Giraffes must be listed as endangered, conservationists formally tell US

Five environmental groups point to ‘trophy’ hunting – largely by Americans who travel to Africa – among key threats to animals

Oliver Milman

Wednesday 19 April 2017 05.01 BST Last modified on Wednesday 19 April 2017 05.02 BST

Conservationists have lodged a formal request for the US government to list giraffes as endangered in a bid to prevent what they call the “silent extinction” of the world’s tallest land animal.

A legal petition filed by five environmental groups has demanded that the US Fish and Wildlife Service provide endangered species protections to the giraffe, which has suffered a precipitous decline in numbers in recent years.

According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, which listed giraffes as a threatened species in December, just 97,500 of the animals exist in sub-Saharan Africa today, a drop of almost 40% since 1985. There are now fewer giraffes than elephants in Africa.

Giraffes have suffered from loss of habitat, disease and illegal hunting for bushmeat. They also face the risk of collisions with vehicles and power lines. But the petitioners argue that the species is facing added pressure from “trophy” hunters who travel to Africa to shoot their big-game quarry. These hunters overwhelmingly come from the US.

According to the groups’ analysis of import data, Americans imported 21,402 bone carvings, 3,008 skin pieces and 3,744 miscellaneous hunting trophies from giraffes over the past decade. At least 3,700 individual giraffes are thought to have been killed for such items.

An endangered species listing would place heavy restrictions on any American hunter wishing to travel to Africa and bring back a slaughtered giraffe. A hunter would have to somehow demonstrate the taking of the giraffe trophy was helping sustain the species.

The petition states that the US is “uniquely positioned to help conserve these tall, graceful and iconic animals”.



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Alligator Snapping Turtle One Step Closer to Endangered Species Protection – via Herp Digest

Largest Freshwater Turtle in North America Threatened by Ongoing Habitat Destruction Across Midwest, Southeast Press Release from Center for Biological Diversity, August 30, 2016

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.— The Center for Biological Diversity today reached a settlement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service requiring the agency to determine by 2020 whether the alligator snapping turtle will receive protection under the Endangered Species Act. A prehistoric-looking freshwater turtle known for its spiked shell, large claws and strong, beaked jaws, the alligator snapper has declined up to 95 percent across its historic range. In response to a 2012 petition from the Center, the Fish and Wildlife Service determined last year that the alligator snapping turtle may warrant federal protection.

“Alligator snapping turtles are disappearing from many of the areas they historically lived,” said Elise Bennett, a Center attorney whose work is dedicated to protecting rare reptiles and amphibians. “The evidence is strong these freshwater giants need Endangered Species Act protection to survive.”

Habitat degradation and over harvest have caused significant population declines for the once-abundant turtle. Early in the 20th century alligator snapping turtles were plentiful in U.S. river systems draining into the Gulf of Mexico, from the waterways and lakes of the upper Midwest to the swamps and bayous of Florida, Louisiana and Texas. But recent population surveys show the turtles are now likely extirpated in Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri and Tennessee. A 2014 study revealed that the alligator snapping turtle is actually three different species and therefore even more critically endangered than previously thought.

“This settlement is a welcome first step,” said Bennett. “Now the Service needs to evaluate and act according to the best science we have, which shows that these three species deserve full Endangered Species Act protection.”

Contact: Elise Bennett, (727) 755-6950; ebennett@biologicaldiversity.org

Should the gray wolf keep its endangered species protection?

New genomic research provides the scientific answer

Date: July 27, 2016

Source: University of California - Los Angeles

Research by UCLA biologists published today in the journal Science Advances presents strong evidence that the scientific reason advanced by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to remove the gray wolf from protection under the Endangered Species Act is incorrect.

A key justification for protection of the gray wolf under the act was that its geographic range included the Great Lakes region and 29 Eastern states, as well as much of North America. The Fish and Wildlife Service published a document in 2014 which asserted that a newly recognized species called the eastern wolf occupied the Great Lakes region and eastern states, not the gray wolf. 

Therefore, the original listing under the act was invalid, and the service recommended that the species (except for the Mexican gray wolf, which is the most endangered gray wolf in North America) should be removed from protection under the act.

A decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to remove the gray wolf from protection under the Endangered Species Act may be made as early as this fall.

In the new study, biologists analyzed the complete genomes of North American wolves -- including the gray wolf, eastern wolf and red wolf -- and coyotes. The researchers found that both the red wolf and eastern wolf are not distinct species, but instead are mixes of gray wolf and coyote.

Read more … 

US government gives research chimps endangered-species protection

The decision will prohibit most research on captive animals.

Sara Reardon

12 June 2015

Wild and captive chimpanzees will now be treated equally under US law.

Chimpanzee research in the United States may be nearly over. On 12 June, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced that it is categorizing captive chimpanzees as an endangered species subject to legal protections.

The new rule will bar most invasive research on chimpanzees. Exceptions will be granted for work that would “benefit the species in the wild” or aid the chimpanzee's propagation or survival, including work to improve chimp habitat and the management of wild populations.

The FWS proposed the rule in 2013 to close a loophole that exempted captive chimps from the Endangered Species Act protections that had already been given to their wild counterparts. Under the law, it is illegal to import or export an endangered animal, or to “harm, harass, kill [or] injure” one.

The new regulation will extend these limits to more than 700 chimps in US research laboratories, as well as animals in zoos or entertainment venues such as circuses. The FWS rule also makes it illegal to sell chimpanzee blood, cell lines or tissue across state lines without a permit.

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