An elephant in Zimbabwe. Letizia Barbi / CC BY-SA 2.0
By Charan Saunders
Last year the world reacted in shock when Namibia announced plans to auction off 170 live elephants to the highest bidder.
<p>Despite criticism, the plans have continued to move forward — and that may just be the start. Tucked away in a Feb. 1 <a href="https://www.met.gov.na/files/files/Elephant%20Auction%20Ministerial%20Response.pdf" target="_blank">press release</a> justifying the auction was a rehash of the country's oft-repeated desire to also sell ivory. The Namibian Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism's stated:</p><p>"<em>Namibia has major stockpiles of valuable wildlife products including ivory which it can produce sustainably and regulate properly, and which if traded internationally could support our elephant conservation and management for decades to come."</em></p><p>Namibia is not alone in this desire to capitalize on its wildlife. In Zimbabwe's national assembly last year, the minister of environment valued the country's stockpile of 130 metric tonnes (143 tons) of ivory and 5 tonnes (5.5 tons) of rhino horn at <a href="https://www.parlzim.gov.zw/national-assembly-hansard/national-assembly-hansard-18-june-2020-vol-46-no-47" target="_blank">$600 million</a> in U.S. dollars. This figure, which would value ivory at more than $4,200 per kilogram, has since been seized upon by commentators seeking to justify the reintroduction of the ivory trade.</p>
<p>I'm an environmental accountant dedicated to ethical conservation, so I wanted to understand these numbers and how they motivate countries. In truth, I found not even full black-market value comes close to arriving at this figure.</p><p>Black-market values are, of course, often invisible to the general public, but the most recent data from criminal justice experts finds that unworked (or raw) elephant ivory sells for about <a href="https://wildlifejustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/WildlifeJusticeCommission_Rapid-Assessment-Of-The-Illegal-Ivory-Trade-in-2020_August2020_Spreads.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">$92/kg</a> on the black market in Africa, while rhino horn is currently selling for <a href="https://wildlifejustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/FINAL-raw-rhino-horn-digital-1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">$8,683/kg</a>.</p><p>Therefore, a more realistic valuation of Zimbabwe's ivory stockpiles, using an optimistic wholesale price of $150/kg, would give a potential income of only $19.5 million in U.S. dollars.</p><p>This is a 30th of Zimbabwe's estimate.</p><p>And even then, those numbers fail to account for the disaster that would happen if ivory sales return — as we saw in the all-too-recent past.</p>
<h3>The One-Off Sales</h3><p>International trade in ivory has been banned since 1989, following a 10-year period in which African elephant numbers declined by 50%, from 1.3 million to 600,000. However, in 1999 and 2008 <a href="https://cites.org/eng" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">CITES</a> allowed "one-off sales" of stockpiled ivory, to disastrous effect. The selling prices achieved then were only <a href="https://cites.org/eng/news/pr/2008/081107_ivory.shtml" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">$100/kg</a> and <a href="https://cites.org/eng/news/pr/2008/081107_ivory.shtml" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">$157/kg</a>, in U.S. dollars respectively, due to collusion by official Chinese and Japanese buyers.</p>
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data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNjAzNTM1My9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY3NTQzMjgwM30.Go5CVqcIJHxKgg7CMT7eWIuvAMo1MxAPeZ9tnUOjBf0/img.jpg?width=980"
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Illegal ivory. Gavin Shire / USFWS
<p>The intention of CITES in approving the <a href="https://cites.org/eng/news/pr/2008/080716_ivory.shtml" target="_blank">one-off ivory sales</a> was to introduce a controlled and steady supply of stockpiled ivory into the market. The legal supply, coupled with effective systems of control, aimed to satisfy demand and reduce prices. This in turn should have reduced the profitability of (and the demand for) illegal ivory. Poaching should have followed suit and decreased.</p><p>Instead, the sales led to an increase in <a href="https://conservationaction.co.za/recent-news/ivory-sales-zimbabwe-namibia-create-demand-spike/" target="_blank">demand</a> and, consequently, an increase in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jun/13/legal-ivory-sale-drove-dramatic-increase-in-elephant-poaching-study-shows" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">elephant poaching</a>. The 2008 ivory sale was accompanied by a <a href="https://gspp.berkeley.edu/research/working-paper-series/does-legalization-reduce-black-market-activity-evidence-from-a-global-ivory-experiment-and-elephant-5ed6996401fa99.02945078" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">66% increase in illegally traded ivory and a 71% increase in ivory smuggling</a>. An <a href="https://eia-international.org/report/blood-ivory-exposing-the-myth-of-a-regulated-market/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">investigation</a> in 2010 by the Environmental Investigation Agency documented that 90% of the ivory being sold in China came from illegal sources.</p><p>The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) comparison of elephant poaching figures for the five years preceding and five years following the sale showed an "abrupt, significant, permanent, robust and geographically widespread increase" in poaching.</p><p>The problem has not faded away. Most recently the two African elephant species (savanna and forest) were declared endangered and critically endangered due to their continued poaching threat.</p>
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data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNjAzNTM1OS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1OTEyMDg5OH0.PBTFFs40KA5vIc4mLw-1ppg0sKE8CeiGs7qdQdOLpe0/img.jpg?width=980"
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Regina Hart / CC BY 2.0
<p>Still, some African nations look fondly at the 2008 sale and have long hoped to repeat it. The Zimbabwe Ministry's 2020 statement follows yet another <a href="https://cites.org/eng/cop/18/prop/index.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">proposal</a> to the 18th CITES Conference of the Parties (COP18) by Namibia, Zimbabwe and Botswana to trade in live elephants and their body parts, including ivory. The proposal was not accepted by the parties.</p>
<h3>Why Didn't Ivory Sales Work?</h3><p>The one-off sales of ivory removed the stigma associated with its purchase, stimulated the market demand, and increased prices.</p><p>The ivory that China purchased in 2008 for $157/kg was drip-fed by the authorities to traders at prices ranging between $800 and <a href="https://conservationaction.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/EIA-Blood-Ivory.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">$1,500 per kilogram</a>. This meant that the bulk of the profits went to filling Chinese government coffers — not to African nations — and in doing so, created a large illegal market which drove prices even higher.</p><p>Raw ivory prices in China increased from <a href="https://conservationaction.co.za/recent-news/price-of-ivory-in-china-triples-in-four-years/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">$750/kg</a> in 2010 to <a href="https://conservationaction.co.za/recent-news/price-of-ivory-in-china-triples-in-four-years/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">$2,100/kg</a> in 2014. The market had been stimulated, prices increased and the volume of legal ivory available was insufficient to meet demand as the Chinese government gradually fed its stockpile into the market.</p><p>Japan, the other participant in the one-off sales, has systematically failed to comply with CITES regulations, meaning that there were (and still are) <a href="https://content.eia-global.org/assets/2016/09/dirty_secrets_of_japans_illegal_ivory_trade/Japans_Dirty_Secret_English.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">no controls over ivory</a> being sold, allowing the illegal markets to function in parallel to the legal one.</p><p>In a very short space of time, criminals ramped up poaching and elephant numbers plummeted.</p>
<h3>What Has Happened to the Price of Ivory Since Then?</h3><p>With no recent legal international sales, combined with the significant U.S., Chinese and United Kingdom domestic ivory sales bans, the price for raw ivory paid by craftsmen in China fell from <a href="https://conservationaction.co.za/recent-news/price-of-ivory-in-china-triples-in-four-years/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">$2,100/kg</a> in 2014 to <a href="https://www.savetheelephants.org/about-ste-2/press-media/?detail=dramatic-changes-in-china-s-ivory-trade" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">$730/kg</a> in 2017. That's when <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/two-years-after-china-bans-elephant-ivory-trade-demand-for-elephant-ivory-is-down" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">China</a> closed all of its official ivory carving outlets and theoretically stopped all official ivory trade.</p><p>The price currently paid for raw ivory in Asia, according to an <a href="https://wildlifejustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/WildlifeJusticeCommission_Rapid-Assessment-Of-The-Illegal-Ivory-Trade-in-2020_August2020_Spreads.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">investigation</a> by the Wildlife Justice Commission, is currently between $597/kg and $689/kg, in U.S. dollars. Ivory sourced in Africa and sold in Asia has additional costs such as transportation, taxes and broker commissions. The prices paid for raw ivory in Africa have decreased correspondingly from $208/kg to $92/kg in 2020.</p><p>Those numbers pale in comparison to a living elephant. A 2014 study found that live elephants are each worth an estimated <a href="https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/extinction-countdown/elephants-are-worth-76-times-more-alive-than-dead-report/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">$1.6 million in ecotourism opportunities</a>.</p>
<h3>Funding Conservation</h3><p>One half-truth is that the money earned from the legal sale will be used to effectively fund conservation.</p><p>One of the CITES conditions of the 2008 sale was that funds were to go to the conservation of elephants. South Africa placed a substantial portion of the income from its share of the pie in the Mpumalanga <a href="https://conservationaction.co.za/recent-news/misappropriation-ivory-funds-threatens-rhino-horn-sale/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Problem Animal Fund</a> — which, it turns out, was well-named. An internal investigation found the fund had "no proper controls" and that "tens of millions" of rand (the official currency of South Africa) had bypassed the normal procurement processes.</p><p>Ironically, proceeds were also partly used for the refurbishment of the Skukuza abattoir, where most of the 14,629 elephant carcasses from culling operations between 1967 and 1997 were processed.</p><p>All the while, Africa's elephant populations continued to decline.</p>
<h3>How to Stop Poaching</h3><p>In light of these deficiencies — and in light of elephants' recently declared endangered status — the very reverse of actual conservation can be expected if any nation is again allowed to sell its ivory stockpiles. The cost of increased anti-poaching efforts required from the consequent increase in poaching will outweigh the benefit of any income from the sale of ivory stockpiles.</p><p>To stop poaching, all international and local trade must be stopped.</p>
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data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNjAzNTM3NC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzNzI5NjgwN30.eGqyP2TcqWpotkgzA9wM8zpnoOtZCWZh9nwUcWlfmT8/img.jpg?width=980"
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John Culley / CC BY 2.0
<p>Repeating this failed experiment will send a message that it is acceptable to trade in ivory. Ivory carving outlets in China will re-open and demand for ivory will be stimulated. The demand for ivory in an increasingly wealthy and better-connected Asia will quickly <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/pdf/S0960-9822(16)31005-3.pdf" target="_blank">outstrip legal supply</a> and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02589346.2016.1201378?journalCode=cpsa20" target="_blank">poaching will increase</a>.</p><p>Meanwhile, the <a href="https://www.google.co.za/search?dcr=0&sxsrf=ALeKk01cp-pJf_a-_SklCaLkrbzNNvgh6w%3A1613620282794&source=hp&ei=OuQtYPefLuKdjLsPlsOSqAo&iflsig=AINFCbYAAAAAYC3ySkhIMQq_p5FfrBs_4FPVcInojlhF&q=legal+ivory+trade+in+a+corrupt+world+and+its+impact+on+african+elephant+populations&oq=legal+ivory+trade+in+a+corrupt+world&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAEYADICCAA6BAgjECc6BQgAEJECOggIABCxAxCDAToICC4QsQMQgwE6BAguEEM6BAgAEEM6CwguELEDEMcBEKMCOgsILhDHARCvARCRAjoKCAAQsQMQgwEQQzoHCAAQsQMQQzoOCC4QsQMQgwEQxwEQrwE6BQguELEDOgsIABCxAxCDARCRAjoLCAAQsQMQgwEQyQM6BQgAEJIDOggILhDHARCvAToECAAQCjoFCAAQyQM6BggAEBYQHjoFCAAQhgM6CQgAEMkDEBYQHjoHCCEQChCgAVDTBFiDO2DCTmgBcAB4AIABmAOIAf5RkgEIMi0yNy45LjGYAQCgAQGqAQdnd3Mtd2l6&sclient=gws-wiz" target="_blank">management of a legal ivory trade</a> requires strong systems of control at every point in the commodity chain to ensure that illegal ivory is not laundered into the legal market. With recalcitrant Japan continuing to ignore CITES, "untransparent" Namibia "<a href="https://www.met.gov.na/files/files/Elephant%20Auction%20Ministerial%20Response.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">losing tolerance</a>" with CITES, and <a href="https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2020/index/zwe" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Zimbabwe ranking 157</a> out of 179 on the corruption perceptions index, not even the basics for controlled trade are in place.</p><p>Therefore, aside from the strong theoretical economic arguments against renewed one-off sales, the practical arguments are perhaps even stronger: If international ivory and rhino horn sales ever again become legal, the cost to protect elephants will skyrocket and these culturally valuable animals will plunge into decline — and possibly extinction.</p>
<p><em>Charan Saunders grew up in Cape Town and studied genetics and microbiology and then went on to qualify as a chartered accountant. She has worked in London in the forensic science field and was the chief financial officer of a major vaccine manufacturer for six years. She now serves as a financial director in the field of conservation.</em></p><p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://therevelator.org/southern-africas-ivory-delusion" target="_blank">The Revelator</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
- Ivory Is Still Sold on eBay, Even Though It's Illegal - EcoWatch ›
- Wildlife Conference Mulls Loosening Restrictions on Ivory Trade ... ›
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New Montana Bills ‘Declare War on Wolves, Bears and Other Carnivores,’ Wildlife Advocates Say
08 April
Animals
A grizzly bear searches for salmon. Scott Suriano / Moment / Getty Images
A flurry of bills has recently been introduced to Montana's state legislature that reduces restrictions on the killing of grizzly bears and wolves — two predators which have historically struggled to survive in the state.
<p>One such bill is <a href="https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2021/billhtml/SB0098.htm" target="_blank">SB 98</a>, put forward by Republican Sen. Bruce Gillespie, which would expand the state law allowance for killing grizzly bears. Currently, Montanans can kill grizzly bears if they are caught in the act of killing their livestock, according to <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/montana-wolves-bears-war-against-wildlife/" target="_blank">CBS News</a>. But the new bill — which has already passed the state Senate — would mean grizzly bears could be killed if they were "believed to be 'threatening' a person or livestock." The bill also states that grizzly populations have "<a href="https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2021/billhtml/SB0098.htm" target="_blank">recovered</a>" and should be taken off the federal <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species">endangered species</a> list.</p><p>Other bills include SB 314, which would allow all but 15 breeding pairs of wolves to be killed, and HB 224, which would legalize the use of neck snares to hunt wolves.</p>
<p>With Montana's first Republican governor in 16 years, Greg Gianforte, and a Republican-controlled legislature, the bills represent "a political sentiment," according to Rep. Tom France, a Democrat and retired regional executive director for the National Wildlife Federation, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/28/us/montana-wolves-grizzlies-hunting.html" target="_blank">The New York Times reported</a>, adding that Montana's State Legislature is now saying, "We don't live by federal laws and aren't going to pay attention to them."</p><p>Proponents of bills like the ones aimed at limiting wolf numbers feel they have "no voice" when it comes to keeping the predators away from eliminating their game, like elk and deer, State Senator Bob Brown, a Republican who introduced one of the bills, said at a hearing, according to The New York Times.</p><p>"We can't sit by and allow our game — the thing that feeds so many families — to be taken off the table," he added.</p>
<p>Activists and <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildlife">wildlife</a> advocates have opposed the bills, calling them a series of "bad bills" that "declare war on wolves, bears and other carnivores," according to a <a href="https://blog.humanesociety.org/2021/02/three-montana-lawmakers-declare-war-on-wolves-bears-and-other-carnivores-with-flurry-of-bad-bills.html?credit=blog_post_021921_id12086" target="_blank">statement</a> by Kitty Block, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States. "These bills — all put forward by just three lawmakers, Rep. Paul Fielder, Sen. Bob Brown, and Sen. Bruce Gillespie — also seek to usurp biologists, including the state's wildlife agency," Block wrote.</p><p>In 1975, the grizzly bear was listed on the Endangered Species Act when only about 800 to 1,000 of remained, The New York Times reported. Today there are an estimated 1,800 in the Lower 48 — a successful recovery attributed to restrictions on hunting and poaching.</p><p>Sen. Gillespie, however, said the state's grizzly management is currently "stuck in a time capsule," according to the <a href="https://missoulacurrent.com/outdoors/2021/01/grizzly-bears-4/" target="_blank">Montana Free Press</a>. "They long ago hit the target of 300 [grizzlies]... That means there are many times more conflicts [and] attacks — life-and-death conflicts," he added.</p>
<p>Despite popular conception, fatal grizzly bear attacks are extremely rare — only one person dies on average every three years in the lower 48, according to <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/grizzly-bear-resurgence-increased-interactions-humans" target="_blank">National Geographic</a>. But as human and grizzly bear populations continue to expand, things might get "interesting," James Jonkel, a biologist for Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks who manages bears in and around Missoula, told National Geographic.</p><p>According to biologists, the problem will not be a lack of space across Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and even California, but rather of "social acceptance," National Geographic reported.</p>
<p>A new survey of Montana residents by Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks (FWP) and the Human Dimensions Lab at the University of Montana shows that Montana residents "overwhelmingly hold positive attitudes toward grizzly bears," the Sierra Club <a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/press-releases/2021/04/montana-survey-reveals-widespread-support-for-grizzly-bears" target="_blank">wrote in a statement</a>. Eighty-five percent agree that grizzly bears "are part of what makes Montana special" and 81 percent enjoy knowing grizzly bears exist in the state, even if they never see one.</p><p>The survey, however, also shows that this acceptance declines when surveying people who live and work on agricultural-ranching landscapes. "Survey responses reveal remaining public misconceptions about the role of hunting in preventing conflicts between bears and people," the Sierra Club wrote. These misconceptions include the knowledge that hunting could resolve human-and-bear conflict or scare the bears away — both claims that have been refuted by <a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/sites/www.sierraclub.org/files/program/documents/Common%20Myths%20Regarding%20Grizzly%20Bear%20Management%20.pdf" target="_blank">grizzly bear experts</a>.</p><p>Instead, experts recommend prevention measures like electric fencing, carcass removal and removing food and items that may attract bears in order to avoid future conflict and achieve a "'self-sustaining grizzly population' that Montanans favor," the Sierra Club concluded. </p>
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Delta-8 THC is a cannabis product that has become a bestseller over the past few months, as many consumers find they can legally purchase it from CBD retailers. Its proponents say that Delta-8 THC will give you a nice little buzz, minus some of the more intense feelings (including paranoia) that are sometimes associated with marijuana.
Delta-8 THC is being marketed as a legal option for consumers who either don't live in a state with legal cannabis, or are a little apprehensive about how traditional psychoactive THC products will affect them. But is it all it's cracked up to be? Let's take a closer look, exploring what Delta-8 THC is, how it differs from other THC products, and whether it's actually legal for use.
<h2>What is Delta-8 THC?</h2><p>To better understand <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/27/health/marijuana-hemp-delta-8-thc.html" target="_blank">Delta-8 THC</a>, it helps to cover some basics about THC and cannabis.</p><p>Cannabis plants come chock full of different <a href="https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/cannabis-marijuana-and-cannabinoids-what-you-need-to-know" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>cannabinoids</em></a>. These are naturally-occuring chemical compounds that bind with receptors throughout your body. They can offer a wide range of mental, emotional, and physical effects; indeed, the healing and therapeutic properties marijuana or <a data-linked-post="2648563694" href="https://www.ecowatch.com/strongest-cbd-oil-2648563694.html" target="_blank">CBD products</a> offer can be attributed to cannabinoids.</p><p>One of the most common cannabinoids is what's known as Delta-9 THC. Simply put, this is the part of marijuana that gets you "high." It's worth noting that Delta-9 THC remains illegal in many states, except for in the most minute doses, and is still illegal at the federal level. CBD products are made with trace amounts of THC, ensuring that consumers can enjoy positive health effects in a perfectly legal way, without the risk of getting high.</p><p>On a chemical level, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/27/health/marijuana-hemp-delta-8-thc.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Delta-8 THC</a> is not too different from Delta-9 THC; the distinction comes down to just a few molecules. But those molecules make a big practical impact: Delta-8 THC will give you a buzz, but the psychoactive effects are considerably milder than with Delta-9 THC.</p><p>More specifically, many cannabis enthusiasts report that Delta-8 THC helps them feel good but also leaves them relatively clear-headed; and, it doesn't produce the anxiety or jitteriness that often characterize a Delta-9 THC high.</p><p>Additionally, because of the way the law is written regarding Delta-9 THC, some CBD companies now sell Delta-8 THC products in places where traditional cannabis is still illegal.</p><h2>What's the Difference Between Delta-9 THC and Delta-8 THC?</h2><p>Here are the primary differences to note between Delta-9 and Delta-8 THC:</p><ul class="ee-ul"><li>Delta-9 THC is the primary psychoactive ingredient found in marijuana. In other words, it's the part that gets you high.</li><li>Though some states have found workarounds, Delta-9 THC is still illegal under federal law.</li><li>Delta-8 THC is also found in the cannabis plant, though it's not quite as powerful or as well-known. </li><li>Delta-8 THC is milder in its psychoactive effects. And, it's not <em>technically </em>illegal under current law.</li></ul><p>These are just a few of the key distinctions to keep in mind. Delta-8 THC is popular among consumers who want a smoother high, and don't want to violate federal law.</p><h2>Is Delta-8 THC Legal?</h2><p>We noted that Delta-8 THC is not <em>technically </em>illegal. Here, we need to get into some of the nuanced legal considerations that surround this substance.</p><p>First of all, there are plenty of cannabis companies that actively promote Delta-8 THC as a legal way to get high. Again, that's technically true, but is still a point of debate for some.</p><p>For one thing, it's not explicitly listed as an illegal substance. While federal laws, and some state laws, specifically ban Delta-9 THC, Delta-8 THC is never mentioned. More to the point, though, many proponents will cite the<a href="https://www.usda.gov/farmbill" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> 2018 Farm Bill</a>. This law legalized several industrial hemp products on a national level, including CBD.</p><p>The Farm Bill also includes some fairly nuanced positions regarding THC. In summary, the law says that hemp and cannabis-derived products are legal so long as they contain less than 0.3 percent Delta-9 THC.</p><p>With that said, some lawyers contend that Delta-8's heyday may soon come to an end. That's because the Farm Bill clears it only so long as it's derived directly from hemp; most of the Delta-8 THC products sold today aren't made from hemp, but rather from synthetically-altered CBD.</p><p>Some of these issues are a little fuzzy, and <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/delta-8-thc-legal-weed-explained-1113859/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">the legal future of Delta-8 THC</a> remains a little uncertain. For now, though, many experts would argue that it is legal to purchase.</p><h2>What Kinds of Delta-8 THC Products Are Available?</h2><p><em>Each product featured here has been independently selected by the writer. If you make a purchase using the links included, we may earn commission.</em></p><p>If you're looking to try Delta-8 THC products, you'll certainly find plenty of different products. Dispensaries and legal cannabis stores currently have a trove of products that use this cannabinoid. Some examples include:</p><ul class="ee-ul"><li>Vape cartridges, tinctures, and capsules.</li><li>Beverages made with Delta-8 THC, including some seltzers.</li><li>Edibles, including Delta-8 THC gummy bears, chocolate bars, and more.</li></ul><p>The cannabis industry has really been running with Delta-8 THC, finding creative ways to bring it to market. And chances are, even more products will be springing up in the weeks and months to come. </p><p>It's very important to note that you should only purchase Delta-8 THC products from reputable brands and established cannabis retailers. We do not recommend purchasing any products that contain Delta-8 THC from gas stations or vape shops. If you are looking for a reputable place to explore these products, here are a few brands that we trust and recommend:</p>
<h2>What are the Pros and Cons of Delta-8 THC?</h2><p>As you consider whether Delta-8 THC is worth your time, it may be helpful to weigh the pros against the cons.</p><p><strong>Pros</strong></p><p>Let's start with some of the positives:</p><ul class="ee-ul"><li>Delta-8 THC does have psychoactive effects, but it's a milder effect than with traditional Delta-9 THC.</li><li>Delta-8 THC is currently legal and widely accessible in multiple states.</li><li>There are a wide number of products that use Delta-8 THC.</li></ul><p><strong>Cons</strong></p><p>Now, a few of the downsides.</p><ul class="ee-ul"><li>Delta-8 THC isn't quite as commonplace as other cannabis products, including CBD, and some of the options on the market are expensive.</li><li>While this substance is technically legal, there are plenty of uncertainties over its legal future. It's something you want to keep in mind.</li><li>As a relatively new product, Delta-8 THC products are not regulated by the FDA and there is not independent testing in place to verify that it is safe or pure.</li></ul><p>As with any cannabis product, Delta-8 THC has its pros and cons. As you seek the cannabis product that's best for you, it's largely a matter of personal preference.</p><p>Also note that smoking, vaping, or otherwise imbibing any kind of cannabis-related product can carry some medical risks and negative health consequences. If you have any specific concerns, we recommend consulting with your doctor before you try any Delta-8 THC product.</p><p><em><strong>Josh Hurst </strong></em><em>is a journalist, critic, and essayist. He lives in Knoxville, TN, with his wife and three sons. He covers natural health, nutrition, supplements, and clean energy. His writing has appeared in Health, Shape, and Remedy Review.</em></p>
NuLeaf Naturals Full Spectrum Delta 8 THC Oil
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<p><a href="https://nuleafnaturals.com/product/full-spectrum-delta-8-thc-oil-30mg-ml/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">NuLeaf Naturals Full Spectrum Delta 8 THC Oil</a> is made from organic hemp and organic virgin hemp seed extract. It's available in a 150 mg bottle and a 450 mg bottle, which both provide 15 mg of Delta 8 THC per serving. This formula is also available in a soft gel.</p>
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Botany Farms Delta-10 THC Vape Cartridge
<img class="rm-lazyloadable-image rm-shortcode" type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNjAzNjE2Ni9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2OTcwNTgzM30.opm4l5-rSqV1HfvrbVE16EEVZvqxI42xgqnsQfL9p2M/img.jpg?width=980" id="2c749" width="400" height="400" data-rm-shortcode-id="a678e76d8cd5e13bae95d9c3ae664b85" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />botanyfarms.com
<p>The <a href="https://www.botanyfarms.com/product/delta-10-thc-vape-cartridge/?aff=14" target="_blank">Botany Farms Delta-10 THC Vape Cartridge</a> actually contains both Delta-10 and Delta-8 THC.This is designed to provide the desired effects of Delta-8 THC but without the drowsiness. They also offer a vape cartridge with a 1:1 concentration of <a href="https://www.botanyfarms.com/product/delta-10-delta-8-thc-vape-cartridge/?aff=14" target="_blank">Delta-8 THC</a> and Delta-10 THC. Note that while vape products can be used to aid in smoking cessation, we do not recommend vaping or smoking because of the negative health effects they can cause.</p>
$60
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A family of Asian small-clawed otters sit on a log. Tom Meaker / EyeEm / Getty Images
By Muntasir Akash
The smallest of the planet's 13 otter species finds its habitat shrinking every day. We know little about these mustelids — especially in Bangladesh, where I conduct my research — but they face a horde of threats.
<h1>Species Name and Description:</h1><p>The Asian small-clawed otter (<em>Aonyx cinereus</em>) has a typical otter build with webbed digits, dark brown to blackish upper parts, and a pale vent. It can be distinguished from other otter species by its blunter muzzle, acutely arched back and a white neck devoid of any spots or streaks. Its claws are noticeably short and even often absent — a feature of its genus, <em>Aonyx.</em></p><h1>Where It's Found:</h1><p>These otters live in the Himalayan foothills, Ganges Delta, Northeast India, Indochina, South China and Philippines, with isolated population in southern India. Their habitats range from forests and wetlands to coasts and mangroves. In Bangladesh they're thought to be confined to the Sundarbans mangrove.</p>
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A small-clawed otter in Bangladesh. Via iNaturalist and © Guenther Eichhorn, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC)
<h1>IUCN Red List Status:</h1><p>Vulnerable, with a globally decreasing population trend; <a href="https://portals.iucn.org/library/sites/library/files/documents/RL-549.3-003-v.1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">endangered</a> in Bangladesh</p><h1>Major Threats:</h1><p>Poaching for fur and extraction to supply a recently spiked demand in <a href="https://therevelator.org/asian-otters-cites/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">pet trade</a> is the number one threat to Asia's most trafficked otter species. Habitat destruction, conflict with fishers, drying up streams, decreasing food supply and attacks by feral dogs are also affecting its already sharply plummeting population.</p><img
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Otter pelts in India. © Ashwin Viswanathan, some rights reserved (CC-BY). Via iNaturalist
<p>In Bangladesh there exists no study on the species outside the Sundarbans, its known habitat in the country. Even there, only a handful of research has been undertaken to date.</p><h1>Notable Conservation Programs or Legal Protections:</h1><p>In 2019 the species shifted to CITES Appendix I from Appendix II to plug the illegal trade and trafficking.</p><p>The IUCN Otter Specialist Group and International <em>Otter</em> Survival <em>Fund</em> are the strongest voices for the species. Although the animals are protected by law, there is no conservation scheme so far in Bangladesh.</p><h1>My Favorite Experience:</h1><p>Watching camera-trap footage of not one, not two, but multiple otter families is unforgettable. Hearing the cooing of otter pups on screen was heart-melting and one of those now-I-can-die-in-peace moments. And all these images were from a region that has long been deprioritized in conservation, without any prior systematic study.</p>
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The small-clawed otter, a globally vulnerable small carnivore, can still be found in certain protected areas of northeastern Bangladesh. This is the first camera-trap image from the region. Muntasir Akash / Northeast Bangladesh Carnivore Conservation Initiative
<p>However, the joy comes with a caveat. In all existing anecdotes, northeastern forests are described as the home of the larger Eurasian and smooth-coated otters. Otters showed up, true. But to my extreme surprise, it was a species that has always been attributed to the Sundarbans — a forest hundreds of miles away from the study site. Although finding the Asian small-clawed otter here has sparked hope for the region, the apparent absence of the other two expected species has left me with an uneasy feeling: Do the larger otters really roam these forests? Or is the Eurasian otter, the rarest of the three, to become the next extinct carnivore in Bangladesh?</p><h1>What Else Do We Need to Understand or Do to Protect This Species?</h1><p>We need extensive studies on ecology and threats to the species in both known and newly discovered habitats in Bangladesh. Connecting otters with the exceptionally rich ichthyodiversity of riparian streams and mangrove creeks can strengthen conservation practices in the country.</p>
<p><a href="https://therevelator.org/author/akash/" target="_blank"><strong><em>Muntasir Akash </em></strong></a><em>is a lecturer at the Department of Zoology, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. He is focusing his career on the conservation of lesser-known carnivorous mammals, leading camera-trapping work in northeastern Bangladesh funded by </em><a href="https://www.conservationleadershipprogramme.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>the Conservation Leadership Programme</em></a><em>, a partnership between </em><a href="https://www.birdlife.org/" target="_blank"><em>BirdLife International</em></a><em>, </em><a href="https://www.fauna-flora.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Fauna & Flora International</em></a><em> and </em><a href="https://www.wcs.org/" target="_blank"><em>WCS</em></a><em>.</em></p><p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://therevelator.org/species-snapshot-small-clawed-otter" target="_blank">The Revelator.</a></em></p>
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A shop owner shows a customer a live chicken for sale in the Wanchai markets of Hong Kong on December 30, 2016. ISAAC LAWRENCE / AFP / Getty Images
By Reynard Loki
The exact origin of the coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2, which started the COVID-19 pandemic, is still unclear. Early reports suggested that the virus jumped from an animal to a human at Wuhan's Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, a "wet market" that sells live animals. On March 30, the international team of scientists assembled by the World Health Organization (WHO) published a report of their recent visit to Wuhan to investigate the source of the virus and confirmed the "zoonotic source of SARS-CoV-2."
<p>"Evidence from surveys and targeted studies so far have shown that the coronaviruses most highly related to SARS-CoV-2 are found in bats and pangolins, suggesting that these mammals may be the reservoir of the virus that causes COVID-19," the WHO report states. "In addition to these findings, the high susceptibility of mink and cats to SARS-CoV- 2 suggests that additional species of animals may act as a potential reservoir. … Several samples from patients with exposure to the Huanan market had identical virus genomes, suggesting that they may have been part of a cluster."</p>
<p>Virologists believe that these sites, which bring together a variety of live animals into close contact with humans, are ideal places for this sort of interspecies viral transmission. In 2002, for example, scientists identified the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus in Himalayan palm civets, a small mammal, in wet markets in Shenzhen in southern China. SARS-CoV-2 is a strain of SARS.</p><p>"While there remains a need for more investigation, we are not surprised about the wildlife origin referenced in the report and we know enough to act now to reduce risks of future zoonotic pandemics," said Dr. Christian Walzer, chief global veterinarian of the Wildlife Conservation Society, in a press statement. "Some 60 percent of emerging infectious diseases reported globally are zoonoses, causing about 1 billion cases of human illness and millions of deaths every year. Of the more than 30 new human pathogens detected in the last three decades, 75 percent have originated in animals. Importantly, research has shown zoonotic-origin pathogens increase along the supply chain from source to market."</p><p>Wet markets are "unique epicenters for transmission of potential viral pathogens, [where] new genes may be acquired or existing genes modified through various mechanisms such as genetic reassortment, recombination and mutation," according to a <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16940861/" target="_blank">paper</a> written by a team of microbiologists from the University of Hong Kong and published in the journal Current Opinion in Infectious Diseases in 2006. They add that these markets, "at closer proximity to humans, with high viral burden or strains of higher transmission efficiency, facilitate transmission of the viruses to humans."</p><p>"Once you walk into one of these places, it's quite obvious why they're called wet markets," <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/01/29/800725826/why-wet-markets-are-the-perfect-place-to-spread-disease" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">said</a> Jason Beaubien, NPR's global health and development correspondent, on the radio station's "Morning Edition" show last year. "Live fish in open tubs are splashing water all over the place. The countertops of the stalls are red with blood as fish are gutted and filleted right in front of the customers' eyes. There are live turtles and crustaceans climbing over each other in boxes. Melting ice adds to the slush on the floor. So things are wet."</p>
<p>In January, Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL) and Fred Upton (R-MI) reintroduced bipartisan legislation to address the public health risks posed by wildlife markets, called the <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/151/" target="_blank">Preventing Future Pandemics Act</a> (H.R. 151). The bill "prohibits importing, exporting, purchasing, or selling live wild animals in the United States for human consumption as food or medicine."</p><p>It also directs the Department of the Interior to "hire, train, and deploy at least 50 new U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service law enforcement attachés around the world." Additionally, the bill obliges the United States to work with other members of the United Nations toward instituting a global ban on commercial wildlife markets and enforcement of wildlife trafficking laws. A companion bill, S. 37, was introduced into the Senate by Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and John Cornyn (R-TX).</p><p>"For the sake of our health, our economy, and our livelihoods, preventing the next pandemic before it starts is perhaps the most important thing we must do," <a href="https://quigley.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/quigley-upton-re-introduce-bipartisan-legislation-shut-down-commercial" target="_blank">said</a> Rep. Quigley. "We were thrilled with the robust, bipartisan support the bill received last year and we're committed to building on that momentum to see this bill become law."</p><p>In addition to their threat to public health, wet markets are sites of extreme pain and suffering for so many animals. "Wild animals sold in commercial wildlife markets endure extreme stress and unsanitary conditions before being slaughtered," <a href="https://aldf.org/article/united-states-urge-congress-to-shut-down-commercial-wildlife-markets/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">according to</a> the Animal Legal Defense Fund, a nonprofit based in Cotati, California, that works to pass state and federal legislation supporting animal rights. "As the world continues to grapple with COVID-19, our continued exploitation of animals and our environment is fueling the next pandemic. Shutting down commercial wildlife markets—and the international wildlife trade—is critical both to reducing the risk of novel zoonotic disease and animal suffering."</p><p>"We must acknowledge the basic tenet that the more we destroy and intrude on nature, the more likely zoonotic spillovers will occur," said Dr. Walzer. "Zoonotic spillover events and subsequent outbreaks are inevitable, as the interfaces between wildlife and humans increase, primarily due to deforestation and agricultural expansion."</p><p>The cruelty to animals witnessed at wet markets points to a deeper, ethical concern about how we view and treat other species. In November 2020, during an interview with Euronews, Jane Goodall, the renowned British primatologist and ethologist, <a href="https://www.euronews.com/2020/10/20/humans-disrespect-of-nature-is-partly-to-blame-for-covid-19-jane-goodall" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">said</a> that "we, in part, brought [COVID-19] on ourselves by our disrespect of nature and our disrespect of animals."</p><p>She added, "We push animals into closer contact with humans. We hunt them, eat them, traffic them, sell them as exotic pets around the world, we put them in factory farms in terrible close conditions and all these situations can lead to an environment where a pathogen, like a virus, can jump from an animal to a person, where it may cause a new disease like COVID-19."</p><p><em>Reynard Loki is a writing fellow at the <a href="https://independentmediainstitute.org/" target="_blank">Independent Media Institute</a>, where he serves as the editor and chief correspondent for <a href="https://independentmediainstitute.org/earth-food-life/" target="_blank">Earth | Food | Life</a></em><em>. He previously served as the environment, food and animal rights editor at AlterNet and as a reporter for Justmeans/3BL Media covering sustainability and corporate social responsibility. He was named one of FilterBuy's Top 50 Health & Environmental Journalists to Follow in 2016. His work has been published by Yes! Magazine, Salon, Truthout, BillMoyers.com, EcoWatch and Truthdig, among others.</em></p><p><em>This article was produced by </em><a href="https://independentmediainstitute.org/earth-food-life/" target="_blank"><em>Earth | Food | Life</em></a><em>, a project of the Independent Media Institute.</em></p>
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A guest takes pictures at the newly opened Polar Bear Hotel in Harbin, China on March 12, 2021. STR / AFP via Getty Images
A new hotel is sparking controversy with its central conceit: a polar bear enclosure visible from all of its 21 rooms.
<p>The Polar Bear Hotel opened Friday in the city of Harbin, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/china" target="_self">China</a>, as <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/china-polar-hotel/chinese-polar-bear-hotel-opens-to-full-bookings-criticism-idUSL1N2LB04Q" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Reuters reported</a>. It is fully booked through a trial period, but has been widely criticized by <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/animal-welfare" target="_self">animal welfare</a> advocates.</p><p>"Polar bears belong in the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/arctic" target="_self">Arctic</a>, not in zoos or glass boxes in aquariums – and certainly not in hotels," People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Asia senior vice president Jason Baker told Reuters. "Polar bears are active for up to 18 hours a day in nature, roaming home ranges that can span thousands of miles, where they enjoy a real life."</p><p>A video shared by the South China Morning Post shows two bears in a small enclosure with harsh lighting, artificial ice and small pools of water.</p>
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<p>The hotel is part of the Harbin Polarland theme park, according to Reuters. Harbin is the capital city of the northeasternmost Chinese province of Heilongjiang. It hosts a famous ice-carving festival, and the new hotel is shaped like an igloo, according to an <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/12/chinese-hotel-with-polar-bear-enclosure-opens-to-outrage" target="_blank">AFP story published by The Guardian</a>.</p><p>Harbin Polarland spokeswoman Yang Liu told Reuters that the indoor enclosure is only part of the bears' habitat, and that they also have an outdoor area they are allowed to access when the temperature and air quality are appropriate. However, the hotel advertises 24-hour viewing access to the bears.</p><p>"Whether you're eating, playing or sleeping, polar bears will keep you company," Harbin Polarland wrote on WeChat Thursday, as Reuters reported.</p><p>For this opportunity, guests pay $290.10 to $351.56 a night, and Liu said interest in the hotel was "very high."</p><p>However, activists are calling on guests to avoid a hotel that makes money "from <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/animals/" target="_self">animals</a>' misery," AFP reported.</p>
<p>China has faced global criticism for animal rights' abuses, including the use of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species" target="_self">endangered species</a> in traditional medicines and the treatment of animals in zoos and circuses.</p><p>"Gaps in China's <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildlife" target="_self">wildlife</a> protection law allows businesses to exploit animals without any concern for their welfare," an anonymous spokesman for China Animal Protection Network told AFP.</p><p>However, there are signs that things are shifting. Authorities <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/china-wildlife-trade-ban-2645320590.html" target="_self">banned</a> the use of wildlife for food following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. Further, in January of 2020, a video showing a pig being forced to bungee jump at a Chinese amusement park earned widespread social media backlash within the country, as <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/bungee-jumping-pig-china-2644879655.html" target="_self">EcoWatch reported at the time</a>.</p><p>"The Chinese public's angry response should be a wake-up call to China's policy-makers to implement animal protection laws immediately," Baker told BBC News in response.</p><p>The new hotel has also earned criticism from Chinese social media users.</p><p>"Looking at a polar bear slowly having a mental breakdown up close? Such a small place, with so much lighting and so many windows. You should first try putting humans in," one commenter wrote, as South China Morning Post reported.</p>
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Migratory white pelicans are seen along an oil-slicked shoreline in Barataria Bay, Louisiana on Dec. 5, 2010, about eight months after the BP oil spill. Mario Tama / Getty Images
On Monday the Biden administration restored protections for migratory birds from accidental, industry-caused deaths.
<p>In 2017 the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/trump-administration" target="_self">Trump administration</a> altered the interpretation of the <a href="https://www.doi.gov/sites/doi.gov/files/uploads/m-37050.pdf" target="_blank">Migratory Bird Treaty Act </a>(MBTA) arguing that it only prohibited the direct hunting or killing of birds, not unintended deaths from wind turbines or oil spills, for example, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/migratory-bird-treaty-act-2520278975.html" target="_self">EcoWatch reported at the time</a>.</p><p>The change "overturned decades of bipartisan and international consensus and allowed industry to kill birds with impunity," Interior Spokesperson Tyler Cherry told <a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-gulf-of-mexico-birds-billings-accidents-b1cc1c7fe281acb4c2c593354ed1c00f" target="_blank">The Associated Press</a>.</p><p>Obama U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe warned that the change could lead to billions of bird deaths in subsequent decades, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/a0565f7fc53c90ab5d78862a0135bd22" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Associated Press reported at the time</a>.</p><p>Before Monday's reversal of this interpretation by Biden's Department of the Interior, the Trump ruling had already encountered legal challenges. In August, a <a href="https://nas-national-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/2020-08-11_mbta_decision.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">New York federal judge</a> deemed the new interpretation to be invalid.</p>
<p>"It is not only a sin to kill a mockingbird, it is also a crime," U.S. District Judge Valorie Caproni wrote in her decision. "That has been the letter of the law for the past century. But if the Department of the Interior has its way, many mockingbirds and other migratory birds that delight people and support ecosystems throughout the country will be killed without legal consequence."</p><p>The Trump administration moved forward despite the decision, and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-rollback-migratory-bird-act-2649766045.html" target="_self">finalized the rollback</a> during its last weeks in power.</p><p>However, Biden's administration delayed the new rule from taking effect and reopened it for public comments, <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/biden-scraps-trump-migratory-bird-legal-opinion_n_60463e28c5b6020855607f51" target="_blank">HuffPost reported</a>. Now that it has been jettisoned, Cherry said a replacement rule would be forthcoming.</p><p>"The department will also reconsider its interpretation of the MBTA to develop common-sense standards that can protect migratory birds and provide certainty to industry," Cherry told <a href="https://www.courthousenews.com/biden-reverses-trump-era-gut-of-migratory-bird-protections/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Courthouse News Service</a>.</p>
<p>The 1918 MBTA resulted from overhunting and poaching of migratory birds, The Associated Press reported. The policy makes it illegal to pursue, hunt, kill, capture or possess migratory birds or their parts without a permit, HuffPost explained. Since the 1970s, the act has also been used to penalize companies when their actions accidentally harm birds.</p><p>For example, the act helped win a $100 million settlement from BP after the company's 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico killed about 100,000 birds, The Associated Press reported.</p><p>It's estimated that around 460 million to 1.4 billion birds die every year from human-made causes, including oil pits and glass buildings. Between 2010 and 2018, civil and criminal enforcement cases against companies led to $5.8 million in fines, excluding the BP settlement. However, most of those cases did not lead to criminal prosecutions since many companies were willing to implement bird protections.<br></p><p>While industry groups backed the Trump rollback, they also did not oppose the Biden reversal.</p><p>"We are committed to working with the Biden administration throughout their rulemaking process in support of policies that support environmental protection while providing regulatory certainty," Amy Emmert, American Petroleum Institute senior policy advisor, told Courthouse News Service.</p><p>Conservation groups said this general atmosphere of cooperation made the Trump rollback unwarranted. </p><p>"There really had been a lot of collaboration and a fair amount of consensus about what best management practices looked like for most major industries," Sarah Greenberger, senior vice president with the Audubon Society, told The Associated Press. "There was a lot of common ground, which is why the moves from the last administration were so unnecessary."</p>
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Matthew Micah Wright / The Image Bank / Getty Images
By Deborah Moore, Michael Simon and Darryl Knudsen
There's some good news amidst the grim global pandemic: At long last, the world's largest dam removal is finally happening.
<p>The <a href="https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2020-11-17/klamath-river-basin-dams-pacificorps-gavin-newsom-yurok-karuk-salmon-warren-buffett" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">landmark agreement</a>, which was finalized in November 2020 between farmers, tribes and dam owners, will finally bring down <a href="https://west.stanford.edu/news/blogs/and-the-west-blog/2020/winners-losers-and-landscape-might-emerge-if-klamath-river-dams-disappear" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">four aging, inefficient dams</a> along the Klamath River in the Pacific Northwest. This is an important step in restoring historic salmon runs, which have <a href="https://www.laprogressive.com/klamath-dam-removal/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">drastically declined in recent years</a> since the dams were constructed. It's also an incredible win for the Karuk and Yurok tribes, who for untold generations have relied on the salmon runs for both sustenance and spiritual well-being.</p><p>The tribes, supported by environmental activists, led a decades-long effort to broker an agreement. They faced vehement opposition from some farmers and owners of lakeside properties, but in 2010, they managed what had seemed impossible: PacifiCorp, the operator of the dams, signed a dam removal agreement, along with 40 other signatories that included the tribes and the state governments of Oregon and California. Unfortunately, progress stalled for years when questions arose around who would pay for the dam removals.</p>
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A young activist for a free-flowing Salween River. A team of campaigners and lawyers from EarthRights International joined Indigenous Karen communities on the Salween in 2018 to celebrate the International Day of Actions for Rivers on March 14. This year, EarthRights joined communities living in the Eu-Wae-Tta internally displaced persons camp for a celebration in solidarity with those impacted by dam projects on the Salween River. EarthRights International
<p>The dam removal project is a sign of the decline of the hydropower industry, whose fortunes have fallen as the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-46098118" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">troubling</a> cost-benefit ratio of dams has become clear over the years. The rise of more cost-effective and sustainable energy sources (including wind and solar) has hastened this shift. This is exactly the type of progress envisioned by the <a href="https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/17023836/dams-and-development-a-new-framework-for-decision" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">World Commission on Dams</a> (WCD), a global multi-stakeholder body that was established by the World Bank and International Union for Conservation of Nature in 1998 to investigate the effectiveness and performance of large dams around the world. The WCD released a damning landmark <a href="https://www.un.org/press/en/2000/20001117.dam.pressconferencepm.doc.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">report</a> in November 2000 on the enormous financial, environmental and human costs and the dismal performance of large dams. The commission spent <a href="https://www.un.org/press/en/2000/20001117.dam.pressconferencepm.doc.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">two years</a> analyzing the outcome of the trillions of dollars invested in dams, reviewing dozens of case studies and testimonies from over a thousand communities and individuals, before producing the report.</p><p>But despite this progress, we cannot take hydropower's decline as inevitable. As governments around the world plan for a post-pandemic recovery, hydropower companies sense an opportunity. The industry is eager to recast itself as climate-friendly (<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/how-green-is-hydropower-1919539525.html" target="_self">it's not</a>) and <a href="https://www.hydropower.org/covid-19" target="_blank">secure</a> precious stimulus funds to revive its dying industry — at the expense of people, the environment and a truly just, green recovery.</p>Hydropower’s Troubling Record
<p>The world's largest hydropower dam removal project on the Klamath River is a significant win for tribal communities. But while the Yurok and Karuk tribes <a href="https://www.karuk.us/images/docs/press/bring_salmon_home.php" target="_blank">suffered</a> terribly from the decline of the Klamath's fisheries, they were by no means alone in that experience. The environmental catastrophe that occurred along the Klamath River has been replicated all over the world since the global boom in hydropower construction <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/hydropower" target="_blank">began</a> early in the 20th century.</p><p>The rush to dam rivers has had huge consequences. After decades of rampant construction, only <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/05/worlds-free-flowing-rivers-mapped-hydropower/" target="_blank">37 percent of the world's rivers remain free-flowing</a>, according to <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-019-1111-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">one study</a>. River fragmentation has <a href="https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/70/4/330/5732594" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">decimated freshwater habitats and fish stocks</a>, threatening food security for millions of the world's most vulnerable people, and hastening the <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffopperman/2020/10/13/freshwater-wildlife-continues-to-decline-but-new-energy-trendlines-suggest-we-can-bend-that-curve/?sh=f9d175a61ee4" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">decline of other myriad freshwater species</a>, including mammals, birds and reptiles.</p><p>The communities that experienced the most harm from dams — whether in Asia, Latin America or Africa — often lacked political power and access. But that didn't stop grassroots movements from organizing and growing to fight for their rights and livelihoods. The people affected by dams began raising their voices, sharing their experiences and forging alliances across borders. By the 1990s, the public <a href="https://tinyurl.com/y55lnlst" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">outcry</a> against large dams had grown so loud that it finally led to the establishment of the WCD.</p><p>What the WCD found was stunning. While large dam projects had brought some economic benefits, they had also <a href="https://www.irn.org/wcd/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">forcibly displaced an estimated 40 to 80 million people in the 20th century alone</a>. To put that number into perspective, it is more than the current population of present-day <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL?locations=FR" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">France</a> or the <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL?locations=GB" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">United Kingdom</a>. These people lost their lands and homes to dams, and often with no compensation.</p><p>Subsequent research has compounded that finding. A paper published in <a href="https://tinyurl.com/c7uznz" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Water Alternatives</a> revealed that globally, more than <a href="https://tinyurl.com/yxw8x7ab" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">470 million people living downstream from large dams</a> have faced significant impacts to their lives and livelihoods — much of it due to disruptions in water supply, which in turn harm the complex web of life that depends on healthy, free-flowing rivers. The WCD's findings, released in 2000, <a href="https://www.irn.org/wcd/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">identified</a> the importance of restoring rivers, compensating communities for their losses, and finding better energy alternatives to save rivers and ecosystems.</p>Facing a New Crisis
<p>Twenty years after the WCD uncovered a crisis along the world's rivers and recommended a new development path — one that advances community-driven development and protects freshwater resources — we find ourselves in the midst of another crisis. The global pandemic has hit us hard, with surging loss of life, unemployment and instability.</p><p>But as governments work to rebuild economies and create job opportunities in the coming years, we have a choice: Double down on the failed, outdated technologies that have harmed so many, or change course and use this transformative moment to rebuild our natural systems and uplift communities.</p><p>There are many reasons to fight for a green recovery. The climate is changing even <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-07586-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">faster</a> than expected, and some dams — especially those with reservoirs in hot climates — <a href="https://tinyurl.com/w6w29t8" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">have been found to emit more greenhouse gases than a fossil fuel power plant</a>. Other estimates have put global reservoirs' human-made greenhouse gas emissions each year on par with <a href="https://www.climatecentral.org/news/greenhouse-gases-reservoirs-fuel-climate-change-20745" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Canada's</a> total emissions.</p><p>Meanwhile, we now understand that healthy rivers and freshwater ecosystems play a <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/b55b1fe4-7d09-47af-96c4-6cbb5f106d4f/files/wetlands-role-carbon-cycle.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">critical role in regulating and storing carbon</a>. And at a time when <a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2019/05/nature-decline-unprecedented-report/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">biodiversity loss is soaring</a>, anything we can do to <a href="https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/70/4/330/5732594" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">restore habitat is key</a>. But with <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271996520_A_Global_Boom_in_Hydropower_dam_Construction" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">more than 3,700 major dams proposed or under construction</a> in the world (primarily in the Global South, with over <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/08/more-than-500-dams-planned-inside-protected-areas-study/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">500 of these in protected areas</a>), according to a 2014 report — and the hydropower industry <a href="https://www.hydropower.org/covid-19" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">jockeying</a> for scarce stimulus dollars — we must act urgently.</p>Signs of Hope
<img class="rm-lazyloadable-image rm-shortcode" lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTcxMzUyMS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxOTcyNTc3OX0.EbqBVPs2kjhrY5AqnZXOb_GX-s6pw4qyJmmeISzKA6U/img.png?width=980" id="a81d0" width="1620" height="1068" data-rm-shortcode-id="73cce64d84c0ac12dce104503216dee9" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Fish catch at the Siphandone on the Mekong River, prior to the completion of the Don Sahong Dam. Pai Deetes / International Rivers
<p>So what would a strong, resilient and equitable recovery look like in the 21st century? Let's consider one example in Southeast Asia.</p><p>Running through six countries, the Mekong River is the world's 12th-longest river, which is home to one of the world's most biodiverse regions, and includes the world's <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/places/greater-mekong#" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">largest</a> inland fishery. Around <a href="https://tinyurl.com/y6jrarjo" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">80 percent of the nearly 65 million people</a> who live in the Lower Mekong River Basin depend on the river for their livelihoods, according to the Mekong River Commission. In 1994, Thailand built the Pak Mun Dam on a Mekong tributary. <a href="https://tinyurl.com/y5ekfp4h" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Six years later</a>, the <a href="https://tinyurl.com/yxcvs6up" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">WCD studied the dam's performance</a> and submitted its conclusions and recommendations as part of its final report in 2000. According to the WCD report, the Pak Mun Dam did not deliver the peaking energy service it was designed for, and it <a href="https://tinyurl.com/y38p3jaw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">physically blocked a critical migration route</a> for a range of fish species that migrated annually to breeding grounds upstream in the Mun River Basin. Cut off from their customary habitat, fish stocks plummeted, and so did the livelihoods of the local people.</p><p>Neighboring Laos, instead of learning from this debacle, followed in Thailand's footsteps, <a href="https://tinyurl.com/y4eaxcq2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">constructing two dams on the river's mainstem</a>, Xayaburi Dam, commissioned in 2019, and Don Sahong Dam, commissioned in 2020. But then a sign of hope appeared. In early 2020, just as the pandemic began to spread across the world, the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/20/cambodia-scraps-plans-for-mekong-hydropower-dams" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Cambodian government reconsidered its plans to build more dams on the Mekong</a>. The science was indisputable: A government-commissioned report showed that further dams would <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/may/16/leaked-report-warns-cambodias-biggest-dam-could-literally-kill-mekong-river" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reduce the river's wild fisheries, threaten critically endangered Irrawaddy dolphins</a> and <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/2013WR014651" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">block nutrient-rich sediment from the delta's fertile agricultural lands</a>.</p><p><a href="https://data.opendevelopmentmekong.net/dataset/4f1bb5fd-a564-4d37-878b-c288af460143/resource/5f6fe360-7a68-480d-9ba4-12d7b8b805c9/download/volume-3_solar-alternative-to-sambor-dam.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Studies</a> show that Cambodia didn't need to seek billions of dollars in loans to build more hydropower; instead, it could pursue more cost-effective solar and wind projects that would deliver needed electricity at a fraction of the cost — and <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/press-releases/wwf-statement-on-cambodian-government-s-decision-to-suspend-hydropower-dam-development-on-the-mekong-river" target="_blank">without the ecological disasters to fisheries and the verdant Mekong delta</a>. And, in a stunning reversal, Cambodia listened to the science — and to the people — and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/20/cambodia-scraps-plans-for-mekong-hydropower-dams" target="_blank">announced</a> a 10-year moratorium on mainstream dams. Cambodia is now <a href="https://www.voanews.com/east-asia-pacific/cambodia-halts-hydropower-construction-mekong-river-until-2030" target="_blank">reconsidering</a> its energy mix, recognizing that mainstream hydropower dams are too costly and undermine the economic and cultural values of its flagship river.</p>Toward a Green Recovery
<img class="rm-lazyloadable-image rm-shortcode" lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTcxMzUwOS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1MTMwMjk0M30.0LZCOEVzgtgjm2_7CwcbFfuZlrtUr80DiRYxqKGaKIg/img.jpg?width=980" id="87fe9" width="2100" height="3086" data-rm-shortcode-id="268e8af2077246e8b9c10019d88eb496" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Klamath River Rapids. Tupper Ansel Blake / U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
<p>Increasingly, governments, civil servants and the public at large are rethinking how we produce energy and are seeking to preserve and restore precious freshwater resources. Dam removals are increasing exponentially across <a href="https://www.americanrivers.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/DamsRemoved_1999-2019.pdf" target="_blank">North America</a> and <a href="https://damremoval.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/DRE-policy-Report-2018-digitaal-010319.pdf" target="_blank">Europe</a>, and movements advancing <a href="https://www.rightsofrivers.org/" target="_blank">permanent river protection are growing across Latin America, Asia and Africa</a>.</p><p>We must use the COVID-19 crisis to accelerate the trend. Rather than relying on old destructive technologies and industry claims of newfound "<a href="https://www.hydrosustainability.org/news/2020/11/12/consultation-on-a-groundbreaking-global-sustainability-standard-for-hydropower" target="_blank">sustainable hydropower</a>," the world requires a new paradigm for an economic recovery that is rooted both in climate and economic justice as well as river stewardship. Since December 2020, hundreds of groups and individuals from more than 80 countries have joined the <a href="https://www.rivers4recovery.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Rivers4Recovery</a> call for a better way forward for rivers and natural places. This paradigm will protect our rivers as critical lifelines — supporting fisheries, biodiversity, water supply, food production, Indigenous peoples and diverse populations around the world — rather than damming and polluting them.</p><p>The promise of the Klamath dam removals is one of restoration — a move that finally recognizes the immense value of free-flowing rivers and the key role they play in <a href="https://f.hubspotusercontent20.net/hubfs/4783129/LPR/PDFs/Living_Planet_Report_Freshwater_Deepdive.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">nourishing both the world's biodiversity and hundreds of millions of people</a>. Healthy rivers — connected to watershed forests, floodplains, wetlands and deltas — are key partners in building resilience in the face of an accelerating climate crisis. But if we allow the hydropower industry to succeed in its <a href="https://www.world-energy.org/article/12361.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">cynical grab for stimulus funds</a>, we'll only perpetuate the 20th century's legacy of suffering and environmental degradation.</p><p>We must put our money where our values are. Twenty years ago, the WCD pointed the way forward to a model of development that takes humans, wildlife and the environment into account, and in 2020, we saw that vision flower along the Klamath River. It's time to bring that promise of healing and restoration to more of the world's rivers.</p><p><em>Deborah Moore is a former commissioner of the <a href="https://www.water-alternatives.org/index.php/alldoc/articles/vol3/v3issue2/79-a3-2-2/file" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="">World Commission on Dams</a>. Michael Simon was a member of the <a href="https://www.hydrosustainability.org/assessment-protocol" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="">Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Forum</a>. Darryl Knudsen is the executive director of <a href="https://www.internationalrivers.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="">International Rivers</a>.</em></p><p><em>This article first appeared on <a href="https://truthout.org/articles/damming-rivers-is-terrible-for-human-rights-ecosystems-and-food-security/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Truthout</a> and was produced in partnership with <a href="https://independentmediainstitute.org/earth-food-life/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Earth | Food | Life</a>, a project of the Independent Media Institute.</em></p>
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A manatee is seen in Three Sisters Springs on Crystal River in Citrus County, Florida. Keith Ramos / USFWS
<p>The incident, first reported by the <a href="https://www.chronicleonline.com/news/local/federal-officials-seek-information-on-manatee-harassment/article_c84a3b66-5423-11eb-93b6-1bf69750167f.html" target="_blank">Citrus County Chronicle</a> on Monday, prompted a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) investigation and outrage from conservationists and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/animals/" target="_self">animal</a> lovers. The <a href="https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/" target="_blank">Center for Biological Diversity</a> (CBD) is even offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to a conviction.</p><p><span></span>"Manatees aren't billboards, and people shouldn't be messing with these sensitive and imperiled animals for any reason," CBD Florida Director Jaclyn Lopez said in a statement emailed to EcoWatch. "However this political graffiti was put on this manatee, it's a crime to interfere with these creatures, which are protected under multiple federal laws."</p>
<div id="de844" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ab3a320267dae121ae3e306d5c993559"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1348755040798871553" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Harassment of a manatee is a federal criminal offense punishable by a $50,000 fine and up to one year in prison.… https://t.co/BZzk19XBeu</div> — Center for Bio Div (@Center for Bio Div)<a href="https://twitter.com/CenterForBioDiv/statuses/1348755040798871553">1610403235.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>The Florida manatee is a subspecies of the West Indian manatee, which was classified as an <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species" target="_self">endangered species</a> in 1973, according to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/01/12/manatee-trump-florida/" target="_blank">The Washington Post</a>, although their status has since been lowered to threatened. Currently, manatees are protected federally under the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and on the state level under the Florida Manatee Sanctuary Act of 1978, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/11/us/florida-manatee-trump.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a> reported. Harassing a manatee carries a federal penalty of up to $50,000 and a year in jail, and a state penalty of up to $500 and 60 days in jail.</p><p>The affected manatee was first discovered in the Homosassa River in Citrus County by Hailey Warrington, a family boat charter operator, <a href="https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/2021/01/11/investigation-manatee-trump-etched-algae-back-florida/6631493002/" target="_blank">the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported</a>. Warrington said she saw the manatee while on a boat tour and took photos and a video to report the incident.</p><p>"This is just disturbing. One hundred percent disturbing," Warrington told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. "It's something we don't see very often. When we do see it, it hurts our heart."</p><p>The USFWS said that the letters appear to have been etched in algae and that the animal was not seriously harmed. Warrington claimed that while the etching reached the skin, it did not appear to leave a wound. The animal seemed healthy, but stressed.</p>
<p>Elizabeth Fleming, senior Florida representative for the <a href="https://defenders.org/" target="_blank">Defenders of Wildlife</a>, told The Washington Post that the perpetrator either had to restrain the manatee to write the message, or the manatee was so used to humans that it allowed the action.</p><p>There are more than 6,300 West Indian manatees living in Florida, <a href="https://www.fws.gov/southeast/wildlife/mammals/manatee/#conservation-challenges-section" target="_blank">according to the USFWS</a>. While that number has increased significantly in the last 25 years, the animals still face threats from habitat loss and boat collisions. About 100 manatees die every year from boat strikes, according to The Washington Post, accounting for 20 percent of total manatee deaths.</p><p>For Elizabeth Neville, Defenders of Wildlife senior Gulf Coast representative, the harassment of this particular manatee is a striking example of politics impacting <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildlife" target="_self">wildlife</a>.</p><p>"The content of this manatee's mutilation, however, highlights a broader and darker truth: that wildlife, despite having no ability to vote or otherwise participate in our political systems, exist and suffer profoundly at the mercy of human politics," she said in a <a href="https://defenders.org/newsroom/defenders-of-wildlife-politically-motivated-manatee-mutilation-incident-beyond-cruel-and?utm_source=social&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=newsroom-ManateeTrump-01112" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">statement</a>. </p><p>"Based on the choice of the word carved in the manatee's flesh, one can only assume that this act of mutilation was politically motivated. But, this is far from the only scar borne by manatees due to politicians' destructive choices. Other scars include policies that favor unsustainable development and polluting industries, hamper communities' abilities to address plastic trash in our waters and impede progress on fighting climate change."</p><p>Anyone with information about the incident should contact the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission at 888-404-3922, the Citrus County Chronicle shared. </p>
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More than 500,000 people have pledged to try a vegan diet this January. weareveganuary / Instagram
More than 500,000 people have pledged to try a vegan diet this January.
<p>The annual challenge <a href="https://veganuary.com/" target="_blank">Veganuary</a> <a href="https://veganuary.com/veganuary-2021-hits-record-breaking-sign-ups/" target="_blank">announced Tuesday</a> that it had received more than half a million sign-ups and counting, the most in a single year since it first launched in 2014. It also reached its sign-up goal earlier than any other year so far, the group <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CJnh9JoAaXo/?utm_source=ig_embed" target="_blank">noted on Instagram</a>.</p><p>"Proof that 2021 really is THE YEAR for positive change," the group wrote in the post.</p>
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<p>Veganuary is a non-profit dedicated to motivating people to try a vegan diet for the month of January, and maybe keep it up the whole year round.</p><p>"Throughout the year, Veganuary encourages and supports people and businesses alike to move to a plant-based diet as a way of protecting the environment, preventing <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/animals/" target="_self">animal</a> suffering, and improving the health of millions of people," the group <a href="https://veganuary.com/about/about-us/" target="_blank">explained</a>.</p><p>Their message is catching on. More than one million people from 192 countries have participated since 2014, according to the website. In 2020, more than 600 businesses participated and more than 1,200 new vegan products and menus were introduced. In fact, its potential as a product launch opportunity means it has become a bigger deal in the retail calendar than Christmas, co-founder Matthew Glover told <a href="https://www.veganfoodandliving.com/news/veganuary-2021-record-breaking-sign-ups/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Vegan Food & Living</a>.</p>
<p>This year, its reach is only growing. In addition to its record sign-up count, the group celebrated an unprecedented buy-in from supermarkets in the UK, which are using the month to promote vegan products.</p><p>For example, <a href="https://www.aldi.co.uk/veganuary" target="_blank">Aldi</a> and <a href="https://groceries.asda.com/cmslisting/content/event?N=3274463533" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Asda</a> both launched Veganuary websites that included positive reasons to try vegan diets. Tesco and M&S both launched Veganuary-themed TV and radio ads for the first time.</p><p>"While new vegan product launches from big name brands are exciting, the way British supermarkets have embraced Veganuary this year is truly game changing," Veganuary's head of communications Toni Vernelli said in a blog post. "They are not simply using it as a marketing opportunity but are promoting the many benefits of plant-based eating and encouraging people to give it a try. As bastions of our <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/food/" target="_self">food</a> supply, they know that the only sustainable way forward is plant-focused."</p>
<p>The month-long-challenge is spreading beyond the UK as well. The campaign has recently focused on Latin America, according to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jan/05/veganuary-record-number-people-pledge-eat-vegan-food-january?CMP=fb_gu&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR2yQUz69LviQY4XnqpirffAoHl7AKzyqJHnGfIGSoPRCKVDO2RXPfw0lFA#Echobox=1609854618" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>, where 150,000 people signed up this year. The challenge also saw 80,000 sign-ups from the U.S. and 50,000 from Germany, as well as 125,000 from the UK.</p><p>The month's popularity comes as a growing body of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/vegan-climate-change-2558286917.html" target="_self">scientific research</a> indicates that adopting a plant-based diet is <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/vegan-earth-footprint-2574241439.html" target="_self">one of the best things</a> that people in wealthy countries can do to reduce their environmental impact.</p><p>"It really feels to me that plant-based eating is no longer controversial," Vernelli told The Guardian. "Pretty much everyone has accepted we need to be reducing animal products in our diets for environmental reasons."</p><p>If you are still looking for a New Year's resolution, it is not too late to sign-up for the challenge. You can do so <a href="https://veganuary.com/try-vegan/" target="_blank">here</a>.</p>
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Carrot the Magic Deer and the Orange Heart Club / Facebook
A Canadian wildlife photographer is working to help a friendly deer named Carrot who suffered a shocking injury.
<p>Lee-Anne Carver of Kenora, Ontario has known Carrot for three years, when he first began to pass through her yard as a fawn, she told <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/carrot-the-magic-deer-unfazed-by-crossbow-bolt-through-head-1.5232262" target="_blank">CTV News</a>. She said he was unusually friendly and even became friends with her golden retriever.</p><p>"He didn't hold the normal characteristics of a deer. It was something else and I can't explain it," Carver told CTV News.</p><p>But then something happened to make Carrot stand out in a different way. On Dec. 9, Carver's husband went out into the yard to see the deer and came back crying, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/kenora-carrot-the-magic-deer-bolt-1.5845268" target="_blank">CBC News reported</a>. Carrot had been shot through the head with an arrow.</p><p>"It was very disturbing to see," Carver told <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/17/canada-carrot-deer-arrow-sticking-out-of-head?CMP=fb_gu&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR1F-827EyWSKz6kvYn13dBtavHSwrDLCinCcMwP9d8O6VNt8fPuTG70rx0#Echobox=1608223647" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>. However, Carrot seemed unaffected by his dramatic injury.</p><p>"[H]e was still acting like his normal self," she said.</p>
<p>The consensus from hunters and wildlife officials, Carver told CTV and CBC, is that the bolt missed any vital arteries and is now keeping the deer alive by cauterizing the wound and preventing bleeding.</p><p>"We all have a natural inclination to take it out, but that's not necessarily the best medicine," she told CBC News.</p><p>Carver started a Facebook Group called <a href="https://www.facebook.com/carrotthemagicdeer" target="_blank">Carrot the Magic Deer and Orange Heart Club</a> to raise awareness about his plight.</p>
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<p>She said that she (and Carrot) had received support from around the world, including letters from as far away as Australia and South Africa.</p><p>"The internet is a place where everybody wants to argue about something. But Carrot seems to be unifying people," Carver told The Guardian. "It's been so overwhelming so see all of this compassion, that's sorely lacking in the world right now. There's so much suffering out in the world these days – and Carrot's suffering too – but he's become bigger than that. He's given us something to focus on right now, and something to love. And that means a lot."</p>
<p>Carver said she was originally worried Carrot's story would spark controversy, because his injury likely has its origin in a 2013 amendment to Kenora's bylaws that permits the shooting of crossbows within city limits, CBC News reported. Carrot was shot with a lethal <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/hunting" target="_self">hunting</a> carbon arrow, and the angle suggests he was shot from a window or deck.</p><p>"It appears to be malicious to me, like an act of animal cruelty," she told CBC News.</p><p>While she thought hunters might react negatively to her images, in fact she and Carrot have received support from the hunting community.</p><p>"On this one, it brought cultures together, hunters and non-hunters," she told CBC News, "everybody's had this unified voice for him, of compassion and care."</p>
<p>On Wednesday, police and Ontario natural resources staff arrived on Carver's property and managed to tranquilize Carrot and cut off the top half of the arrow shaft, The Guardian reported.</p><p>In a Facebook update, Carver said the hope was that the rest of the arrow would slide out once Carrot had healed.</p>
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<p>Carver said she went out looking for Carrot the evening after the procedure and found him relaxing with a friend.</p><p>"They were chillin' keeping company and grazing," she said.</p>
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A wild mink. Tom Koerner / USFWS
A mink in Utah has become the first wild animal in the world to test positive for the new coronavirus, according to an alert sent out Sunday by the International Society for Infectious Diseases.
<p>In the alert, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Veterinary Services Laboratories confirmed a positive test result and noted that the genome of the virus was identical to that found in nearby mink farms. This prompted <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/animal-welfare" target="_self">animal welfare</a> organizations to renew their call for an end to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fur" target="_self">fur</a> farming. </p>
<p>"We have been making the case since the beginning of the pandemic <a href="https://blog.humanesociety.org/2020/07/breaking-hsus-hslf-report-identifies-key-u-s-policy-changes-needed-to-avoid-another-pandemic.html?credit=blog_post_121420_id11866" target="_blank">for ending cruel confinement practices</a> like fur farming because <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/animals/" target="_self">animals</a> held in cramped, crowded spaces are far more likely to contract and spread dangerous diseases that can jump to humans," <a href="https://www.humanesociety.org/?credit=blog_post_121420_id11866" target="_blank">Humane Society of the United States</a> (HSUS) President and CEO Kitty Block and Humane Society Legislative Fund President Sara Amundson wrote in a <a href="https://blog.humanesociety.org/2020/12/mink-living-in-the-wild-near-utah-fur-farm-tests-positive-for-coronavirus-increasing-urgency-to-end-fur-farming.html" target="_blank">blog post Monday</a>. "As the pandemic has progressed, we have seen these fears turn to reality."</p><p>Mink <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/denmark-mink-coronavirus-2648633663.html" target="_self">have proven</a> to be extremely susceptible to the virus that causes COVID-19. Cases have been reported at mink farms in 11 countries and four U.S. states, including Utah, Block and Amundson noted. In the Netherlands and Denmark, there has been evidence of the farmed mink passing the virus back to humans. This led Denmark to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/denmark-mink-coronavirus-2648633663.html" target="_self">cull</a> all of its mink after a mutated strain of the virus was discovered in both mink and humans.</p><p>The Utah wild mink case does not appear to signal an immediate <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/public-health" target="_self">public health</a> threat, according to experts. Thomas DeLiberto & Susan Shriner of the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service wrote in the notice that there was no evidence the virus was spreading in wild animal populations surrounding mink farms in Utah or other states. Researchers tested animals living around mink farms with virus outbreaks in Utah, Michigan and Wisconsin between August 24 and October 30, but only the one mink tested positive. They have informed the World Organisation for Animal Health of the finding.</p><p>"Finding a virus in a wild mink but not in other <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildlife" target="_self">wildlife</a> nearby likely indicates an isolated event, but we should take all such information seriously," Tony L. Goldberg of the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine told <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/15/science/covid-wild-mink-utah.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>. "Controlling viruses in people is ultimately the best way to keep them from spreading to animals."</p><p>The Swedish National Veterinary Institute has additionally said that the spread of coronavirus among wild mink or from escaped mink does not pose an additional threat to humans beyond human-to-human transmission, according to Block and Amundson.</p>
<p>However, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/conservation" target="_self">conservation</a> groups are worried about the impact the disease could have on wild animal populations if it is allowed to spread. The virus has already been found in household cats and dogs, as well as in big cats in U.S. zoos, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-55309269" target="_blank">BBC News reported</a>. This included a <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tiger-coronavirus-bronx-zoo-2645646342.html" target="_self">Bronx Zoo tiger</a>.</p><p>"Scientists have worried that the coronavirus would be passed from escaped factory farmed mink to wild mink," <a href="https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/" target="_blank">Center for Biological Diversity</a> environmental health program director Lori Ann Burd told <a href="https://www.sltrib.com/news/2020/12/14/wild-mink-utah-is-first/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Salt Lake Tribune</a>. "Given the risk that this nightmare scenario is unfolding in Utah, we urge officials in every state with mink farms to take aggressive measures to ensure that this horrible disease does not decimate wildlife populations."</p><p>Further, animal welfare groups see the incident as yet another reason to end an industry that is already harmful to animals. Block and Amundson noted that the Netherlands has moved up its date for phasing out mink fur farming from 2024 to this year, and France has also announced a ban on the practice. Further, the world's largest fur auction house announced it would close down next year.</p><p>The pair called on other countries, including the U.S., to follow suit.</p><p>"With the pandemic bringing nothing but bad news from fur farms—and with the fur industry <a href="https://blog.humanesociety.org/2020/08/u-s-mink-industry-in-freefall-as-demand-for-fur-plummets.html?credit=blog_post_121420_id11866" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">already in sharp decline</a> around the world due to disappearing consumer demand—there is not one good reason to keep the business of fur alive, at such great cost to public health and animal welfare," they wrote.</p>
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Two tigers rescued from one of the animal parks operated by Joe Exotic, the focus of Netflix's Tiger King. Marc Piscotty / Getty Images
The U.S. House of Representatives voted Thursday to ban the keeping of big cats as pets, after the Netflix documentary series Tiger King drew renewed attention to the issue this spring.
<p><a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/1380/text" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">H.R. 1380</a>, or the Big Cat Public Safety Act, passed the House 272 to 114, <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tiger-king-big-cat-public-safety-act-passed-by-house/" target="_blank">CBS News reported</a>. Specifically, it limits who is permitted to breed, sell, buy, transport or own large felines like lions, tigers and leopards.</p><p>"<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/animals/" target="_self">Animals</a> like tigers, lions, leopards, and pumas should not be exposed to miserable conditions so many of them in our country currently face," Democratic Illinois Rep. Mike Quigley, who introduced the bill, said in a <a href="https://quigley.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/quigley-s-big-cat-public-safety-act-end-private-ownership-dangerous-big" target="_blank">statement</a>. "By passing the <em>Big Cat Public Safety Act</em> we are one step closer to ensuring these animals are treated humanely and to keeping the public safe from dangerous big cats. It is my hope that the Senate will quickly bring this bill to the floor so we can get it signed into law before the year ends."</p>
<div id="9f062" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="962daf3f12002b60549da964c3172f04"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1334695865194344448" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">The House just passed the #BigCatPublicSafetyAct! Thank you to everyone who spoke up over recent months in support… https://t.co/p2phoFpgic</div> — Mike Quigley (@Mike Quigley)<a href="https://twitter.com/RepMikeQuigley/statuses/1334695865194344448">1607051266.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>If the bill passes the Senate, most individuals will be prohibited from owning large cats, and direct public contact with the animals will be banned, CBS News explained. There will be exceptions for universities, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildlife" target="_self">wildlife</a> sanctuaries, licensed veterinarians and people with a license from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Those who already own big cats may keep them if they register their animals and refrain from breeding them or sharing them with the public. Anyone caught violating the law would face a fine of up to $20,000 and a prison sentence of up to five years.</p><p>The House passage comes about nine months after the nation was captivated by the Netflix series Tiger King during the initial days of the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coronavirus" target="_self">coronavirus</a> lockdown. The series followed the career of Joseph Maldonado-Passage, or "Joe Exotic," who kept big cats in Oklahoma, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/04/politics/tiger-king-house-bill-big-cat-ownership/index.html" target="_blank">CNN explained</a>. Maldonado-Passage is now serving a prison sentence for killing five tigers and plotting to pay for the assassination of his critic Carole Baskin, who was also featured in the series.</p><p>Baskin, who runs Big Cat Rescue in Tampa, Florida, is one of several wildlife advocates who has been pushing Congress to pass the bill for years, CBS News explained.</p><p>"We are thrilled that the Big Cat Public Safety Act passed the House with bipartisan support to protect the big cats from abuse, the public and first responders from injuries and death, and the tiger in the wild from extinction," she wrote on Facebook. "None of these important goals are partisan in any way and we hope the Senate will follow suit quickly to make it into law."</p>
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<p>While 48 Republicans joined with Democrats to pass the bill in the House, it is unsure how it will fare in the Republican-controlled Senate, according to CNN. The Senate bill has not yet made it out of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, which held its final markup of the current legislative session Wednesday. Further, while the Senate bill has some Republican cosponsors, Senate leadership criticized House Democrats for passing the bill instead of focusing on coronavirus relief.</p><p>However, Quigley emphasized in his statement that over-worked first responders are the ones who have to respond if unsafely-kept animals attack their owners or others.</p><p>"Big cats are wild animals that simply do not belong in private homes, backyards, or shoddy roadside zoos," he said in a statement. "Too often, law enforcement and first responders are the ones who end up in danger from these animals and, in a time when our first responders are already facing increased risk from the pandemic, we owe it to them to limit the additional dangers they face on the job."</p>
<p>In addition to being endorsed by a wide variety of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/animal-welfare" target="_self">animal welfare</a> groups, the bill also has the approval of some law enforcement organizations like the Fraternal Order of Police, CNN pointed out. All told, more than 60 law enforcement and animal rights groups supported the bill, according to Quigley's statement.</p><p>"Long before 'Tiger King,' Joe Exotic and dozens of others like him were under our scrutiny due to their abuse of tigers – both adults and cubs," <a href="https://www.humanesociety.org/" target="_blank">Humane Society of the United States</a> CEO and President Kitty Block said in a statement. "While the world of private tiger ownership thrives in the shadows with little mandatory documentation, we estimate that hundreds of tigers across the country are kept as pets and money-making props by roadside zoos, pseudo-sanctuaries and cub-petting operations. They are often torn from their mother moments after birth, hit, dragged, and forced into photo ops, and live in squalid conditions. This is a public safety disaster. Congress must pass <em>The Big Cat Public Safety Act</em> to put an end to this cycle of misery, abuse, and danger once and for all."</p>
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