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April 1, 2000
Allen Salzberg's HERPDIGEST 14 March 2000
OLIVE RIDLEY SEA TURTLES OF ORISSA
Despair and Hope - The Arribada has begun...As so often happens in India, in the past few days concern for the beleaguered olive ridley turtle has swung from the lowest point of despair, to a ray of hope.
The bad news is that as a result of unchecked and illegal mechanised trawl and gill net fishing, nearly 25,000 dead turtles have already been counted on the beaches of Orissa in eastern India during the 1999-2000 season - an all time high. These are only those turtles washed ashore and the total mortality must be much higher. It represents one of the largest slaughters of an endangered species in recent history. This year, despite our untiring efforts and largely as a result of the cyclone that devastated the Orissa
coast in October 1999, the state authorities have carried out minimal patrolling of the Gahirmatha Marine National Park and the adjoining coastal waters. The livelihood of the traditional fishing communities, who suffered so dreadfully during the cyclone, has also been severely affected by the large-scale illegal mechanised fishing.
The good news is that Orissa recently elected a new Chief Minister, Mr Naveen Patnaik, who is known to be sympathetic to the cause of the olive ridley. A new and compassionate Forest Minister has already been appointed. But the best news of all is that the arribada, or mass nesting, of the olive ridley sea turtle began on the beaches of Gahirmatha last night. The turtles came ashore in huge numbers on Ekakulanasi Islands I and II. These islands are next to the Agni missile testing site and come under the control of the defence department. We will let you know more details, including the numbers of turtles that have come ashore to nest, as soon as they are available.
From : Belinda Wright, Executive Director
WILDLIFE PROTECTION SOCIETY OF INDIA
Thapar House, 124 Janpath, New Delhi 110001, India
Tel: (Int+91.11) 621.3864 & 629.2492
Fax: (Int+91.11) 646.4918
> Email: wpsi@vsnl.com
> blue@vsnl.com
> ****************
Relayed by
Barry Kent MacKay
International Program Director
Animal Protection Institute
www.api4animals.org
=====================
From the
Buffalo Field Campaign
P.O. Box 957 West Yellowstone, Mt. 59758
Phone (406)646-0070 Fax (406)646-0071
E-mail buffalo@wildrockies.org.
http://www.wildrockies.org/buffalo
March 31, 2000
Elk Snared and Injured on Illegal Dept. of Livestock Fence
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 31, 2000
Contact: Daniel Brister, Tiffany Brown (406) 646-0070
West Yellowstone, MT-An elk became entangled and injured yesterday
afternoon when it tried to cross a fence maintained by the Montana
Department of Livestock (DOL) just outside the western boundary of
Yellowstone National Park.
Activists with the Buffalo Field Campaign (BFC) discovered the elk lying
on the ground with three of its legs wrapped up in the wires of the fence.
After the activists freed the legs, the animal slowly gained its feet and
eventually limped away.
The eight strand high tension fence, erected and maintained by the DOL as
part of its bison capture operations, is located in a prime migration
corridor along Duck Creek. The fence affects all wildlife migrating
through the area between Montana and Yellowstone National Park, not just
bison.
Such fences are illegal in Montana because of their deleterious effects on
wildlife. The DOL was permitted to construct this fence due to "disease
control" provisions in its management plan for Yellowstone bison.
"This is yet another example of DOL policy interfering with the migrations
of Yellowstone's wild fauna," stated BFC campaign coordinator Mike Mease.
Buffalo Field Campaign volunteers defend the buffalo on their traditional
winter habitat and advocate for their protection. BFC is the only group
working in the field every day to stop the slaughter of Yellowstone's wild
buffalo.
March 29, 2000
PENNSYLVANIA CONSIDERING BOB CAT SEASON
The Pennsylvania Game Commission has made a proposal to allow hunters to kill bobcats in the state of Pennsylvania. The six-member commission will be voting Tuesday in Harrisburg on whether or not to allow this. It is in response to requests from hunters and trappers to have an "opportunity to bag a bobcat," according to an article in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
There are currently only about 3,000 to 6,000 bobcats in the state of
Pennsylvania. As far as we know, these animals have not been a problem for anyone. They are not edible. This is simply to give hunters the
pleasure of killing one. The commission will be voting on whether or
not to allow hunting and trapping. A spokesman for the Game Commission was quoted as saying that the commission would likely approve the kill.
Since bobcats weigh only 15 to 30 pounds and traps would be baited with meat that would likely attract any kind of cat, there is a possibility
that blood-thirsty hunters will be killing domestic and feral cats, too.
The e-mail address for the game commissioner is
comments@pgc.state.pa.us. Please flood them with protest letters.
and pass this on to anyone you know who cares about cats. If we can't stop it, the hunt will be approved for mid-October to February 2001.
Thank you very much. --In Defense of Animals
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