In an inspiring return 200 years in the making, the last truly wild horse species has been reintroduced onto the open steppes of Kazakhstan.
The Guardian reports that four mares from a breeding program in Berlin and a stallion and two other mares from Prague, were flown to the Central Asian country to mark the second successful reintroduction of Przewalski’s horse to the lands that above all others are associated with this beloved animal.
At an unspecified place on the Eurasian Steppe around 6,000 years ago, of which Kazakhstan is a major component, human beings domesticated the horse. It changed history forever...
In 2011, Prague Zoo was also involved in a reintroduction of Przewalski’s horses to Mongolia which continued for 8 years until the population stabilized. There are now 1,500 such horses in the country.
The Kazakhstan reintroduction comes on the back of several environmental success stories driven by a passionate environmental movement in the country. This has included the reintroduction of Bukhara deer around the shores of Lake Balkhash, and the continued legislative and conservation efforts to restore the majestic saiga antelope, which have resulted in a growth of the population to 1.9 million.
-via Good News Network, June 12, 2024
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Just spent 2 weeks on a much needed vacation in Kazakhstan. Please enjoy these lichens I found for sale in the spices and tea section of the green market in Almaty.
The label translates as "Parmelia," and I think this is likely a Xanthoparmelia.
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What these freaks did to those kids is cruel and unusual.
Madagascar will surgically castrate paedophiles under new law approved by MPs it is revealed - days after Kazakhstan announced same plan
A minister spoke in favour of the law saying: 'society must know what they did'
By ED HOLT
PUBLISHED: 14:29 EST, 7 February 2024
Madagascar's parliament has approved a new law which will see paedophiles surgically castrated for their crimes.
The new law comes just days after Kazakhstan announced a similar law where the country's worst offending child sex offenders will have their genitals surgically removed.
On February 2 Madagascar's parliament, The National Assembly, approved a law which legalised the castration of child rapists.
The old law stated that those found guilty of raping a minor would face between five and 20 years of forced labour.
However, this new law states that those found guilty of raping a child under ten-years-old will be surgically castrated and sentenced to life imprisonment. While if the victim is between ten and 13-years-old, they will instead be chemically castrated and face 15 to 20 years of forced labour. If the rapist is also a minor they will escape castration.
Madagascar's Minister of Justice Landy Randriamanantenasoa spoke in favour of the bill. She said: 'Society must know what they did and who they are'
Ms Randriamanantenasoa has rebuked similar criticism about respect for human rights by saying Madagascar is a sovereign country. This comes after Amnesty criticised the bill
Minister of Justice Landy Randriamanantenasoa spoke in favour of the bill. Le Quotidien, a French language newspaper, reported that Ms Randriamanantenasoa said: 'Society must know what they did and who they are.'
The bill was proposed by the President of Madagascar, Andry Rajoelina, last month and was one of his key campaign promises during his re-election bid last year.
International organisations have criticised the new law. The BBC reports that in a statement, Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty's regional director for east and southern Africa, said: 'In Madagascar, rape cases remain under-reported, and perpetrators often go free due to the victims' and their families' fear of retaliation, stigmatisation, and a lack of trust in the judicial system.
'Implementing chemical and surgical castration, which constitutes cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, as a punishment for those found guilty of raping minors will not solve this and is inconsistent with Malagasy constitutional provisions against torture and other ill-treatment, as well as regional and international human rights standards.'
Ms Randriamanantenasoa has rebuked similar criticism about respect for human rights by saying Madagascar is a sovereign country.
The tighten of the law in Kazakhstan follows the death of Erkezhan Nurmakhan, five, who was lured to a paedophile's house after he offered her money for an ice cream
Saidolim Gayibnazarov, 48, who had previous convictions, was sentenced to life in jail and chemical castration
Kazakhstan announced its own draft law to remove paedophiles genitals on February 6 following complaints from MPs that the current law where paedophiles are chemically castrated was not deterring child sex offenders.
The tighten of the law follows the death of Erkezhan Nurmakhan, five, who was lured to a paedophile's house after he offered her money for an ice cream.
Saidolim Gayibnazarov, 48, who had previous convictions, was sentenced to life in jail and chemical castration.
Deputy Interior Minister of Kazakhstan, Igor Lepikha, said surgical castration was 'controversial'.
'In terms of ethics and the human side of the issue it is very complicated indeed.
'Moreover, we speak about these criminals being locked up for life - so there is no point in [castration] then.'
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