The world’s wildlife populations are declining, according to a new survey, encouraging urgent action to reverse the loss.
Dr. Rebecca Shaw, chief global scientist for the World Wide Fund for Nature, said populations declined an average of 68% between 1970 and 2018. Last week, Alaska canceled the upcoming snow crab season in the Sea of Bering for the first time, after reporting the population had decreased by 80% in four years. Shaw noted that the decline is likely due in part to stress caused by warming waters.
“Snow crab is a great example of exactly what we’re talking about here,” Shaw said. “When they disappear, we don’t know why, but it has a lot to do with the pressure we put on the environment through climate change, habitat destruction, pollution, etc.”
Shaw noted that wildlife populations are declining due to human-driven land-use changes such as infrastructure development, energy production and deforestation, but added that climate change could become in the main cause of biodiversity loss if the increase in temperatures is not controlled.
To make a personal difference, Shaw suggested that people should consciously think about where their food comes from, buy only what they need, and eat what they buy.
“We waste 40% of all the food we produce and harvest,” Shaw said. “If we’re wasting all that food, we’re putting pressure on the planet for no benefit.”
Shaw encouraged food choices that don’t overharvest a particular fish if it’s not sustainable, and avoid products that contribute to deforestation. He stressed that to reduce pressure on wildlife populations, changes must be made in the way that society produces and consumes energy and food.
“If you eat animal protein, you should know that it has a huge impact,” Shaw said. “It doesn’t mean you give up animal protein and the burgers you love, it just means once or twice a week you choose plant protein over animal protein. Really good for you and really good for the health of the planet.”
The report, based on the 50-year Living Planet Index, is published every two years by the World Wide Fund for Nature. It shows that Latin America and the Caribbean saw a whopping average wildlife population loss of 94% and Africa saw a 66% decline, while North America saw just a 20% drop.
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Government labels on meat products that say “humane” or “raised in a stress-free environment” are meaningless, according to some animal rights groups, because the feds don’t check companies’ practices on the ground.
The group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, has just filed a petition calling for the US Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service to stop approving labels that PETA calls “grossly misleading.”
Jared Goodman is the general counsel for animal rights at the PETA Foundation.
“The government is allowing companies to exploit consumers’ willingness to pay more for products that are made from animals that are supposedly raised humanely,” Goodman said, “but in reality, they suffer in exactly the same way as those that are raised.” in accordance with customary industry standards.
The USDA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
PETA says its investigations show that some companies with the “humane” label, even some that advertise themselves as “cage-free,” still mutilate poultry’s beaks, crush male chicks while they’re still conscious and they keep the animals in crowded sheds with poor lighting. or space to roam.
The non-profit organization Humane Farm Animal Care has created a “Certified Humane Program” that tests producers on standards of care in raising and slaughtering animals. But Goodman pointed out that third-party programs are purely voluntary.
He said he thinks the feds shouldn’t approve “humane” labels, since companies have a strong financial incentive to misrepresent how they treat animals.
“They don’t consider animal welfare a priority,” Goodman said, “and they’re not going to invest the resources it takes to give these animals the proper care before they’re finally sent to the same slaughterhouses that kill the animals of factory farms. .”
There are no federal laws against animal cruelty, but states will investigate when complaints are filed.
PETA claims that adopting a vegan diet is the only way to ensure that your meals are cruelty-free.
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The US Fish and Wildlife Service announced it is considering a ban on lead ammunition in several national wildlife refuges, a move some wildlife advocates want to see replicated at the state level in Wisconsin.
Mark Naniot, director of wildlife rehabilitation for Rhinelander-based Wild Instincts, explained that lead ammunition fractures into tiny particles when shot at an animal, meaning lead-contaminated meat can be consumed by hunters. and scavengers.
“They ingest these tiny particles of lead, and all it takes is one or two almost microscopic particles to cause lead poisoning,” Naniot noted.
Naniot explained that the Wisconsin Conservation Congress, which acts as an advisory committee to the Department of Natural Resources, has voted in the past on lead ammunition regulations, though it has never approved such policies.
While there is no current ban, the Department of Natural Resources recommends against using lead-based ammunition and fishing gear, citing concerns about lead poisoning.
Lead-free ammunition has been embraced by many hunters, but some dispute that it is more expensive than lead ammunition and less widely available. Naniot acknowledged that the cost of a box of lead-free ammunition can be $10 to $20 more, but argued that it can take hunters years to go through a single box of ammunition.
“There are 20 shells in a box,” Naniot noted. “And most people will shoot maybe one or two at a deer, maybe shoot a couple to make sure their gun is on target. So you’re shooting two or three [shells] one year. Well, that box might last you four or five years.”
The US Fish and Wildlife Service is accepting public comments on the proposed ban on lead ammunition through August 8. The rule would open 19 federally run shelters to hunting, with the trade-off that lead ammunition would be banned from those lands. Neither shelter is located in Wisconsin.
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A new study aims to reduce collisions with wildlife at one of the biggest hotspots for them: Highway 395 from Reno, Nevada, through Tahoe to Susanville.
The nonprofit organization Wildlands Network worked with specialists from Pathways for Wildlife to place around 40 cameras along the route, to see where animals are trying to cross and where specialized fences are needed to direct them to culverts or an overpass for life. wild.
Mari Galloway, California program manager with the Wildlands Network, said the trail cuts through the migration pattern of many different species.
“Mule deer, coyotes, pronghorn, elk, black bears, cougars,” Galloway said. “American badgers, gray foxes and long-tailed weasels also occupy the area.”
Many species winter at lower elevations near Reno and migrate to the Sierra Nevada in the summer in search of food, mates, and new territories for juveniles.
According to the University of California Davis Roadkill Ecology Center, from 2016 to 2021 there were nearly 350 major collisions with wildlife, mostly mule deer, on a 60-mile stretch of Highway 395, causing more than $25 in damage. 6 millions.
Tanya Diamond, co-owner and wildlife ecologist at Pathways for Wildlife, said the year-long study will identify existing walkways and fences that could be improved or repaired, and the best location for a new wildlife overpass.
“In 15 years of study, I don’t think I’ve ever come across a highway that needed so much help,” Diamond said. “This is such an important area with deer migrating like this.”
The work builds on the efforts of CalTrans and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and their counterparts in Nevada. The actual construction of new culverts or overpasses will take a few years, once the environmental studies are complete.
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