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 […]
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 […]
At the Tikki Hywood Trust in Harare, Zimbabwe, a group of charity workers known as the “Pangolin Men” dedicate their lives to saving a prehistoric-looking animal from an increasing threat of extinction. The pangolin is the only mammal in the world with scales. Sadly, it’s this unique feature that gives the pangolin the unfortunate title […]
In a partisan vote, Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation Wednesday that would devastate national forests by gutting endangered species protections and rubber-stamping huge logging projects. The final vote was 232 to 188. HR 2936, sponsored by Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.), also limits public comment and environmental review under the National Environmental […]
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 […]
The Trump administration proposed a rule Tuesday to federalize regulation of drift gillnets used to catch swordfish on the West Coast. The rule would end California’s right to prevent the deadly entanglements of sea turtles, whales and dolphins in these underwater, mile-long nets. The Obama administration last year proposed a rule that would shut down […]
By Jason Bittel The kiwi is a small, flightless bird that spends most of the day underground. At night, these needle-billed, chicken-size floofs emerge to hunt insects, crayfish, seeds and fruit, but as they waddle through New Zealand’s forests, they create invisible scent trails. By morning, kiwis have often unwittingly led a predator back to […]
Greenpeace has launched a global campaign for an Antarctic sanctuary, covering 1.8 million square kilometers (approximately .7 million square miles) of ocean, to protect whales, penguins and other wildlife. Following a failure to agree on strong marine protection in the East Antarctic, Greenpeace has called for governments to show “greater vision and ambition” in the […]
A project to save a small, critically endangered porpoise called the vaquita in the Gulf of California succeeded in capturing a 6-month-old calf in mid-October. Veterinarians noticed signs of stress, so they made the decision to release it back into the wild, rather than keep it in a sea pen. The project’s leaders are heartened […]