Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)

Update 9/2/15

Additional petition – Officially ban the capture of wild killer whales off of

Washington State’s coasts.

Please go to the following for more info and to sign:

https://serbiananimalsvoice.com/2015/02/09/usa-petition-officially-ban-the-capture-of-wild-killer-whales-off-of-washington-states-coasts/

AND ………….

NEW Free Lolita Petition – Please sign and crosspost.

7/2/15 – there is a new petition which has started to free Lolita –

here is the link; please make sure you sign and pass on to everyone that you are able – thanks SAV.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/405/655/036/free-lolita/

We are giving the Lolita issue below prime position this weekend, but as an additional note we have also posted a host of new petitions for you to sign as well if you feel like it.

Just click here to be redirected to the petitions:

serbiananimalsvoice.com/2015/02/07/petitions-and-more-6215-please-browse-and-sign/

SAV.

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Lolita the Loneliest Orca Finally Gets Endangered Species Protection

by Alicia Graef

February 6, 2015

Animal advocates are celebrating news that Lolita, the lone orca at the Miami Seaquarium, is another step closer to freedom with the announcement that she will now get the endangered species protection already granted to her wild relatives.

Lolita is a member of the Southern Resident killer whales, who live in three distinct pods (J,K and L) in the Pacific Northwest. Her tragic story began in 1970 when she was taken from her family during a brutal roundup in Penn Cove, Wash., when she was just a calf.  She has been in a ridiculously small tank at the Miami Seaquarium ever since.

Her relatives, who have yet to recover from the losses they suffered to the captivity industry, were protected under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 2005, but the listing specifically – and inexplicably – excluded any orcas placed in captivity prior to the listing, leaving Lolita out.

In 2013, the Orca Network, Animal Legal Defense Fund and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals filed a petition seeking to have her included in the listing, arguing, among other things, that Lolita is the only captive member of any endangered species to be excluded from a listing decision like this. Ultimately, they hope her inclusion will help lead to her being freed from her current confines in the oldest and smallest tank in the United States.

This week, and in response to the petition, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced that she will be included in the ESA listing along with the rest of the Southern Residents. The agency stated:

As presented in the proposed rule we find that Lolita’s captive status, in and of itself, does not preclude her listing under the ESA.  Accordingly, we are removing the exclusion for captive whales in the regulatory language describing the Southern Resident killer whale DPS.   The best available genetic information and sighting history of killer whales supports  recognizing Lolita as a member of the Southern Resident killer whale population and, as such, is not excluded from the listed Southern Resident killer whale DPS.

While the ruling doesn’t guarantee her freedom, or initiate any immediate changes, her advocates are celebrating it as another positive step in the fight for her freedom. Howard Garrett, founder of the Orca Network, said in an email that this is a huge breakthrough towards getting her home. He further explained that her inclusion should make her current living conditions illegal under the ESA, which makes it unlawful to harm, harass or take endangered animals, and gives her advocates grounds to sue the Seaquarium, or possibly NOAA, over those violations.

The ultimate goal is to get Lolita back to her native waters off the coast of Washington. While those who want to see her stay where she is are continuing to try to incite fears that moving her will unquestionably kill her, mainstream media is helping them out by perpetuating the perception that crazy animal activists want to plunk her down in the ocean, wave goodbye and let her fend for herself when that is not the case.

The Orca Network has an extensive retirement plan in place that’s been ready and waiting for her for years. The plan involves relocating her to a sea pen where she will be able to feel the current and communicate with her pod. She will hopefully be able to return to the wild and reintegrate with her family, however, if she is unwilling, or unable, they have vowed to provide care for her for the remainder of her life. In either case, it’s far better than any future she could face in captivity.

Some are also spinning Keiko’s story as an example of what could happen should she be released. Her advocates, however, counter that the two are entirely different cases and that depending on how we look at it, Keiko’s release can be seen as a success. The creators of the documentary Keiko: the Untold Story are currently calling out PBS for misrepresenting what happened to him by saying he died after only a year.

In reality, after 23 years of confinement, he spent five years freely and independently in the wild, going from listless in captivity to curious and adventurous in the wild, but a major problem for him was that we didn’t know where his family was.

We know exactly who Lolita’s family is and exactly where they are. She is a member of the L pod and her mother, L25 (Ocean Sun), is still believed to be alive and with the pod, along with a few others who were present the day Lolita was taken. According to the Orca Network, she still calls out in the unique language used only by her family members – she remembers.

The story about Springer, the first orca who was successfully rescued and returned to the wild where she was recently spotted with a calf of her own, should also offer hope that Lolita, who is strong and healthy, would have the same success.

While future legal actions on her behalf have yet to be decided, there’s currently a lawsuit pending on appeal against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) concerning the Seaquarium’s violations of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). The lawsuit argues that not only is she being kept in a tank that violates the USDA’s standards for minimum size, but she’s being kept in solitary confinement with no escape from the Florida sun or other weather conditions, which are now all violations.

According to Garrett, if they win, it’s proof that keeping her in that tank causing her harm and needs to be remedied, but if they lose the violations and harm done will be documented and ready to use in any future lawsuits.

While we wait for the outcome of the pending lawsuit, which is expected to be heard in March, we can help Lolita by ensuring she has a home and family to go to by supporting campaigns to restore Chinook salmon, which the Southern Residents rely on for food.

For more info on how to help, visit the Orca Network and Whale and Dolphin Conservation’s Don’t Let Orcas Be Dammed campaign.

Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/lolita-the-loneliest-orca-finally-gets-endangered-species-protection.html#ixzz3R3yUa7aw

Filed under: CAMPAIGNS - Global Animal Welfare Issues, GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional | Leave a comment »

Dear Mark,

It’s breaking the bank and breaking our hearts.

Idaho is at it again – state officials have just requested another $400,000 to kill even more wolves!

Enough is enough. Your urgent support for Defenders of Wildlife will help us protect wolves and other vulnerable wildlife.

The state calls it the “Wolf Depredation Control Board.” We call it the “Wolf Kill Board.” What it really does is funnel state taxpayers’ money for the sole purpose of killing wolves.

And make no mistake – this wolf-hating panel wants to kill every wolf it’s allowed to.

Here’s what one Wolf Kill Board member told state legislators at a budget hearing: “We think we’re going to need every dime of that money before this is over.”

Many of these killings are sanctioned to artificially inflate deer and elk numbers!

Idaho’s wolves have been in growing jeopardy since Congress stripped them of protection under the Endangered Species Act in 2011. Since Idaho took over their management, the number of breeding pairs, which are necessary to maintain the population, have plummeted.

Defenders is the only national organization with staff on the ground in Idaho working not only to help restore wolves but at the statehouse and state wildlife commission testifying against these actions threatening wolves. Your urgent support will help us fight to end Idaho’s rogue war on wolves.

Please help – before it’s too late.

Sincerely,

Jamie Rappaport Clark
President
Defenders of Wildlife

Filed under: CAMPAIGNS - Global Animal Welfare Issues, GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional | Leave a comment »