Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)

Get all the latest news from CfBD at  http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/  

Rare Cats Saved From Hunting and Trapping in New Hampshire

In response to outcry from the Center for Biological Diversity, Animal Welfare Institute and other groups, New Hampshire’s Game and Fish Department has cancelled its planned bobcat hunting and trapping seasons. They would have been the state’s first such seasons since 1989, when New Hampshire protected bobcats from the hunting and trapping that had driven their population down to only 200 animals.

Bobcats aren’t the only wild felines at stake here: Canada lynx, protected as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act, could be mistakenly shot or ensnared by bobcat hunters and trappers. Under the state’s proposed rule to allow the hunting and trapping seasons to move forward, hunters would’ve been allowed to chase bobcats with hounds; trappers could’ve legally set unlimited numbers of indiscriminate traps.

“We’re so relieved the Game and Fish Department listened to our concerns, and that New Hampshire’s bobcats and lynx are safe from hunters and trappers for yet another year,” said the Center’s Collette Adkins.

Read more in The Keene Sentinel

Wild & Weird: The Daring Escape of Inky the Octopus

There’s something about a good jailbreak that captures the human imagination. Maybe it’s the cunning derring-do of the escapee; maybe it’s our own longing to break free. Add eight arms to the getaway and people really become entranced.

Recent news of the daring escape of Inky, an octopus formerly on exhibit at the National Aquarium of New Zealand, captured news media and the internet by storm. “We did not expect that much interest at all from around the world; we thought it was just a story for the locals,” said Rob Yarrell, manager of the aquarium, to National Geographic in a recent interview.

Inky’s escape path was easily discovered by aquarium staff: They followed his wet trail from the small opening in his enclosure, across the floor and into a narrow pipe leading to the ocean. Yarrell and his staff do not plan to pursue the tentacled absconder; they merely wished him well on his travels.

Read more about Inky’s great escape at National Geographic.

Imperiled Gulf Fish One Step Closer to Protection

The Alabama shad — a large, silvery fish that lives partly in the Gulf of Mexico and swims up Southeast streams to spawn — occupies just a tiny fraction of its historic habitat in Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Indiana and Iowa. Its numbers are dwindling because of dams, dredging and water pollution. The shad has languished for decades without federal protection despite being named a “candidate” for that protection back in 1997.

Luckily for the at-risk fish, the Center last week reached a settlement with the National Marine Fisheries Service that will force the agency to decide whether the shad warrants protection by this June. (In 2013 the agency declared that the species may deserve protection, but it’s more than a year late in taking the next legal step toward that goal.)

“There’s still time to recover this oceangoing fish in its historic Southeast habitat,” said the Center’s Jaclyn Lopez. “Endangered Species Act protection will help guide restoration efforts that will help the shad rebound.”

Read more in our press release.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZPZD1JV5QQ

22/4/16 is EARTH DAY.

Each year, Earth Day—April 22—marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970. – See more at:

http://www.earthday.org/about/the-history-of-earth-day/

http://www.earthday.org/

We only have one – Protect It !!!

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Dear Mark,

I am thrilled to share with you two victories for bobcats!

Last week the California Fish and Game Commission denied a proposal by the California Trappers Association to repeal the bobcat trapping ban that you helped put in place last year. We are very pleased that the commissioners* stayed firm in their decision to support the hard-fought bobcat trapping ban.

I’m proud to report that 12 Project Coyote representatives and supporters, and 11 students from Manor Elementary School in Fairfax, testified before the Commission. They spoke on behalf of bobcats and in support of our two petitions (with the Center for Biological Diversity) that would ban night hunting and trapping in places where wolves are recovering. I hand delivered more than 3,000 letters from supporters to the Commission supporting the ban. Thank you for acting to protect California’s wildlife! Both petitions are moving forward with agency staff. We will keep you posted on their progress. 

On April 13th the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department rejected a proposal that would have opened the first bobcat hunting and trapping season in the state since 1989. Project Coyote’s New Hampshire representative Chris Schadler has been deeply involved in this issue, along with a statewide coalition of conservation and animal protection organizations. Thousands of New Hampshire residents weighed in to express their support for bobcats remaining safe in the wild and not cruelly trapped or shot for sport and profit. Read more here and here.

It is so encouraging to see those who appreciate wildlife taking a stand to protect native carnivores from those who enjoy killing them. We are the majority and we are showing up in greater numbers. Through our Keeping It Wild youth program, young people are lending their impassioned voices to Project Coyote actions to protect wildlife. We applaud their energy and look forward to seeing them play a greater role.

Thanks to you and to our allies, bobcats are safe from traps in California and New Hampshire. 

With gratitude,

Camilla H. Fox
Founder & Executive Director 

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