The Most Endangered Species in the World
The recent addition of 38 more species of plants and animals by the Hawiian branch of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, brings the Hawiian list of endangered species to 112. The endangered Hawiian species are threatened primarily by habitat loss and by competition and predation from nonnative species such as feral pigs, goats, rats and invasive plants and insects.
"Hawaii is home to some of the most beautiful and endangered species on Earth, and we’re elated that these rare plants and animals are getting the protection they need to survive,” explained Tierra Curry, a conservation biologist with the Center for Biological Diversity. "If we’re going to save Hawaii’s rarest plants and animals, we’ll need the Endangered Species Act to get it done. The Act has been 99 percent successful at preventing the extinction of the species under its care."
And that's just in Hawaii!
Around the world, there are thousands of species at risk , especially in South America, Africa and China.
Even Canada -- once a champion of conservation -- is now losing wildlife. A recent Toronto Star report entitled "Reasons to Oppose Bill C-38" said that the Harper Conservative government bill "removes protection of endangered species and their habitat, when approving pipeline projects, by amending the Species at Risk Act and the Navigable Waters Protection Act." The projected pipelines will shoot tar sand oil to the U S and the Pacific Coast, bound for China.
The Scientific Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC), lists 256 Endangered Species.
But the entire world is at risk.
"Excluding invasive species, we found that 30 percent of species threats are due to international trade," revealed a study led by the University of Sydney and published in a recent edition of Nature.
"For example, the spider monkey is endangered and threatened by habitat loss linked to coffee and cocoa plantations in Mexico and Central America, which export their products abroad."
And the conservation group World Wildlife Fund (WWF) announced in May: "Biodiversity has decreased by an average of 28 percent globally since 1970 and the world would have to be 50 percent bigger to have enough land and forests to provide for current levels of consumption and carbon emissions."
So what are some the most prominant Endangered Species?
1. Siberian Tigers
Siberian Tigers are considered Critically Endangered with the Chinese and Korean populations nearly extinct. Currently they have reduced to less the 200. It has also been estimated that on earth, tigers have lessened to an extent of 7 percent. Not enough efforts are done to get back the Siberian tigers' population to normalcy. However, tigers since long have been chosen as national symbols for many countries. Right now, animal rights activist have become vigilant of this impending issue.
2. Amur Leopard
The Amur leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis) is a leopard subspecies that is classed as Critically Endangered. It is native to the southwestern Primorye region of Russia. Amur or Far Eastern leopard is world's most endangered cat with as few as 25 to 34 left in the wild. Amur leopard's habitats are continuously threatened by encroaching civilization, exploitation of forests, poaching, climate change, and new roads.
3. Northern Right Whale
Nothern Right Whale numbers around 350 that travel across the Atlantic coasts of Canada and the US. They are the most endangered of the entire world's whale species. These whales are still living but there is a growing concern that they are continuously being hunted to the level of extinction. The two greatest threats to their recovery are the entanglement in fixed fishing gear and vessel strikes. They are protected under US animal rights, the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 and the U.S. Endangered Species Act of 1973.
4. Leatherback Sea Turtle
Leatherback Turtle have survived catastrophic asteroid impacts and outlived the dinosaurs. They are the longest-living marine species to ever ply the world's oceans. Scientists question whether the animal will survive into the next decade, as this one of the largest turtle species in the world, is subjected to animal cruelty. Their numbers have declined in excess of 95 percent over the last 22 years. This beautiful species has been pushed to the verge of extinction by large-scale hunting and poaching of sea turtle eggs. Animal rights activist have been on guard of the looming concern.
5. Peary Caribou
The Peary Caribou lives on the Banks Island and High Arctic region of Canada. These caribou are smaller than other caribou, such as the Woodland Caribou, and are lighter in colour. The caribou belongs to the deer family and is the only member where both males and females grow antlers.
Bear-Hunting Battle Between Sports Hunters and Animal Rights Groups in California
This year's most heated environmental battle in Sacramento, CA, is drawing intense passions. Activists say "hunters with packs of yapping dogs fitted with radio collars chase exhausted wild animals for miles, cornering them in branches and shooting them point blank."
Their most favourite prey is the black bear.
"It's not only unethical and inhumane, it's unnecessary," said Jennifer Fearing, California director of the Humane Society of the United States, explaining "We don't do it for public safety or population management. We do it for recreation. It's out of step with California's values."
Sports hunters see Bill SB1221, submitted by state Senator Ted Lieu, as "the latest assault by mostly urban environmentalists and voters against mostly rural hunters."
"First they banned mountain lion hunting, then trapping," said Dan Tichenor, a retired Castro Valley engineer who hunts bears with his six Plott hounds, a breed with supremely sensitive sniffing abilities that looks a bit like a bloodhound, without the loose skin. "Now they're going after bear and bobcat hunting with dogs," he complained. "I think the plan is to ban it species by species, state by state. Their goal is to eventually ban all hunting."
"Shooting a bear in a tree after tracking it with dogs," explained Senator Lieu, who won two marksmanship awards when serving in the Air Force, "is like shooting a bear at a zoo."
During legislative hearings, supporters of Lieu's legislation, which include the Sierra Club and the ASPCA, have presented examples of dogs being mistreated, abandoned and running roughshod over private land.
Rescuing Roseate Terns in Nova Scotia
Less than 100 Roseate Terns remain in Canada. And the passionate attempt to save the beautiful shore birds is centered at picturesque Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia.
“They’re the only endangered tern species,” stated Danielle Pernette, co-ordinator for the Mahone Bay Roseate Tern Recovery Project, which is trying to bring back the slim-bodied, ground-nesting, sometimes-rosy-billed birds to “healthy numbers.”
At one time, one-third of the roseate’s entire Canadian population nested on one of Mahone Bay's beautiful islands, Grassy Island.
“One of the main things is that it’s further out," explained Danielle about Grassy Island. "So there’s less human disturbance out there and there’s no nice beach area so humans don’t really like to land out there,” Danielle also helps post signs and tries to educate people about staying away from potential tern habitats.
“For roseate terns to nest, they usually like to be around about 200 other terns, so Grassy last year had about 300 so if they come back to Grassy this year, it could be even larger numbers than that, which would be great. And that would increase the chances of attracting the roseates.”
“I think everything kind of interacts together," concluded Danielle. "So losing one species is probably going to have an effect on another species as well. And terns in general have been declining so it’s good to kind of bring them back to where they should be -- healthy numbers.”
Join the Fight Against Animal Cruelty by Evan Price
Every year, April is Animal Cruelty Prevention Month. In recognition of this, the BARF World Team would like to shine some light on some of the many organizations dedicated to enhancing the lives of animals everywhere.
ASPCA
ASPCA - American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
Founded on April 10th, 1866, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) is the oldest animal welfare organization in the United States. Founder, Henry Bergh had a vision of stopping the injustices that animals face across the country, primarily the inhumane treatment of animals at slaughterhouses, as well as cockfighting. At this time, the most common animals were horses and livestock, but by the turn of the century, cats and dogs had become a primary focus. By the time of Bergh's death in 1888, 37 of 38 states has passed anti-cruelty legislation
In addition to animal-friendly legislature, the ASPCA has come to make some other serious improvements in the lives of America�s animals. Some of these changes include the creation of animal hospitals, spay/neuter clinics, loss support services, adoption facilities, disaster preparation services and an initiative to end the euthanasia of adoptable pets.
PETA
PETA - People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, was founded in March of 1980 and is the worlds largest animal rights organization. Armed with the slogan "animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on, or use for entertainment", PETA rose to prominence after the Silver Springs Monkeys case of 1981. Since then, PETA's undercover investigations have helped put an end to several cockfighting, bullfighting, and dogfighting rings worldwide.
With worldwide celebrity endorsement coupled with aggressive marketing campaigns, PETA has stepped up against factory farming, fur farming and animal testing. Led by Ingrid Newkirk, this non-profit organization has received some criticism for pushing the line too far.
At one point, PETA released a comic book aimed directly at children entitled "Your Mommy Kills Animals." The spread features a gruesome picture of a woman stabbing a bunny repeatedly with a butcher knife, while orange colored blood sprays about. Many PETA members are vegans, condemning all animal products, foods, and animal related forms of entertainment, such as fishing.
Their latest audacious move is the creation of PETA XXX, a no-holds-bar site that reveals animal cruelty in its many forms.
Other animal rights groups and animal welfare organizations include:
Aerzte gegen Tierversuche - German physicians against animal experiments
Akademie fuer Tierschutz - The German Academy for Animal Welfare
ALF - Animal Liberation Front
ELF - Earth Liberation Front
AnimalConcerns.org - a Project of the EnviroLink Network
Animal Rights Party
Animal Rights UK
Born Free Foundation
CAPN - Chinese Animal Protection Network
CEFTA - Canadians for the Ethical Treatment of Food Animals
Deutscher Tierschutzbund - The German Animal Welfare Association
Dogs Trust
Friends of Animals
GAZ - Green Action Future
Humane Society of Canada
IFAW - International Fund for Animal Welfare
IMON for Ferals - It's Meow Or Never for Ferals
RFAAM - Respect for All Animals MInistry
RSPCA - Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
WPF - Wolf Preservation Foundation
WSPA - World Society for the Protection of Animals
VIVA! - Vegetarians International Voice for Animals
- Evan Price is a Raw Diet Educator for BARF World Inc.. He is a true dog lover at heart with a particular interest in Daschunds. Evan is also an avid sports enthusiast and bridge player. For more articles like these and to learn more about the benefits of raw food for your pets, sign up for The Intelligent Pet monthly e-zine at Barfworld.com
Animal Rights Is A Dirty Word - a Personal Observation by Jeff Popick
Many years ago I saw Donald Trump interviewed by Larry King on the subject of charity and charitable organizations. "The Donald" expressed his suspicions that nobody is completely altruistic and, therefore, was leery of the true motives of charitable organizations. Knowing a thing or two about some large charitable organizations, I agreed with his perspective.
For example, the members of the American Heart Association could solve the major issue of heart disease easily, if they simply told people to adopt a vegan diet. But how would the increased consumption of carrots pay for the doctors' Mercedes?
Interestingly, Larry King often expresses his eternal gratitude for the cardiologist that performed his bypass surgery, and holds this surgeon in great esteem. But what is so magnificent about a man who sits back and let's people fall into a ditch, only so that he can play the role of hero by then selling the victim a "lifeline?" The true hero is the poor "weirdo" who tells people how to avoid the ditch. Yeah, we do live in a funny world.
Being the "Vegan Sage," I recently attended (and sponsored) the Animal Rights 2007 conference, where I got to meet roughly 800 poor weirdos who, sadly, Donald Trump has yet to meet. Consider the fact that, by and large, women fight for women's rights, blacks fight for black rights and gays fights for gay rights, and, therefore, civil rights is a never-ending struggle because it has little to do with civility and lots to do with personal agendas.
Enter the animal rights "weirdos." These are people who look out for the rights and welfare of animals, not because they, themselves, fear being hunted for whale blubber or for fear of being kept in a laboratory cage, but because they know it's wrong to do it to animals simply because the animals don't speak English. It has become apparent to me that people who fight for the rights of animals may very well be the only altruistic people on the planet.
At this conference I stood at an exhibitor's table, where we handed out free sample bars of a new soap called Veganu, and another unique feature emerged from these weirdos. If you've ever been in an environment where there are free samples, people often take as much as they can possibly get their hands on or stuff into their pockets (or mouths). It's not necessarily a bad thing and, in fact, it's kinda expected. Even we were well-stocked for it. But almost universally, these poor weirdos, when offered a free bar, would politely decline if they had already got one previously. I fell in love with 800 weird people that day.
"Animal rights" is a dirty term indicating that there really is no civility, rights or humanity in the first place. Clearly, the practical reality (and uniqueness) of animal rights has not to do with personal agendas and self-aggrandizement, but the real essence of humanity and pure altruism. The meaning of animal rights is the proper application of our dominionship - to care for our underlings, not violate them. But in a crazy world, it is the sane man who looks like the weirdo.
Only when animal rights becomes known and accepted as "Humanities 101," and only when we acknowledge and embrace our very reason for being, i.e., caretakers of our underlings, will we achieve the "rights" we all really want.
Animal rights weirdos may be the only sane people on Planet Earth. Everything else, as Donald Trump suggested, is just a self-serving exercise.
- Jeff Popick, known as "The Vegan Sage," is a keen visionary & a leading expert on the diverse effects our diet has on our health, environment and even our spirituality. Jeff has worn many hats over the years, from Hollywood stunt man, to radio host ("Vegetarian Lifestyles") to millionaire businessman to passionate author and speaker. His latest book is The Real Forbidden Fruit: How Meat Destroys Paradise and How Veganism Can Get It Back
To read the latest Animal Rights News, go to www.civilizedbears.com
