The Republican-controlled 115th Congress has introduced at least 63 separate pieces of legislation that would strip federal protections for specific threatened species or undermine the U.S. Endangered Species Act, according to a new analysis from the Center for Biological Diversity. That’s one such bill every six days in 2017 alone. The majority of these bills […]
The Center for Biological Diversity and Natural Resources Defense Council sued the Trump administration Monday for allowing U.S. hunters to import elephant and lion trophies from Zimbabwe. The lawsuit aims to protect animals and resolve confusion created by the administration’s contradictory announcements in recent days. The suit comes days after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife […]
As many of you may have heard by now, President Donald Trump tweeted, and Interior Sec. Ryan Zinke reiterated, a decision late Friday night to put elephant trophy imports from Zimbabwe “on hold” out of the belief that “conservation and healthy herds are critical.” This follows the administration’s decision, on Thursday, to allow such imports […]
By David Leestma Last month the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFSW) began issuing hunting permits for the import of lion trophies hunted in Zambia and Zimbabwe. Although the USFSW announced Wednesday it was lifting a ban on the import of elephant trophies, the new guidelines for importing sport-hunted lions have been quietly in effect […]
The Trump administration has agreed to allow the remains of elephants killed in Zimbabwe and Zambia to be brought back to the U.S., a reversal of an Obama-era ban. In 2014, the President Obama’s administration banned the imports of elephant trophies to protect the species. “Additional killing of elephants in these countries, even if legal, […]
Between Aug. 21 and Sept. 5, conflict palm oil grower PT. Tualang Raya cleared another 18 hectares of critical lowland rainforests inside the Leuser Ecosystem. This rogue actor has continued razing forests with impunity despite Rainforest Action Network exposing its ongoing destruction since September 2015. PT. Tualang Raya is clearing in disregard of a government […]
By William H. Funk Proposed funding cuts to environmental programs in President Trump’s proposed 2018 budget have drawn anxious attention from around the world. But while the biggest numbers deal with rolling back the Obama administration’s climate change initiatives, more subtle withdrawals of federal support from lesser known international programs threaten the continued existence of […]
Elephants helped rescue hundreds of people trapped in a flooded tourist village in the Chitwan district in Nepal on Monday. According to Reuters, the overflowing banks of the Rapti River inundated hotels and restaurants in Sauraha, stranding nearly 600 tourists. “Some 300 guests were rescued on elephant backs and tractor trailers to [nearby] Bharatpur yesterday […]
By Emma Rae Lierley The Leuser Ecosystem on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia thrums with life. It is an ancient, 6.5 million acres of lush rainforest and steamy peat swamps, and because of its rich biodiversity, is one of the most important rainforests still standing today. Its clear rivers provide drinking water for millions […]