» Listings for 2017

1. Drones counting breeding pairs of penguins in the Falkland Islands

   Posted on 8:55pm Thursday 27th Jul 2017

   © Falklands Conservation

   Last year, I adopted a King Penguin from a scheme run by Falklands Conservation.

   One of the great things about doing this is knowing that your penguin adoption is making a difference.  And today, I received my Penguin Adopter's Newsletter.  

   The newsletter mentioned that they are using drones to count breeding pairs of penguins.   Falklands Conservation think the drones have big potential for improving and enhancing their monitoring of penguins in the Falklands - the drones will give a permanent record of the colonies which can be referred to and re-analysed in the future.

   Back in November 2016, they tested drones over the penguin colonies to see how they reacted to a drone over them.  The penguins didn't react if the drone was launched at a afe distance away from them, and kept to a safe distance above them, so Falklands Conservation hope to develop guidelines for the safe use of drones with wildlife in the Falkland Islands.  It's important that the drones are used correctly and safely and that they don't disturb wildlife so these guidelines should be very useful for tourists and any other drone users.

   Visit Falklands Conservation here
   

2. US$1.8 million to combat wildlife trafficking in Namibia

   Posted on 8:00pm Thursday 27th Jul 2017

   The IUCN  says that over 111,000 elephants have been poached in the 10 years before 2016.   So it's good news to hear that Namibia’s Environment Ministry will get help worth US$1.8 million from the U.S. Embassy to fight wildlife trafficking.  Anything that can be done to help combat this terrible crime will help many animals. The grant will be implemented in partnership with Namibian NGOs such as Intelligence Support Against Poaching, Legal Assistance Centre, Namibia Nature Foundation NNF, Natural Resources Working Group and Save the Rhino Trust.   Source:  Newsghana.com.gh More useful information on global wildlife trafficking:   Visit TRAFFIC

    

3. Vietnam to end bear bile farming

   Posted on 10:00pm Thursday 20th Jul 2017

    

   Great news from Vietnam for bears! The Vietnamese government has now agreed a plan to end bear bile farming in the country with Animals Asia. The Memorandum of Understanding outlines an agreement between Animals Asia nad the Vietnam Adminsistration of Forestry to work together to rescue the bears who are still caged on farms across Vietnam.  It is estimated that there are about 1,000 of them.  The Memo was signed and announced on Wednesday 19 July at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Essentially, the Memo commits the Vietnamese government to making sure that no bears are allowed to be kept by private households.  (It’s here that illegal bile extraction could take place.)    And the 1,000 bears currently held captive will be moved to sanctuaries.  Vietnam Director of Animals Asia, Tuan Bendixsen, said “This historic document ties NGOs and the government of Vietnam to a common goal – the end of bear bile farming in Vietnam.”  Bear bile farming was harming wild bears, whose population was dwindling, so hopefully the agreement will help show that the country is serious about the country’s remaining wild bears and protecting the heritage of future generations.  Key issues moving forward will be: How to fund and manage the sanctuaries How to proceed with the transfer of privately owned bears to rescue centres It is expected that new sanctuaries will need to be built, and help sought from existing sanctuaries run by animal conservation and welfare charities.  Animals Asia’s Founder and CEO, Jill Robinson MBE said:  “This agreement has been a long time coming with discussions beginning around 2014, so to see it finalised is a major step forward. This, of course, doesn’t end the work. Quite the opposite, but it now means we work together with a common goal – to end this cruelty. We’ve essentially sat down with the government and made a list of what needs to be completed to end bear bile farming and agreed to work through these issues together. The agreement will need the support and participation of many groups, NGO’s, government departments and animal lovers to make it happen, but Jill Robinson says, “pivotally we are all in agreement about what has to be done and now we can get on with seeing it through.” Click here to go to Animals Asia

    

4. Good news from South Africa for bird species from Birdlife

   Posted on 9:00pm Thursday 20th Jul 2017

   Birdlife International report there were celebrations in April 2017:  the Mpumalanga’s Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Land and Environmental Affairs declared the Greater Lakenvlei area a Protected Environment. New Protected Environment Declared in South Africa  ©Romy Antrobus-Ruth Greater Lakenvlei is an important conservation area: It has many “specials” e.g. Wattle Crane, Blue Crane, White-winged Flufftail, Yellow-breasted Pipit and many others. BirdLife South Africa recognises this area as the Steenkampsberg Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA). It is an important water catchment area. Lakenvlei (a wetland) is a peatland which helps with the storing and purification of water. The peatland holds a huge amount of carbon, so minimizing the impact of climate change. The tourism and agricultural activities provide jobs for hundreds of people, connecting tourism to the beauty of the area and outdoor activities South African legislation provides for different categories of formal protection: Nature reserves and national parks, where activities are strictly controlled Protected Environment where some activities e.g. farming practices can continue but destructive and unsustainable activities are not allowed Areas are divided into zones such as natural areas and degraded areas.   In natural areas, activities are strictly controlled – over-grazing and indiscriminate use of pesticides are not allowed. Greater Lakenvlei now has a Management Plan which will be implemented to benefit the birds in this area.  Hopefully this declaration will encourage more bird lovers and nature lovers to visit, which should lead to more jobs and help conserve the area. It was made possible by the collaborative efforts of the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA) and their NGO partners, the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) and BirdLife South Africa Click here to go fly away to Birdlife International

    

5. Innovating for animals to improve their welfare

   Posted on 6:00pm Wednesday 19th Jul 2017

   It's always great to hear about innovative ways to help animals, be they wildlife, marine life, feathered animals, pets, reptiles, working animals or livestock.  So I wanted to tell you about The Brooke, an international animal welfare charity which works to improve the lives of working horses, donkeys, mules and the people who depend on them. The Brooke has an Innovation Fund.  It invests in innovations that aim "to improve the welfare of working equines and the lives of those communities that depend on them".  It enables Brooke and its partners "to trial new ideas and develop new work that extends our reach and impact for the welfare of working equine animals globally". Projects funded so far have: Involved a hydroponics pilot project to help provide good quality green fodder to donkeys sustainably throughout the year in drought-prone areas in India. Trained South Sudanese livestock officers in handling and basic donkey husbandry. Developed a new harnessing and traction system for working donkeys in South Africa.  A major problem for many working animals are the sores they develop from badly fitted tack. Worked with communities to write a manual in Arabic for equine owners in Palestine and across the Arab-speaking world which will help animals take better care of them. In Lesotho, collaborated with Send a Cow to integrate equine welfare messages and education into a pilot project Piloted a new eLearning system allowing remote communities without electricity or internet access to access bespoke educational tool - a big problem is that owners just don't know how to care for their animals, so this should help them take better care of them This year, Brooke’s areas of special interest are: Livelihoods: strengthening livelihoods that benefit working equines  Food security: building resilience in equine owning communities to protect their working equines and households Reach: Reaching working equines in remote/conflict affected/insecure locations where Brooke has no presence Disaster responsiveness: where working equines are integrated into responses to natural and socio-political disasters The criteria and guidelines can be found here.   This is a fantastic idea that hopefully will see hard-working animals benefit - horses, camels, donkeys and mules - in many countries where The Brooke work.  Good luck to them!