you! to Gill Lewis:</strong><em><strong> </strong></em>Gill is a children's author and writes about wildlife issues. She has dedicated her latest book, <em>Willow Wildthing and the Magic Spell </em>to Wild Justice - a few <strong><a class="validating" href="https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=EfjOy&m=3eiBt_ZxI8DTXDc&b=9KD4ywq4j1JFMr2CUTVpdA" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #f49a4d; word-break: break-word;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3136d2;">more details here</span></a></strong>.</span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"><strong><em>Shooting Times</em> article</strong>: in our last newsletter we told you about the article that was published in the <em>Shooting Times</em> last February which we believed described events which contravened the terms of the general licences. And we brought you the news that the author of the article had told the police that the article was false in some respects and that the Carrion Crow and Jay involved had actually emerged from his freezer. We contacted the <em>Shooting Times</em> and, to be fair to them, they were prompt in responding and have told us they will print a correction in this week's magazine. We have asked to see that correction to judge whether or not it is adequate but we haven't seen it yet and publication of this weekly magazine is imminent, so this matter may not be at an end - we'll let you know. We also wrote <a class="validating" href="https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=EfjOy&m=3eiBt_ZxI8DTXDc&b=roeEfzduq27C4zExlfNniw" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #f49a4d; word-break: break-word;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3136d2;"><strong>a light-hearted blog</strong></span><span style="color: #0cc0bd;"> </span></a>about the original article but it is a serious matter as the last paragraph of the blog makes clear.</span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"><strong>Northern Ireland general licences</strong>: back in March (Wild Justice newsletter 56) we told you that we had written to DAERA in Northern Ireland telling them how awful, and unlawful, we believed their existing licences to be, and that if they didn't improve them considerably then we would intend to take legal action against them (see <strong><a class="validating" href="https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=EfjOy&m=3eiBt_ZxI8DTXDc&b=qOGYYqC2q_FfB4gsuADPZA" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #f49a4d; word-break: break-word;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3136d2;">our letter here</span></a></strong>). There has been subsequent correspondence in the interim.</span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">Last week, out of the blue but certainly as a result of our legal letters, DAERA announced a consultation on changes to the general licences which is now open, and closes on the Inglorious 12th August.</span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">The consultation proposes removing several species from some or all of the three current NI general licences - and about time too! Wild Justice welcomes the proposed removal of Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Great Black-backed Gull and Rook from all three of the categories of general licence (public health, serious damage to agriculture, and conservation) although we have pointed out to DAERA that Herring Gull isn't currently listed on the conservation licence! We also welcome the proposed removal of Wood Pigeon and Feral Pigeon from the 'conservation' licence and Wood Pigeon also from the 'public health' licence. </span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">General licences should have conditions attached to them but they are often seen as giving <em>carte blanche</em> to anyone with a gun to kill the listed birds on sight. We have written to DAERA pointing out what we regard as a large number of legal flaws in their licences which, in our opinion, render them unlawful. We expect DAERA to make further legal changes to the licences before issuing the new licences in September.</span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">Removing species from the licences is a good way to reduce casual killing of these species considerably. Removal from the general licence does not prevent all killing of the de-listed species, but will mean that people wanting to kill that species will have to apply for an individual licence which should not be granted unless the circumstances comply with the law and stringent conditions as to numbers of birds, place and time should be set.</span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"><strong><a href="https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=EfjOy&m=3eiBt_ZxI8DTXDc&b=0uE7hU5QGPf2b4VW2XIrwA" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #f49a4d; word-break: break-word;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3136d2;">The consultation</span></a></strong> is open to anyone, and we would encourage you to respond to it, but we would particularly encourage Wild Justice supporters based in Northern Ireland to respond, please. </span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">It only takes five minutes to fill in the form, it's mostly some simple details about yourself and then a lot of tick boxes that are self-explanatory. You may wish to respond in that way now, and that would be very helpful, but there is a box for further comments and we will be considering what we think it would be helpful to include in that box and will tell you what we think in a future newsletter before the end of July. </span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">If you like what we are doing then please consider making a donation through PayPal, bank transfer or a cheque in the post - <a class="validating" href="https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=6y36e&m=3bwsfgRnytDTXDc&b=XvmoXSe_HXo69UivUnTY8w" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #f49a4d; word-break: break-word;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3136d2;"><strong>see details here</strong></span></a>. </span></div><div><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><p style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">That's it for now.</span></p></div><div><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><p style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">Wild Justice (Directors: Mark Avery, Chris Packham and Ruth Tingay).</span></p><p style="margin-left: 40px;"> </p><p style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">Photo credit: Wood Pigeon, Tim Melling.</span></p></div><div><p></p></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348728589329576621.post-3159970738144661882021-07-04T13:23:00.003+01:002021-07-04T13:23:26.244+01:00New kind of carnivorous snail in India<p><br /></p><a href="https://webmail.eclipse.net.uk/#NOP" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #f49a4d;"></a><div><span style="padding: 0px 6px 0px 0px;"><a href="https://www.google.com/url?rct=j&sa=t&url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/tiger-touch-for-indias-newest-snail-recorded/article35092335.ece&ct=ga&cd=CAEYCSoTNTUxMjIzOTM3Mjc5MTIyOTUzNTIaNmRhOWJhNDJlZTUyOGFmMDpjb206ZW46VVM&usg=AFQjCNGupOTDSQjz7irEnp9Now-d7daHvA" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #427fed; display: inline; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Tiger touch for India's newest snail recorded</a></span><div><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding: 2px 0px 8px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; color: #737373; font-size: 12px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="https://webmail.eclipse.net.uk/#NOP" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #737373; text-decoration: none;">The Hindu</a></div><div style="color: #252525; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; padding: 2px 0px 0px;">The "snail of Sahyadri" recorded for the first time from Maharashtra's northern is carnivorous. But that is not its only indirect link with <b>the big</b> striped <b>cat</b>.</div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348728589329576621.post-44756358393250610112021-07-04T12:53:00.003+01:002021-07-04T12:53:48.445+01:00Out of place animals in Wales<p> <a href="https://www.google.com/url?rct=j&sa=t&url=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/raccoon-dog-panthers-wallaby-creatures-20955080&ct=ga&cd=CAEYByoTNjQwNTM0NzkzMjA5Mjc1MDYwOTIaNmRhOWJhNDJlZTUyOGFmMDpjb206ZW46VVM&usg=AFQjCNFb-SFIzTrq03sPIVwXpEi-BT-KUQ" rel="noreferrer" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; color: #427fed; display: inline; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The raccoon dog, panthers, wallaby and other creatures that made a run for it in Wales</a></p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11px;"></span><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding: 2px 0px 8px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; color: #737373; font-size: 12px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="https://webmail.eclipse.net.uk/#NOP" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #737373; text-decoration: none;">WalesOnline</a></div><div style="color: #252525; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; padding: 2px 0px 0px;">From mystical <b>big cats</b> to captured raccoon dogs, there's always a chance that ... A <b>big cat</b> consultant and expert, Danny Nineham, said at the time: "It's ..</div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348728589329576621.post-11823822559294131282021-07-02T11:10:00.004+01:002021-07-02T11:10:36.354+01:00Wild Justice #67<p> </p><p><br /></p><div id="messageheader" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: #f5f1f0; border-bottom-color: rgb(173, 167, 163); border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(91, 78, 70); border-top-left-radius: 4px; border-top-right-radius: 4px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; font-family: "Lucida Grande", Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; max-height: 50%; overflow: auto; padding: 3px 0px 3px 78px; position: relative;"><div id="full-headers" style="position: relative;"><div class="more-headers show-headers" style="background-image: url("https://webmail.eclipse.net.uk/skins/eclipse/images/buttons.png?v=d70c.9130"); background-position: center -1579px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; cursor: pointer; height: 10px; position: absolute; right: 10px; top: -12px; width: 12px;" title="Toggle raw message headers"></div></div><div id="contactphoto" style="background-color: white; background-image: url("https://webmail.eclipse.net.uk/skins/eclipse/images/contactpic_48px.png?v=1bc4.353"); background-position: center center; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-bottom-left-radius: 4px; border-bottom-right-radius: 4px; border-top-left-radius: 4px; border-top-right-radius: 4px; border: 1px solid rgb(173, 167, 163); height: 48px; left: 30px; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; top: 34px; width: 48px;"><img alt="Contact photo" src="https://webmail.eclipse.net.uk/?_task=addressbook&_action=photo&_email=info%40wildjustice.org.uk" style="border-bottom-left-radius: 4px; border-bottom-right-radius: 4px; border-top-left-radius: 4px; border-top-right-radius: 4px; border: 0px; height: auto; width: 48px;" /></div></div><div id="messagecontent" style="-webkit-overflow-scrolling: touch; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; bottom: 1px; font-family: "Lucida Grande", Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; left: 0px; overflow: auto; position: absolute; top: 116px; width: 790px;"><div aria-labelledby="aria-label-messagebody" class="leftcol" role="region" style="margin-right: 0px;"><h2 class="voice" id="aria-label-messagebody" style="border: 0px; clip: rect(0px, 0px, 0px, 0px); height: 1px; margin: -1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: absolute; width: 1px;">Message Body</h2><div id="message-objects"></div><div id="messagebody" style="margin: 8px; position: relative;"><div class="message-htmlpart" id="message-htmlpart1" style="border-top-width: 0px; padding: 0px 2px 10px;"><div class="rcmBody" style="word-break: break-word;"><center><div align="center" style="border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; padding-top: 0px;"><table align="left" bgcolor="#ffffff" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-spacing: 0px; border-style: none; border-width: medium; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="mobile-padding" style="max-width: 600px; min-width: 100%;" width="100%"><table align="left" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-spacing: 0px; border-style: none; border-width: medium; max-width: 600px; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td bgcolor="#FFFFFF" class="aw-bgc"><div align="left" style="border-top-width: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; min-width: 100%; padding-top: 0px;"><div class="region" style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><table class="row aw-stack" style="border-spacing: 0px; border-style: none; border-width: medium; width: 600px;"><tbody><tr><td class="container" style="padding: 0px; width: 600px;" valign="top" width="100%"><div class="definition-parent" style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><table align="center" class="floated-none" style="border-spacing: 0px; border-style: none; border-width: medium; float: none; text-align: center; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="padding: 0px;"><a class="aw-image-link" href="https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=EfjOy&m=3fIafrNrp8DTXDc&b=gLsHnF6xq.sVu4eb.eBb8Q" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #f49a4d; word-break: break-word;" target="_blank"><img alt="Image" class="model" height="408" src="https://hostedimages-cdn.aweber-static.com/NTM3NjA4/optimized/bbab5645596f4562b82191c931450a33.jpeg" style="border: 0px none; display: block; height: 408px; max-width: 100%; outline-style: none; outline-width: medium; text-decoration: none; width: 600px;" width="600" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div class="definition-parent"><div class="paragraph" style="border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </div><div> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">Good morning,</span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">Near the end of May we sent out newsletter 62 which decribed what we believed was a breach of the general licences (we also published <a class="validating" href="https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=EfjOy&m=3fIafrNrp8DTXDc&b=5n8ukpBCKJn.xxOgabB2Dg" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #f49a4d; word-break: break-word;" target="_blank">an account on our blog</a>). The events which we reported to DEFRA were published in the <em>Shooting Times</em> on 10 February in an article which purported to describe a day's shooting where a regular columnist describes going out into the countryside in late January to see how many species of mammal and bird he could shoot. He was delighted to shoot 10 species in the day including a Carrion Crow and a Jay (see image above from the article). Those species are only lawfully killed under certain circumstances and with certain conditions. We believed that the shooting of those two birds was potentially unlawful. Today we can provide an update on that matter in this newsletter and on our blog (<a class="validating" href="https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=EfjOy&m=3fIafrNrp8DTXDc&b=7Jee5QvPl6dLBx1c39W29g" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #f49a4d; word-break: break-word;" target="_blank">see here</a>). </span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">At DEFRA's request, we sent the legal and biological dossiers that we had sent to them to Essex Police who investigated. Essex Police have recently told us that they cannot take the case any further as the <em>Shooting Times</em> columnist denies having shot either a Jay or a Carrion Crow despite having described the shots that led to the deaths of these two birds in some detail in his published article.</span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">Essex Police tell us that '<em>With regards to the Carrion Crow and Jay he has stated that, he did not shoot these birds on this day and has a number of frozen/prop birds that he uses in his articles, if he needs to and bases the events on previous incidents or other incidents which have similarities.</em>'.</span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">So, assuming, as we will, that this statement is true, the article was not true. If it had been true then perhaps the court would have been asked to rule on the legality of the action - an action that we would state is unlawful (but since it did not happen in this particular case that is the end of this matter).</span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">We intend to ask DEFRA for their view on these matters in general, in case such circumstances arise in future. We have also written to the <em>Shooting Times </em>stating that we regard their publication of a false and misleading article as a breach of the IPSO Editors' Code and seeking a retraction and clarification (<a class="validating" href="https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=EfjOy&m=3fIafrNrp8DTXDc&b=AgxpREfmhWDpaQTFrSp52g" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #f49a4d; word-break: break-word;" target="_blank">see here</a>).</span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">We are grateful to Essex Police for their investigation of this matter.</span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">Wild Justice has maintained since we first sprang into action in 2019, that much of the killing of birds under the different general licences which exist in the four UK nations amounts to casual killing, too much of which is unlawful. We have made progress in tightening up the general licences, getting some species removed from them, and highlighting the issues that they raise. The article in <em>Shooting Times</em>, now admitted to be false by its author, is a further example of how some shooters appear to believe that the laws work. There is more work to be done by Wild Justice in making sure that the general licences in place fully reflect the requirements of the law. In that regard, we see that DAERA in Northern Ireland yesterday <a class="validating" href="https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=EfjOy&m=3fIafrNrp8DTXDc&b=LYGDF7liMT8x7LhNiGcO.Q" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #f49a4d; word-break: break-word;" target="_blank">issued a consultation on their general licences</a>. Wild Justice has been in correspondence with the Northern Ireland authorities about their general licences, which we regard as shockingly bad and unlawful, and that may well be why this consultation is now taking place. We will update you on Northern Ireland general licences next week.</span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">If you like what we are doing then please consider making a donation through PayPal, bank transfer or a cheque in the post - <a class="validating" href="https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=6y36e&m=3bwsfgRnytDTXDc&b=XvmoXSe_HXo69UivUnTY8w" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #f49a4d; word-break: break-word;" target="_blank"><strong>see details here</strong></a>. </span></div><div> </div><div><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">That's it for now - have a good weekend.</span></div><div> </div><div><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">Wild Justice (Directors: Mark Avery, Chris Packham and Ruth Tingay)</span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div></center></div></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348728589329576621.post-24314184283660905632021-07-01T12:18:00.000+01:002021-07-01T12:18:19.036+01:00BBC: Covid common in cats and dogs, study finds<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g2qrIOkClWU/YN2kGSiHNsI/AAAAAAAAhbI/HJ6MCUJMFPQSfkWN4wN6mR8DWExcaIAdACLcBGAsYHQ/s976/0B27A45F-B549-40C6-9340-A94C6602D54F.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="549" data-original-width="976" height="360" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g2qrIOkClWU/YN2kGSiHNsI/AAAAAAAAhbI/HJ6MCUJMFPQSfkWN4wN6mR8DWExcaIAdACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h360/0B27A45F-B549-40C6-9340-A94C6602D54F.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /> <b class="ssrcss-hmf8ql-BoldText e5tfeyi3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; border: 0px; color: #3f3f42; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Covid is common in pet cats and dogs whose owners have the disease, research suggests.</b><p></p><div class="ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84" data-component="text-block" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; color: #3f3f42; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Swabs were taken from 310 pets in 196 households where a human infection had been detected.</p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84" data-component="text-block" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; color: #3f3f42; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Six cats and seven dogs returned a positive PCR result, while 54 animals tested positive for virus antibodies.</p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84" data-component="text-block" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; color: #3f3f42; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"If you have Covid, you should avoid contact with your cat or dog, just as you would do with other people," Dr Els Broens, from Utrecht University, said.</p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84" data-component="text-block" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; color: #3f3f42; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"The main concern is not the animals' health but the potential risk that pets could act as a reservoir of the virus and reintroduce it into the human population."</p><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></p><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-57666245" target="_blank">Read on…</a></p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84" data-component="text-block" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(63, 63, 66); color: #3f3f42; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p></p></div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348728589329576621.post-20355377387534993082021-07-01T12:15:00.001+01:002021-07-01T12:15:21.650+01:00BBC: leucistic puffin<p><br /></p><div class="ssrcss-cxscho-ComponentWrapper e1xue1i89" data-component="image-block" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(63, 63, 66); color: #3f3f42; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1.5rem auto; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><figure class="ssrcss-md0xev-StyledFigure e34k3c23" style="border: 0px; font-size: 0.875rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: 1.125rem; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-b9H0lx-3l-A/YN2jjgO6c_I/AAAAAAAAhbA/hYGJ1r37xK8nw1B3fyTjE1YcDCPjKMEQQCLcBGAsYHQ/s976/F0045428-0F1B-4A66-8FF8-AE121C3A619B.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="549" data-original-width="976" height="360" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-b9H0lx-3l-A/YN2jjgO6c_I/AAAAAAAAhbA/hYGJ1r37xK8nw1B3fyTjE1YcDCPjKMEQQCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h360/F0045428-0F1B-4A66-8FF8-AE121C3A619B.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="ssrcss-ab5fd8-StyledFigureContainer e34k3c21" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div class="ssrcss-ab5fd8-StyledFigureContainer e34k3c21" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="ssrcss-1ecljvk-StyledFigureCopyright e34k3c20" style="background-color: #3f3f42; border: 0px; bottom: 0px; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0.25rem 0.5rem; position: absolute; right: 0px; text-transform: uppercase; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="ssrcss-1f39n02-VisuallyHidden e1y6uwnp0" style="border: 0px; clip-path: inset(100%); clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; height: 1px; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: absolute; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: nowrap; width: 1px;">IMAGE COPYRIGHT</span>DORA HAMILTON</span></div><figcaption class="ssrcss-1rnnz6t-StyledFigureCaption e34k3c22" style="background-color: #3f3f42; border: 0px; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 1rem; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="ssrcss-1f39n02-VisuallyHidden e1y6uwnp0" style="border: 0px; clip-path: inset(100%); clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; height: 1px; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: absolute; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: nowrap; width: 1px;">image caption</span>The bird's lack of pigmentation is caused by a genetic condition called leucism</figcaption></figure></div><div class="ssrcss-5rhf4g-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(63, 63, 66); color: #3f3f42; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem auto; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b class="ssrcss-hmf8ql-BoldText e5tfeyi3" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">A rare white puffin has been spotted on a small island off the Sutherland coast in the Highlands.</b></p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-5rhf4g-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(63, 63, 66); color: #3f3f42; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem auto; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Scottish Wildlife Trust (SWT) said the bird was first seen on Handa Island in mid-June by seabird fieldworker Dora Hamilton.</p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-5rhf4g-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(63, 63, 66); color: #3f3f42; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem auto; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The young puffin has only a few black feathers and its bill is largely orange. </p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-5rhf4g-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(63, 63, 66); color: #3f3f42; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem auto; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">SWT said the bird's lack of pigmentation was caused by a genetic condition called leucism.</p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-5rhf4g-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(63, 63, 66); color: #3f3f42; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem auto; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The trust manages the island as a wildlife reserve</p><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></p><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-57678621" target="_blank">Read on… </a></p></div></div><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348728589329576621.post-47915123309275973212021-07-01T12:03:00.004+01:002021-07-01T12:03:47.514+01:00Saving the Siamese crocodile<p> </p><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: "Lucida Grande", Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: inherit; padding-top: 0px;"><div class="header" id="emb-email-header-container" style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 600px; min-width: 320px; transition: width 0.25s ease-in-out, max-width 0.25s ease-in-out; width: calc(28000% - 167400px);"><div align="center" class="logo emb-logo-margin-box" style="border-top-width: 0px; color: #c3ced9; font-family: Roboto, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 26px; line-height: 32px; margin: 4px 20px 12px; padding-top: 0px;"><div align="center" class="logo-center" id="emb-email-header" style="border-top-width: 0px; line-height: inherit; padding-top: 0px;"><img alt="Fauna & Flora International" src="http://i1.cmail20.com/ei/j/68/0F7/4B6/011304/csfinal/logoLarge.60460f7.png" style="border: 0px; display: block; height: auto; line-height: inherit; max-width: 221px; width: 221px;" width="221" /></div></div></div></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; font-family: "Lucida Grande", Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: inherit;"><div class="layout one-col fixed-width stack" style="border-top-width: 0px; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 600px; min-width: 320px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding-top: 0px; transition: width 0.25s ease-in-out, max-width 0.25s ease-in-out; width: calc(28000% - 167400px); word-break: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><div class="layout__inner" style="background-color: #fefefe; border-collapse: collapse; border-top-width: 0px; display: table; line-height: inherit; padding-top: 0px; width: 600px;"><div class="column" style="border-top-width: 0px; color: #353638; display: table-cell; float: none !important; font-family: "PT Serif", Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 26px; max-width: 600px !important; padding-top: 0px; transition: width 0.25s ease-in-out, max-width 0.25s ease-in-out; vertical-align: top; width: 600px !important;"><div align="center" style="border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="https://faunaflorainternational.cmail20.com/t/j-l-fijtyo-tttjuklyui-r/" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #00a851; line-height: inherit; transition: opacity 0.1s ease-in;" target="_blank"><img alt="Siamese crocodile hatchling being held by conservationist" class="gnd-corner-image gnd-corner-image-center gnd-corner-image-top" src="http://i1.cmail20.com/ei/j/68/0F7/4B6/011304/csfinal/the-heat-is-on-and-thats-great-news-for-rare-siame-9900000000079e3c.png" style="border: 0px; display: block; height: auto; line-height: inherit; max-width: 768px; width: 600px;" width="600" /></a></div><div style="line-height: inherit; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 20px; margin-top: 20px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; line-height: inherit; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: middle;"><h1 style="color: #00a851; font-family: lora, palatino, "book antiqua", georgia, serif; font-size: 30px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 43px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="font-lora" style="line-height: inherit;"><span style="color: black; line-height: inherit;"><strong style="line-height: inherit;">The timeless reptiles running out of time</strong></span></span></h1></div></div><div style="line-height: inherit; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 20px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; line-height: inherit; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: middle;"><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="font-arial" style="line-height: inherit;">They are living dinosaurs. </span></p><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 20px;"><span class="font-arial" style="line-height: inherit;"><span style="line-height: inherit;">Siamese crocodiles are truly ancient - one of the final living connections we have to our planet’s long-lost past. For millennia, they have <strong style="line-height: inherit;">kept themselves to themselves and thrived in peaceful isolation.</strong></span></span></p><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 20px;"><span class="font-arial" style="line-height: inherit;">But their time is almost up.</span></p><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 20px;"><span class="font-arial" style="line-height: inherit;">There are now just a few hundred left.</span></p><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 20px;"><span class="font-arial" style="line-height: inherit;"><span style="line-height: inherit;">In an evolutionary blink of an eye these captivating creatures have been systematically slaughtered for their skin and <strong style="line-height: inherit;">wiped out from 99% of their former range.</strong></span></span></p><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 20px;"><span class="font-arial" style="line-height: inherit;">They are now <strong style="line-height: inherit;">one of the world’s rarest reptiles</strong>, thought to be extinct until they were rediscovered in Cambodia in 2000.</span></p><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 20px;"><span class="font-arial" style="line-height: inherit;">And despite this terrifying decline, their struggle for survival is scarcely-known.</span></p><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 20px;"><span class="font-arial" style="line-height: inherit;"><span style="line-height: inherit;">Siamese crocodiles are skilled natural predators, though their size means that they rarely tackle prey larger than small snakes, frogs and fish. Sadly, instead of being admired for their extraordinary agility and hunting prowess in the same way that we view species like lions and bears, crocodiles are often <strong style="line-height: inherit;">demonised and misunderstood.</strong></span></span></p><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 20px;"><span class="font-arial" style="line-height: inherit;">They have faded from public view and been driven to the<strong style="line-height: inherit;"> brink of extinction</strong>.</span></p><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 20px;"><span class="font-arial" style="line-height: inherit;">Unless they get help, they won't survive this crisis. Their ancient history will end now - with us - as a damning example of how humanity valued fancy leather over an entire living species. </span></p><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 20px;"><span class="font-arial" style="line-height: inherit;">But through your donations, we can change that. We can give them a chance.</span></p><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 20px;"><span class="font-arial" style="line-height: inherit;">Through your support we’re carrying out a <strong style="line-height: inherit;">crucial captive breeding programme </strong>in Cambodia and releasing hundreds of Siamese crocodiles into the wild - aiming to double the wild population over the next few years.</span></p><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 20px;"><span class="font-arial" style="line-height: inherit;"><span style="line-height: inherit;">We are working closely with local communities to carry out vital research and monitoring, as well as advocating for stricter controls over crocodile farming and trade. Many local communities in Cambodia adore and admire these charismatic creatures, considering them sacred. <strong style="line-height: inherit;">Now we need to value them too. </strong></span></span></p><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 20px;"><span class="font-arial" style="line-height: inherit;"><span style="line-height: inherit;"><strong style="line-height: inherit;">That way, we can save Siamese crocodiles before it’s too late. </strong></span>We can stop these so-called living fossils from going the way of the dinosaurs.</span></p></div></div><div style="line-height: inherit; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 20px;"><div class="btn btn--flat btn--large" style="border-top-width: 0px; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 20px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://faunaflorainternational.cmail20.com/t/j-l-fijtyo-tttjuklyui-y/" rel="noreferrer" style="background-color: #53616f; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; color: rgb(255, 255, 255) !important; display: inline-block; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px; padding: 12px 24px; text-decoration: none !important; transition: opacity 0.1s ease-in;" target="_blank">CONSERVING CROCODILES</a></div></div><div style="line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 20px;"><div class="divider" style="background-color: #cbcbcb; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 2px; line-height: 2px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-top: 0px; width: 40px;"> </div></div></div></div></div><div class="layout fixed-width stack" style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 600px; min-width: 320px; overflow-wrap: break-word; transition: width 0.25s ease-in-out, max-width 0.25s ease-in-out; width: calc(28000% - 167400px); word-break: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><div class="layout__inner" style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; border-top-width: 0px; display: table; line-height: inherit; padding-top: 0px; width: 600px;"><div class="column wide" style="border-top-width: 0px; color: #353638; display: table-cell; float: left; font-family: "PT Serif", Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 26px; max-width: 400px; min-width: 320px; padding-top: 0px; transition: width 0.25s ease-in-out, max-width 0.25s ease-in-out; vertical-align: top; width: calc(8000% - 47600px);"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; line-height: inherit; margin: 12px 20px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; line-height: inherit; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: middle;"><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="font-arial" style="line-height: inherit;">Please help save Siamese crocodiles. <strong style="line-height: inherit;">If everyone reading this donates just £3</strong>, you could help fund our crucial captive breeding programme - helping these incredible creatures to thrive in the wild once again. Thank you.</span></p></div></div></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348728589329576621.post-49349450143388900562021-06-27T14:16:00.001+01:002021-06-27T14:16:03.625+01:00Python poser <br /><p> <a href="https://www.google.com/url?rct=j&sa=t&url=https://www.newsweek.com/massive-8-foot-burmese-python-mistaken-garden-hose-homeowner-1604252&ct=ga&cd=CAEYHCoTODg3OTY1MTEwODAyNzIyNzIyNTIaNmRhOWJhNDJlZTUyOGFmMDpjb206ZW46VVM&usg=AFQjCNE8itDDheilZbj3hdkFTXi4c3WN8w" rel="noreferrer" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; color: #427fed; display: inline; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><b>Massive</b> 8-Foot Burmese Python Mistaken for 'Garden Hose' by Homeowner</a></p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11px;"></span><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding: 2px 0px 8px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; color: #737373; font-size: 12px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="https://webmail.eclipse.net.uk/#NOP" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #737373; text-decoration: none;">Newsweek</a></div><div style="color: #252525; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; padding: 2px 0px 0px;">Hughes also told WNBC that because it is not immediately clear how long the python was on her property, she fears the worst for her rescue <b>cat</b>, who ...</div></div></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348728589329576621.post-55026561865386907302021-06-25T20:07:00.001+01:002021-06-25T20:07:02.432+01:00BBC: Sea lion opens gate to crash fisherman's interview about a 'plague of sea lions'<p> </p><iframe width="600" height="500" frameborder="0" src="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av-embeds/57604881/vpid/p09mglhc"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348728589329576621.post-39241080953010670412021-06-25T20:04:00.003+01:002021-06-25T20:04:46.025+01:00BBC: Why has the sea off Scotland turned turquoise?<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nYSOJdbCy8w/YNYob9AkDzI/AAAAAAAAhZY/jHc0HyAZxqQaGomqtrmR6HHdaYE237ahgCLcBGAsYHQ/s976/F1264723-5FEA-434D-A526-FE4B1EEAE37F.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="549" data-original-width="976" height="360" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nYSOJdbCy8w/YNYob9AkDzI/AAAAAAAAhZY/jHc0HyAZxqQaGomqtrmR6HHdaYE237ahgCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h360/F1264723-5FEA-434D-A526-FE4B1EEAE37F.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><div class="ssrcss-vk3nhx-ComponentWrapper e1xue1i89" data-component="image-block" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(63, 63, 66); color: #3f3f42; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1.5rem 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><figure class="ssrcss-md0xev-StyledFigure e34k3c23" style="border: 0px; font-size: 0.875rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: 1.125rem; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-ab5fd8-StyledFigureContainer e34k3c21" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="ssrcss-1ecljvk-StyledFigureCopyright e34k3c20" style="background-color: #3f3f42; border: 0px; bottom: 0px; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0.25rem 0.5rem; position: absolute; right: 0px; text-transform: uppercase; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="ssrcss-1f39n02-VisuallyHidden e1y6uwnp0" style="border: 0px; clip-path: inset(100%); clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; height: 1px; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: absolute; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: nowrap; width: 1px;">IMAGE COPYRIGHT</span>GRANT LAUCHLAN</span></div></figure></div><div class="ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(63, 63, 66); color: #3f3f42; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b class="ssrcss-hmf8ql-BoldText e5tfeyi3" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">You'd be forgiven for thinking you're looking at a photo from the Mediterranean but this is Scotland's west coast around the Isle of Arran. </b></p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(63, 63, 66); color: #3f3f42; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The vivid turquoise colour of the sea has captured the imaginations of those living nearby with many taking to social media for answers.</p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(63, 63, 66); color: #3f3f42; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In the absence of any known samples being analysed, experts think it is a coccolithophore bloom.</p><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></p><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-57609040" target="_blank">Read on…</a></p></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348728589329576621.post-9955352043985757302021-06-25T20:01:00.001+01:002021-06-25T20:01:05.577+01:00BBC: Scientists hail stunning 'Dragon Man' discovery<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5SFYNanVRDg/YNYnoyW2trI/AAAAAAAAhZQ/ZT2S2m_SwXAnTtMRMOVmQ-9H3_smVFmgACLcBGAsYHQ/s976/7010784E-5627-49CA-8E4D-AC250F2354D3.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="549" data-original-width="976" height="360" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5SFYNanVRDg/YNYnoyW2trI/AAAAAAAAhZQ/ZT2S2m_SwXAnTtMRMOVmQ-9H3_smVFmgACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h360/7010784E-5627-49CA-8E4D-AC250F2354D3.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><div class="ssrcss-vk3nhx-ComponentWrapper e1xue1i89" data-component="image-block" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(63, 63, 66); color: #3f3f42; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1.5rem 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><figure class="ssrcss-md0xev-StyledFigure e34k3c23" style="border: 0px; font-size: 0.875rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: 1.125rem; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-ab5fd8-StyledFigureContainer e34k3c21" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="ssrcss-1ecljvk-StyledFigureCopyright e34k3c20" style="background-color: #3f3f42; border: 0px; bottom: 0px; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0.25rem 0.5rem; position: absolute; right: 0px; text-transform: uppercase; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="ssrcss-1f39n02-VisuallyHidden e1y6uwnp0" style="border: 0px; clip-path: inset(100%); clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; height: 1px; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: absolute; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: nowrap; width: 1px;">IMAGE COPYRIGHT</span>KAI GENG</span></div><figcaption class="ssrcss-1rnnz6t-StyledFigureCaption e34k3c22" style="background-color: #3f3f42; border: 0px; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 1rem; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="ssrcss-1f39n02-VisuallyHidden e1y6uwnp0" style="border: 0px; clip-path: inset(100%); clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; height: 1px; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: absolute; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: nowrap; width: 1px;">image caption</span>The Dragon Man's skull is huge, with a brain size about the same as the average for our species</figcaption></figure></div><div class="ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(63, 63, 66); color: #3f3f42; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b class="ssrcss-hmf8ql-BoldText e5tfeyi3" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Chinese researchers have unveiled an ancient skull that could belong to a completely new species of human.</b></p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(63, 63, 66); color: #3f3f42; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The team has claimed it is our closest evolutionary relative among known species of ancient human, such as Neanderthals and <span class="ssrcss-xbdn93-ItalicText e5tfeyi2" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: italic; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Homo erectus</span>.</p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(63, 63, 66); color: #3f3f42; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Nicknamed "Dragon Man", the specimen represents a human group that lived in East Asia at least 146,000 years ago.</p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(63, 63, 66); color: #3f3f42; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">It was found at Harbin, north-east China, in 1933, but only came to the attention of scientists more recently.</p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(63, 63, 66); color: #3f3f42; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">An analysis of the skull <a class="ssrcss-9nsdc6-InlineLink e1no5rhv0" href="https://www.cell.com/the-innovation/S2666-6758(21)00056-4" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; color: dimgrey; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-color: rgb(186, 186, 186); text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-thickness: 1px; text-decoration: none; text-underline-offset: 0.25em; vertical-align: baseline;">has been published</a> in the journal The Innovation.</p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(63, 63, 66); color: #3f3f42; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">One of the UK's leading experts in human evolution, Prof Chris Stringer from London's Natural History Museum, was a member of the research team.</p><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></p><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-57432104" target="_blank">Read on…</a></p></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348728589329576621.post-31331508303011442122021-06-25T11:04:00.001+01:002021-06-25T11:04:35.136+01:00Subject: Wild Justice 66 - Grouse shooting debate and more<p> </p><div class="definition-parent" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; padding-top: 0px;"><table align="center" class="floated-none" style="border-spacing: 0px; border-style: none; border-width: medium; float: none; text-align: center; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="padding: 0px;"><a class="aw-image-link" href="https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=EfjOy&m=3lfZ5RaE_uDTXDc&b=P1pqlJxUs9hXJTrTa79_zg" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #f49a4d; word-break: break-word;" target="_blank"><img alt="Image" class="model" height="240" src="https://hostedimages-cdn.aweber-static.com/NTM3NjA4/optimized/a24848c6fb564fb39ed1faf1b0abf68c.jpeg" style="border: 0px none; display: block; height: 240px; max-width: 100%; outline-style: none; outline-width: medium; text-decoration: none; width: 600px;" width="600" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div class="definition-parent" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"><div class="paragraph" style="border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">Good morning!</span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">This newsletter tells you about the grouse shooting debate in parliament, asks that you contact Natural Resources Wales about their general licences, suggests a date for your diary, tells you that we are helping other campaigners on Badgers and gives you information on another petition we think you might want to sign.</span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div></div></div></div></div><div class="definition-parent" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"><table align="center" class="floated-none" style="border-spacing: 0px; border-style: none; border-width: medium; float: none; text-align: center; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="padding: 0px;"><a class="aw-image-link" href="https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=EfjOy&m=3lfZ5RaE_uDTXDc&b=P1pqlJxUs9hXJTrTa79_zg" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #f49a4d; word-break: break-word;" target="_blank"><img alt="Image" class="model" height="397" src="https://hostedimages-cdn.aweber-static.com/NTM3NjA4/optimized/3a00270877634b33a1644f52325be8ef.jpeg" style="border: 0px none; display: block; height: 397px; max-width: 100%; outline-style: none; outline-width: medium; text-decoration: none; width: 600px;" width="600" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div class="definition-parent" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"><div class="paragraph" style="border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><br /> </div><div> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"><strong>Westminster Hall Grouse shooting debate</strong>: this debate was held on Monday evening and was triggered by a parliamentary petition launched by Wild Justice in August 2019 - the long delay is because of a general election in December 2019 and then coronavirus of course. There was a previous debate on this subject in October 2016. Progress has been made in that time and petitions causing debates of this type are a means of challenging government and keeping the issue alive. </span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">Since 2016</span></div><ul><li><div style="border-top-width: 0px; margin-left: 40px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">Hen Harrier numbers have increased in England very slightly, an important scientific paper has shown beyond doubt that Hen Harriers die or disappear mysteriously on grouse moors at a far, far higher rate than on other habitats and that the killing continues. What han't changed is that DEFRA does not have a plan for dealing with wildlife crime emanating from the grouse shooting fraternity.</span></div></li><li><div style="border-top-width: 0px; margin-left: 40px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">the calls for burning of vegetation on peat soils have risen, notably from the Committee on Climate Change, and DEFRA has been slow to act, and its proposed measures to limit damaging burning are inadequate </span></div></li><li><div style="border-top-width: 0px; margin-left: 40px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">Scotland has committed to introduce licensing of grouse shooting there, the Labour Party has committed to introduce licensing in England but DEFRA has done nothing</span></div></li></ul><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">You can read our initial comments on the debate in our blog (<strong><a class="validating" href="https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=EfjOy&m=3lfZ5RaE_uDTXDc&b=s2SVJi7czaQWIG9GsDkdlQ" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #f49a4d; word-break: break-word;" target="_blank">click here</a></strong>) and we'll be adding to those comments over the next few days and weeks. We're grateful to the accurate and helpful points made by Kerry McCarthy MP, Dave Doogan MP and Olivia Blake MP. The DEFRA response was evasive and feeble.</span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">Essentialy, the government of Scotland is taking action and the alternative party of government in England would take action but the current party of government in England remains wilfully blind to the problems and to taking action. </span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">Coverage of the debate in the <em>Independent</em> - <a class="validating" href="https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=EfjOy&m=3lfZ5RaE_uDTXDc&b=tWkd_fiLyz3QJowmG5EvCQ" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #f49a4d; word-break: break-word;" target="_blank">click here</a>.</span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">But maybe the most interesting media coverage on grouse shooting recently was this piece on the <a class="validating" href="https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=EfjOy&m=3lfZ5RaE_uDTXDc&b=3Qgu7Wppys4gDalK1mBu5A" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #f49a4d; word-break: break-word;" target="_blank"><em>Shooting UK</em> website</a>, which says that grouse moors are becoming less attractive purchases because of their unsavoury reputation and their commercial future may lie in delivering clean water, carbon storage and mitigating flood risk. Times are a-changing.</span></div><div><br /> </div></div></div></div><div class="definition-parent" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"><table align="center" class="floated-none" style="border-spacing: 0px; border-style: none; border-width: medium; float: none; text-align: center; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="padding: 0px;"><a class="aw-image-link" href="https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=EfjOy&m=3lfZ5RaE_uDTXDc&b=P1pqlJxUs9hXJTrTa79_zg" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #f49a4d; word-break: break-word;" target="_blank"><img alt="Image" class="model" height="400" src="https://hostedimages-cdn.aweber-static.com/NTM3NjA4/optimized/b8e18c3e32284d8f82add67525653ec3.jpeg" style="border: 0px none; display: block; height: 400px; max-width: 100%; outline-style: none; outline-width: medium; text-decoration: none; width: 600px;" width="600" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div class="definition-parent" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"><div class="paragraph" style="border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </div><div><div style="border-top-width: 0px; margin-left: 40px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"><strong>NRW and their general licences</strong>: we asked you, in March, to consider writing to Natural Resources Wales asking them about their general licence GL004 which is the basis for killing of selected bird species (crows of several species) for the purpose of nature conservation. Hundreds of you wrote but none of you got a proper reply. This is astounding behaviour from a regulator: failing to make clear the legal basis for its own licences. So we're suggesting that you might like to write again and ask very specifically 'Under the terms of GL004, in what months of 2021, from July onwards, would it be legal to kill any species of crow to protect nesting birds?'. The email address for enquiries: enquiries@naturalresourceswales.gov.uk .</span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">We know that this newsletter will be winging its way around NRW staff and Council as you are reading it, and we'd like to make it clear that we regard NRW as being in breach of its responsibilities as a regulator if it does not explain the terms of its licences to the public. We will make formal complaints about NRW's behaviour if it, again, fails to respond to reasonable questions from the public on this matter. </span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">Of course, the simplest way for NRW to clear this matter up is to put the relevant information on its website as we asked them to do back in February.</span></div></div><div> </div><div> </div></div></div></div><div class="definition-parent" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"><table align="center" class="floated-none" style="border-spacing: 0px; border-style: none; border-width: medium; float: none; text-align: center; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="padding: 0px;"><a class="aw-image-link" href="https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=EfjOy&m=3lfZ5RaE_uDTXDc&b=P1pqlJxUs9hXJTrTa79_zg" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #f49a4d; word-break: break-word;" target="_blank"><img alt="Image" class="model" height="493" src="https://hostedimages-cdn.aweber-static.com/NTM3NjA4/original/5e2153a4474a437cbdcf734e8659f3a9.jpeg" style="border: 0px none; display: block; height: 493px; max-width: 100%; outline-style: none; outline-width: medium; text-decoration: none; width: 300px;" width="300" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div class="definition-parent" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"><div class="paragraph" style="border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"><strong>A date for your diary - in fact two</strong>: Wild Justice will be providing a live online Hen Harrier Day event on the traditional weekend before the start of the grouse shooting season - so that'll be Saturday 7 August. We're filming interviews and reports for that event from now on and it'll be quite a rush. Fingers crossed we get it all done in time, and thanks to our collaborators. More information nearer the date, through this newsletter.</span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">Hen Harrier Action, following their successful Skydancer Day in the spring, will be holding an <a class="validating" href="https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=EfjOy&m=3lfZ5RaE_uDTXDc&b=ri6hUe7qZnR5fRr_EsPY.Q" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #f49a4d; word-break: break-word;" target="_blank">online event on Sunday 1 August</a>.</span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">So the profile of this amazing bird and the problems it faces will be getting more publicity than ever this year.</span></div><div> </div></div></div></div><div class="definition-parent" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"><table align="center" class="floated-none" style="border-spacing: 0px; border-style: none; border-width: medium; float: none; text-align: center; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="padding: 0px;"><a class="aw-image-link" href="https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=EfjOy&m=3lfZ5RaE_uDTXDc&b=P1pqlJxUs9hXJTrTa79_zg" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #f49a4d; word-break: break-word;" target="_blank"><img alt="Image" class="model" height="400" src="https://hostedimages-cdn.aweber-static.com/NTM3NjA4/optimized/734ef729c84b49e088e9d6cdbceb0dd7.jpeg" style="border: 0px none; display: block; height: 400px; max-width: 100%; outline-style: none; outline-width: medium; text-decoration: none; width: 600px;" width="600" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div class="definition-parent" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"><div class="paragraph" style="border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">We told you in our last newsletter, only a few days ago, that we had lost our own legal challenge on behalf of Badgers and against the inhumane process of free shooting them. But we have some resources freed up because the case did not go the whole way and so we are pleased to say that we are transferring £2,500 to the legal challenge of Tom Langton who is an indefatigable campaigner for Badgers. We wish Tom well and if you wish to top up his crowdfunder some more then you can do so <strong><a class="validating" href="https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=EfjOy&m=3lfZ5RaE_uDTXDc&b=JIZUeLXPiiPdW2dg7JPXXA" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #f49a4d; word-break: break-word;" target="_blank">here</a></strong>. At the time of writing, our contribution hasn't made it to the total but it will appear soon.</span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">We know we can't fight all the legal battles in the world on behalf of wildlife, but we do our best to pick important and strong cases. And we are happy to help others trying to do the same. That's why we have supported Tom Langton's challenge and it's why we supported<a class="validating" href="https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=EfjOy&m=3lfZ5RaE_uDTXDc&b=h7G0VdffcNeHzyjEnOL4KQ" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #f49a4d; word-break: break-word;" target="_blank"> <strong>Trees for Life's challenge to licensing of Beaver culls in Scotland</strong></a>. That challenge has now been heard and we are keeping our fingers crossed for a good result. Win or lose we have supported Trees for Life's action.</span></div><div> </div><div> </div></div></div></div><div class="definition-parent" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"><table align="center" class="floated-none" style="border-spacing: 0px; border-style: none; border-width: medium; float: none; text-align: center; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="padding: 0px;"><a class="aw-image-link" href="https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=EfjOy&m=3lfZ5RaE_uDTXDc&b=P1pqlJxUs9hXJTrTa79_zg" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #f49a4d; word-break: break-word;" target="_blank"><img alt="Image" class="model" height="337" src="https://hostedimages-cdn.aweber-static.com/NTM3NjA4/optimized/2240bc0b5de047a99b383f1f7aacb8a4.png" style="border: 0px none; display: block; height: 337px; max-width: 100%; outline-style: none; outline-width: medium; text-decoration: none; width: 600px;" width="600" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div class="definition-parent" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"><div class="paragraph" style="border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">This is an interesting petition from a new organisation, called Wild Card, asking the Royal Family to rewild their landholdings. It's a polite and respectful request which we support. We would suggest that the grouse moor at Balmoral would be a good place to start and that would have a massive impact on neighbouring and nearby landowners.</span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">Have a look for yourselves - <strong><a class="validating" href="https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=EfjOy&m=3lfZ5RaE_uDTXDc&b=BY4CXo8OrVds18R9pbdIgQ" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #f49a4d; word-break: break-word;" target="_blank">click here</a></strong> - and see whether you'd like to support it, please.</span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">That's it for now. There are news items stacking up at the moment - so we'll probably be back soon.</span></div><div> </div><div><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">Wild Justice (Directors: Mark Avery, Chris Packham and Ruth Tingay).</span></div><div> </div><div>Photos: Red Grouse and Jackdaw, Tim Melling; Badger, Chris Packham.</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348728589329576621.post-17128818873584177512021-06-24T12:40:00.004+01:002021-06-24T12:40:51.919+01:00Saving yellow naped parrot<p> </p><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: "Lucida Grande", Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: inherit; padding-top: 0px;"><div class="header" id="emb-email-header-container" style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 600px; min-width: 320px; transition: width 0.25s ease-in-out, max-width 0.25s ease-in-out; width: calc(28000% - 167400px);"><div align="center" class="logo emb-logo-margin-box" style="border-top-width: 0px; color: #c3ced9; font-family: Roboto, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 26px; line-height: 32px; margin: 4px 20px 12px; padding-top: 0px;"><div align="center" class="logo-center" id="emb-email-header" style="border-top-width: 0px; line-height: inherit; padding-top: 0px;"><img alt="Fauna & Flora International" src="http://i1.cmail19.com/ei/j/50/9D4/901/025405/csfinal/logoLarge.60460f7.png" style="border: 0px; display: block; height: auto; line-height: inherit; max-width: 221px; width: 221px;" width="221" /></div></div></div></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; font-family: "Lucida Grande", Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: inherit;"><div class="layout one-col fixed-width stack" style="border-top-width: 0px; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 600px; min-width: 320px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding-top: 0px; transition: width 0.25s ease-in-out, max-width 0.25s ease-in-out; width: calc(28000% - 167400px); word-break: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><div class="layout__inner" style="background-color: #fefefe; border-collapse: collapse; border-top-width: 0px; display: table; line-height: inherit; padding-top: 0px; width: 600px;"><div class="column" style="border-top-width: 0px; color: #353638; display: table-cell; float: none !important; font-family: "PT Serif", Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 26px; max-width: 600px !important; padding-top: 0px; transition: width 0.25s ease-in-out, max-width 0.25s ease-in-out; vertical-align: top; width: 600px !important;"><div align="center" style="border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px; padding-top: 0px;"><img class="gnd-corner-image gnd-corner-image-center gnd-corner-image-top" src="http://i1.cmail19.com/ei/j/50/9D4/901/025405/csfinal/Parrot-9900000000079e3c.png" style="border: 0px; display: block; height: auto; line-height: inherit; max-width: 900px; width: 600px;" width="600" /></div><div style="line-height: inherit; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 20px; margin-top: 20px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; line-height: inherit; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: middle;"><h1 style="color: #00a851; font-family: lora, palatino, "book antiqua", georgia, serif; font-size: 30px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 43px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="font-lora" style="line-height: inherit;"><span style="color: black; line-height: inherit;"><strong style="line-height: inherit;">Beauty behind bars</strong></span></span></h1></div></div><div style="line-height: inherit; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 20px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; line-height: inherit; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: middle;"><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="font-arial" style="line-height: inherit;">Torn from their parents. </span></p><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 20px;"><span class="font-arial" style="line-height: inherit;">Imprisoned for life. </span></p><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 20px;"><span class="font-arial" style="line-height: inherit;">These rare parrots are paying a heavy price for their splendour.</span></p><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 20px;"><span class="font-arial" style="line-height: inherit;">Yellow-naped parrots are stunning birds. With their glorious green and gold-flecked plumage and piercing amber eyes, they really are exquisite. However, it is this beauty, combined with their incredible intelligence and mimicking skill, that has become their downfall.</span></p><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 20px;"><span class="font-arial" style="line-height: inherit;">These charismatic creatures have become a primary target for poachers, sold on to the pet trade at a level that is simply unsustainable. Pet hunters target vulnerable eggs and chicks, poaching up to 100% of nests in some locations. These highly social animals are then locked away,<strong style="line-height: inherit;"> sentenced to a life of solitary confinement.</strong></span></p><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 20px;"><span class="font-arial" style="line-height: inherit;">The reality of such stark cruelty resulting from people wanting to share their homes with these beautiful creatures is heartbreakingly ironic. <strong style="line-height: inherit;">They have a mere 50% chance of survival when seized from the wild.</strong></span></p><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 20px;"><span class="font-arial" style="line-height: inherit;">But beyond the incessant suffering<strong style="line-height: inherit;">, their species isn’t coping.</strong></span></p><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 20px;"><span class="font-arial" style="line-height: inherit;"><strong style="line-height: inherit;">Yellow-naped parrot numbers are thought to have halved in the last decade. </strong>Their population is plummeting, yet the plight of these brave birds is largely flying under the radar.</span></p><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 20px;"><span class="font-arial" style="line-height: inherit;">This doesn’t just affect the birds themselves. This illicit capture and trafficking has a terrifying knock-on effect on the surrounding ecosystem; yellow-naped parrots perform a valuable role as seed dispersers for many native fruit trees so they are crucial to the health of these tropical forests they call home.</span></p><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 20px;"><span class="font-arial" style="line-height: inherit;">Unless we intervene now, this downward spiral will soon end in disaster.</span></p><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 20px;"><span class="font-arial" style="line-height: inherit;">So, through your support, FFI is working hard with local communities to build support for the protection of the parrots. We are establishing a network of guardians and setting up patrols in key locations to prevent poaching and monitor populations, offering incentive payments to protect nests.</span></p><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 20px;"><span class="font-arial" style="line-height: inherit;">This work is a great step towards changing mindsets and attitudes around such a deeply ingrained cultural norm, and the long-term protection of these birds will ultimately hinge on reducing the demand.</span></p><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 20px;"><span class="font-arial" style="line-height: inherit;"><strong style="line-height: inherit;">With your help and donations, we can continue this work </strong>and stop this trade for good, helping yellow-naped parrots to flourish in the wild once more.</span></p></div></div><div style="line-height: inherit; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 20px;"><div class="btn btn--flat btn--large" style="border-top-width: 0px; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 20px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://faunaflorainternational.cmail19.com/t/j-l-ftustl-tttjuklyui-r/" rel="noreferrer" style="background-color: #53616f; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; color: rgb(255, 255, 255) !important; display: inline-block; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px; padding: 12px 24px; text-decoration: none !important; transition: opacity 0.1s ease-in;" target="_blank">SAVING YELLOW-NAPED PARROTS</a></div></div><div style="line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 20px;"><div class="divider" style="background-color: #cbcbcb; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 2px; line-height: 2px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-top: 0px; width: 40px;"> </div></div></div></div></div><div class="layout fixed-width stack" style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 600px; min-width: 320px; overflow-wrap: break-word; transition: width 0.25s ease-in-out, max-width 0.25s ease-in-out; width: calc(28000% - 167400px); word-break: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;"><div class="layout__inner" style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; border-top-width: 0px; display: table; line-height: inherit; padding-top: 0px; width: 600px;"><div class="column wide" style="border-top-width: 0px; color: #353638; display: table-cell; float: left; font-family: "PT Serif", Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 26px; max-width: 400px; min-width: 320px; padding-top: 0px; transition: width 0.25s ease-in-out, max-width 0.25s ease-in-out; vertical-align: top; width: calc(8000% - 47600px);"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; line-height: inherit; margin: 12px 20px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; line-height: inherit; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: middle;"><p style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="font-arial" style="line-height: inherit;">Please help save yellow-naped parrots.<strong style="line-height: inherit;"> If everyone reading this donates just £3, </strong>you could help <span style="line-height: inherit;">provide vital funds to incentivise locals to protect these birds, keeping them free and thriving. Thank you. </span></span></p></div></div></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348728589329576621.post-66082991444199236592021-06-23T12:24:00.004+01:002021-06-23T12:24:59.430+01:00Tortoise in a wheelchair<p><br /></p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11px; padding: 0px 6px 0px 0px;"><a href="https://www.google.com/url?rct=j&sa=t&url=https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/647723/tortoise-with-rare-disease-get-custom-wheelchair&ct=ga&cd=CAEYMCoTNjk0NzgxOTE2MjIyNzY1OTgwOTIaNmRhOWJhNDJlZTUyOGFmMDpjb206ZW46VVM&usg=AFQjCNFxm3-IL8zz5-shH0LVRCkl8apjfA" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #427fed; display: inline; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A 70-Pound Sulcata Tortoise With a Rare Disease Can Now Walk Thanks to a Wheelchair</a></span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11px;"></span><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding: 2px 0px 8px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; color: #737373; font-size: 12px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="https://webmail.eclipse.net.uk/#NOP" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #737373; text-decoration: none;">Mental Floss</a></div><div style="color: #252525; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; padding: 2px 0px 0px;">Everywhere there was somewhere and everywhere there were men women children dogs cows <b>wild</b>pigs little rabbits <b>cats</b> lizards and animals. That is ..</div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348728589329576621.post-7424291299155581622021-06-23T10:35:00.004+01:002021-06-23T10:35:45.634+01:00BBC: Chinese elephant mystery<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-q8c3mwyv97c/YNMAJ5y_O1I/AAAAAAAAhZI/cMlR3XA7xsoWy785CQFguHkm_tWmyhb0ACLcBGAsYHQ/s976/7DC51B04-B318-439C-8A51-08762AA947D7.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="549" data-original-width="976" height="360" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-q8c3mwyv97c/YNMAJ5y_O1I/AAAAAAAAhZI/cMlR3XA7xsoWy785CQFguHkm_tWmyhb0ACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h360/7DC51B04-B318-439C-8A51-08762AA947D7.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><div class="ssrcss-vk3nhx-ComponentWrapper e1xue1i87" data-component="image-block" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(63, 63, 66); color: #3f3f42; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1.5rem 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><figure class="ssrcss-md0xev-StyledFigure e34k3c23" style="border: 0px; font-size: 0.875rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: 1.125rem; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-ab5fd8-StyledFigureContainer e34k3c21" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="ssrcss-1ecljvk-StyledFigureCopyright e34k3c20" style="background-color: #3f3f42; border: 0px; bottom: 0px; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0.25rem 0.5rem; position: absolute; right: 0px; text-transform: uppercase; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="ssrcss-1f39n02-VisuallyHidden e1y6uwnp0" style="border: 0px; clip-path: inset(100%); clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; height: 1px; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: absolute; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: nowrap; width: 1px;">IMAGE COPYRIGHT</span>REUTERS</span></div><figcaption class="ssrcss-1rnnz6t-StyledFigureCaption e34k3c22" style="background-color: #3f3f42; border: 0px; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 1rem; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="ssrcss-1f39n02-VisuallyHidden e1y6uwnp0" style="border: 0px; clip-path: inset(100%); clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; height: 1px; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: absolute; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: nowrap; width: 1px;">image caption</span>A herd of endangered elephants in China has completely dumbfounded scientists globally</figcaption></figure></div><div class="ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(63, 63, 66); color: #3f3f42; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b class="ssrcss-hmf8ql-BoldText e5tfeyi3" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Elephants are by nature fiercely intelligent beasts and experts who study them day in day out already know a great deal about them.</b></p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(63, 63, 66); color: #3f3f42; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">And yet a herd of endangered elephants in China has completely dumbfounded scientists globally, while captivating an entire nation in the process.</p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(63, 63, 66); color: #3f3f42; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">It's not unusual for elephants to move small distances. But this herd has been lumbering its way across China for more than a year now. The elephants have jnow strayed almost 500km (310 miles), a mammoth trek from their original habitat.</p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(63, 63, 66); color: #3f3f42; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">It's thought that they started their journey last spring from Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve in the southwest of the country, near the border with Myanmar and Laos.</p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i84" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(63, 63, 66); color: #3f3f42; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">They began moving north and in the last few months, the elephants have popped up in a number of villages, towns and cities.</p><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></p><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Read on…</p></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348728589329576621.post-5708201226591279782021-06-20T13:43:00.001+01:002021-06-20T13:43:21.842+01:00Subject: Wild Justice 64 - please contact your Westminster MP this Week<p> </p><div class="definition-parent" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; padding-top: 0px;"><table align="center" class="floated-none" style="border-spacing: 0px; border-style: none; border-width: medium; float: none; text-align: center; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="padding: 0px;"><a class="aw-image-link" href="https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=EfjOy&m=3kaK0BMF6FDTXDc&b=XOyD98Pbf7qOOXGfECqNIw" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #f49a4d; word-break: break-word;" target="_blank"><img alt="Image" class="model" height="572" src="https://hostedimages-cdn.aweber-static.com/NTM3NjA4/original/f7dc3b27f0c94dcdaf67eff3d8b3c895.jpeg" style="border: 0px none; display: block; height: 572px; max-width: 100%; outline-style: none; outline-width: medium; text-decoration: none; width: 546px;" width="546" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div class="definition-parent" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"><div class="paragraph" style="border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">Good evening! It looks like being a rainy weekend in many parts of the UK, and you won't want to spend the whole weekend watching football on TV will you? In these newsletters we usually tell you about what we have been doing but in this newsletter, as we do sometimes, we are asking for your help to put pressure on decision makers to act.</span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">On Monday, there will be a parliamentary debate in Westminster Hall on the subject of driven grouse shooting. These debates are open to all backbench Westminster MPs of all UK constituencies, so if you live in the UK your MP may be able to attend and speak. Whether or not they do, you may wish to tell them your views on this subject. To find the email address of your MP - <strong><a class="validating" href="https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=EfjOy&m=3kaK0BMF6FDTXDc&b=A8Y5mPqO0ktOoatHDjhYMg" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #f49a4d; word-break: break-word;" target="_blank">click here</a></strong>.</span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">As well as backbench MPs, there will be speeches by shadow and government ministers on the subject. Opposition parties can challenge the government and we can all judge from the government ministerial response whether we are happy with what the government plans to do. The debates are not followed by a vote and, in a way, these are talking shops, but they set the tone on important subjects and put the government on the spot. Also, many Westminster Hall debates, including this one, are triggered by parliamentary petitions which reach 100,000 signatures and so they are used to highlight issues on which the public wants to see more action. </span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">Many of you have already contributed to this debate because you signed <a href="https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=EfjOy&m=3kaK0BMF6FDTXDc&b=aaA_DW5EphRUxvGp61t9tg" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #f49a4d; word-break: break-word;" target="_blank">a parliamentary petition</a>, initiated by Wild Justice, back in the summer of 2019! That is the petition being debated all these months later. The long delay is due to the 2019 general election and then of course the coronavirus pandemic. Can you remember 2019? Back then we could gather together in large numbers, there was still debate over whether Brexit would happen (and how) and Jeremy Corbyn was leader of the Labour Party - it seems a long time ago.</span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">Also, last year, in 2020, many of you signed an e-action on this general subject that went to MPs, MSPs and members of the Senedd in Wales highlighting the problems associated with driven grouse shooting such as damaging burning of vegetation and illegal killing of protected wildlife - this is another opportunity to state your views on these issues to decision makers.</span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">If you've already been involved on this issue, thank you for getting it into the Westminster parliament again - your voice, added to tens of thousands of others has already made a difference. If you'd like to do more, then we set out some suggestions below depending on where in the UK you live. If you're not moved to contact your MP this time then have a good weekend and you may want to watch the debate live on the <a class="validating" href="https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=EfjOy&m=3kaK0BMF6FDTXDc&b=tOk_.inOR2g_vn.jRy3.6w" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #f49a4d; word-break: break-word;" target="_blank">Parliament YouTube Channel.</a> on <a class="validating" href="https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=EfjOy&m=3kaK0BMF6FDTXDc&b=jWqGzB7WL6oZAro8wcFx4Q" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #f49a4d; word-break: break-word;" target="_blank">Monday starting at 4:30pm</a>.</span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"><strong>Points you could make to your MP</strong></span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">1. <u><strong>In general</strong></u>: - you are, of course, free to make any points to your MP that you wish, about this and any other issue - take the opportunity please. Please be polite. Please only contact your MP. You should give your name and address so that the MP knows that you are a constituent of theirs. It's a good idea to keep a copy of your email so that you can compare any response, which might come weeks later, with what you send this weekend. It's a good idea to ask clear questions and check whether you get clear answers from your MP. But any expression of interest in any subject will be noted by MPs, and that includes people with views diametrically opposed to your own - they may be writing to your MP this weekend too - do you want your MP only to read their views?</span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">2. <strong>If you live in Wales or Northern Ireland</strong>: intensive grouse shooting is a much commoner land use in Scotland and England than it is in Wales and Northern Ireland. And, of course, environmental matters like this are a devolved matter for your own parliament. So your Westminster MP might not be very aware of the issues or much inclined to pay attention to them. However, they are your Westminster MP and you are fully entitled to make any points you wish to them. But if you want to go for a walk in the rain or fall asleep in front of football on the TV we completely understand. There will be other issues where we will ask for your help in future. If you do want to contact your MP - skip to point 5 below for some suggestions.</span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">3. <strong>If you live in Scotland</strong>: intensive grouse shooting is a live issue in Scotland and the Scottish government has said that it will act to license grouse shooting, heather burning and to restrict the mass killing of Mountain Hares. Statements from Scottish ministers over the last few years on raptor persecution have been very strong compared with the wilful blindness of DEFRA ministers. You could ask your Westminster MP, particularly if they are an SNP Westminster MP, to make the point, or ask a colleague attending the debate to make the point, that Scotland is taking far more action than the UK government is taking in England. That would be very helpful. See point 5 below for more points to make.</span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">4. <strong>If you live in England</strong>: intensive grouse shooting is a live issue in England and DEFRA has been woefully slow and feeble in tackling the problems associated with it, compared, for example, to the much greater action in Scotland. For more details of points to make on grouse shooting, see point 5 below but ... this is also an opportunity to tell your MP that you support the #stateofnature petition (<a class="validating" href="https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=EfjOy&m=3kaK0BMF6FDTXDc&b=uk.8iRGWRzlFo5edunaJ8g" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #f49a4d; word-break: break-word;" target="_blank">sign here</a>, please, if you haven't already) which has received very nearly 200,000 signatures and that you want much stronger action than DEFRA has promised so far for a legally binding nature recovery target.</span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">5. <strong>Wherever you live</strong>: the problems of intensive grouse moor management, for the hobby of grouse shooting, include the following: </span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><ul><li><div style="border-top-width: 0px; margin-left: 40px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">about half a million Red Grouse are shot in a typical year - few of them are eaten - it's just shooting for fun</span></div></li><li><div style="border-top-width: 0px; margin-left: 40px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">a grouse moor is as unnatural as a car park or a field of wheat and yet they dominate much of our uplands - they are a block to a wilder, more natural, and more beautiful landscape</span></div></li><li><div style="border-top-width: 0px; margin-left: 40px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">our upland National Parks have been de-wilded by grouse moor management - it's time to let nature have them back</span></div></li><li><div style="border-top-width: 0px; margin-left: 40px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">intensive grouse shooting is underpinned by wildlife crime - particularly the illegal killing of birds of prey such as Hen Harriers, Peregrine Falcons and Red Kites</span></div></li><li><div style="border-top-width: 0px; margin-left: 40px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">thousands and thousands of foxes, stoats, crows and other predators are killed, legally, to make sure as many Red Grouse as possible survive to be shot at </span></div></li><li><div style="border-top-width: 0px; margin-left: 40px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">lead ammunition is still used on grouse moors and should be banned</span></div></li><li><div style="border-top-width: 0px; margin-left: 40px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">heather burning damages protected habitats, increases greenhouse gas emissions, increases flood risk and increases water treatment costs - DEFRA proposals to address these problems are so weak that Wild Justice has started a legal challenge of DEFRA's proposed measures</span></div></li><li><div style="border-top-width: 0px; margin-left: 40px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">the densities of Red Grouse are so unnaturally high on grouse moors that diseases are becoming commoner - the grouse are dosed with powerful medicines to help them get through to the opening of the shooting season and the checks on food contamination simply aren't up to scratch</span></div></li></ul><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">DEFRA has been slow to act on any of these issues - as the petition states, it has been wilfully blind, in contrast to the action taken north of the border. DEFRA has never made a clear, unequivocal statement on the scale of illegal raptor persectution on grouse moors, nor made a clear statement condemning grouse shooting as the source of that criminal behaviour. This debate is an opportunity to set the record straight.</span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">DEFRA has a range of options at its fingertips to deal with the raft of issues that Scotland is already tackling. DEFRA has dragged its feet on dealing with lead ammunition, raptor persecution and heather burning. Its recently announced measures to limit heather burning are so poor that Wild Justice has started legal action on this subject. You may wish to suggest that licensing of grouse shooting would be the best way to tackle all these issues at once or you might wish to say that only a ban on driven grouse shooting will adress the whole range of environmental problems caused by this crazy land use.</span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">Phew! Thank you. Even a very short email to your MP will make a difference to their awareness of the issue and will be a voice for change.</span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">We'll give you our views on the debate some time next week, and we'll have another ask of you then too, particularly if you live in Wales.</span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">We wouldn't want you to think we have been idle though. See this critique <a class="validating" href="https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=EfjOy&m=3kaK0BMF6FDTXDc&b=EWIRZ1GauNFW6gF6JauU7Q" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #f49a4d; word-break: break-word;" target="_blank">we published on our blog</a> of Natural England's totally inadequate assessment of the biological factors that will affect any reintroduction of Hen Harriers in southern England (we think Natural England should throw away their current assessment and do it properly). Following last week's newsletter and our news of two potential legal challenges of DEFRA - on gamebird releases and heather burning - letters have been whizzing back and forwards and we have been discussing progress with our lawyers (we're waiting for more responses from DEFRA). We're setting up some filming that will happen over the next few days and in July ahead of the Inglorious 12th, and we've been talking to several journalists writing pieces on grouse shooting. And we have been progressing our plans for a website refresh and working with our accountant on our company accounts.</span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">That's all for now - we'll be back next week.</span></div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; margin-left: 40px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">Wild Justice (Directors: Mark Avery, Chris Packham and Ruth Tingay).</span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348728589329576621.post-73703633694930369622021-06-20T13:28:00.001+01:002021-06-20T13:28:42.661+01:00REPOST: Wild Justice 65 - this one we lost.<p> </p><div class="definition-parent" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; padding-top: 0px;"><table align="center" class="floated-none" style="border-spacing: 0px; border-style: none; border-width: medium; float: none; text-align: center; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="padding: 0px;"><a class="aw-image-link" href="https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=EfjOy&m=3kTLhJ5u9FDTXDc&b=ucFe14Q3St2CeDx5BXslpg" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #f49a4d; word-break: break-word;" target="_blank"><img alt="Image" class="model" height="400" src="https://hostedimages-cdn.aweber-static.com/NTM3NjA4/optimized/54dff52f107744d39d711cdd4b7662ea.jpeg" style="border: 0px none; display: block; height: 400px; max-width: 100%; outline-style: none; outline-width: medium; text-decoration: none; width: 600px;" width="600" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div class="definition-parent" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"><div class="paragraph" style="border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; margin-left: 40px; padding-top: 0px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">Yesterday, after writing the newsletter we sent you, we heard from our lawyers the bad news that we have lost our challenge to the licensing of free-shooting of Badgers. This is a great disappointment because we felt we had an arguable case had it ever come to court - but now it won't. </span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">It is in the nature of the judicial review procedure that one loses more cases than one wins, and our track record of making advances through court action is very good on general licences and gamebirds.</span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">But this one, on Badgers, can only be seen as a defeat. Still, we did our best, and we would almost certainly make the same decision again faced with the same facts and probabilities.</span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">Thank you to everyone in our legal team for their quite prodigious work on this complex case, thank you to a team of experts for giving us help and advice along the way, and thank you to all those who donated to make the legal challenge possible. Because we have failed to get permission for judicial review there will be some funds available as a result for other legal challenges.</span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">There will be another newsletter next week - there often is a rush of news in the run-up to the break that the courts and legal system have in the summer months.</span></div><div> </div><div><span style="font-size: 14px;">Wild Justice (Directors: Mark Avery, Chris Packham and Ruth Tingay).</span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0