#or more broadly the hunting of animals it's illegal to hunt

[untitledgoosegay]

I agree with the vast majority of the commentary here, but I'm feeling complicated about the screenshotted tags' proposition of ecotourism as a solution. It's definitely an option, but tourist economies have their own consequences and problems -- just ask Hawai'i about that.

I saw this post and idk it made me feel some type of way. I may get flack for this but idc I feel it must be said. Poaching is a lot more nuanced than “bad people kill animals.”

Poaching, especially in Africa, is a byproduct of colonization and poverty. Although poaching existed prior to European colonizers, it was not done at a scale and frequency that would threaten wildlife populations. Poaching exploded under colonial rule where things like ivory, pelts, hunting trophies, and in some cases, land were prized and sought after by European settlers. This led to an initially boom that devastated local animal populations and cause some tribes to become very reliant on poaching as a means of subsistence.

Additionally, due to poverty, people are still being driven to poach animals, even endangered animals because it’s a more profitable way to support oneself and community, and predatory animals can be poached because they threaten and devastate local livestock. Anti-poaching measures rarely take into account the human and economic drive behind poaching. You’re shooting and killing poachers but what about their families and communities that they support? Are those animals in a better place when there more people waiting to hunt them? Anti poaching measures don’t actually care about eliminating poaching, if they did they’d come from the angle of human and economic development and community improvement. Because let’s be real, if those people living in their poor, rural, undeveloped, undereducated*, regions with not many opportunities turn to poaching, it’s not from a moral standpoint, they’re chasing survival.

African governments be corrupt af, keeping all the money for themselves and leaving masses in poverty then erect some anti-poaching laws to please smug westerners as if they aren’t driving people into desperation. And then poaching rings take advantage of this desperation, much like a gang would, and supply them with guns and a promise of a better life. And bam, you have a poaching problem. So long as you have people in desperation, poaching will still be a problem.

Like many social issues; drugs, violence, crime; a closer look and you’ll find that poverty and lack of opportunity are at the bottom of it...

[csnews]

Nearly 90% Of Dolphin Population In Indian Ocean Wiped Out By Fisheries

Sally Ho - March 6, 2020

A new study by an international group of scientists has found that almost 90% of the dolphin population in the Indian Ocean has been killed due to the tuna fishing industry. The “alarming” drop in dolphin numbers is related to the use of illegal gillnets that are widely used by fishing companies across the world, snaring dolphins and other cetaceans caught in the bycatch. Researchers are calling for “urgent, drastic changes” in fisheries to protect dolphin populations, and the results renews calls for a major rethink about the unsustainable nature of seafood consumption.

Led by Dr Charles Anderson of nonprofit conservation organisation Manta Marine in the Maldives and joined by Dr Putu Mustika and his team from James Cook University in Queensland, Australia, the international group of researchers found that the dolphin population in the Indian Ocean may only be at 13% of what it was in 1980. The results were calculated using the figures of bycatch from tuna gillnets and driftnets across 10 sampling programmes in Australia, Sri Lanka, India and Pakistan, which showed that the numbers of dolphins snared had decreased by 20% since 2004, a sign of rapid decline in the number of dolphins in the ocean.

“The declining cetacean bycatch rates shown by what we can measure suggest current mortality rates are not sustainable. The estimates we have developed show that average small cetacean abundance may currently be at 13% of the 1980 levels,” said Dr Putu Mustika.

One of the main culprits of the intense decline in the number of dolphins, say the researchers, is the rise in the use of gillnets. Though already banned by the United Nations, gillnets – rectangular nets up to 30 kilometres long and 20 metres deep, mimicking vertical walls in the ocean – are still used by many fishing companies in multiple countries. These massive nets have snared hundreds of thousands of dolphins over the years, and the slow decrease in the number of dolphin captures reflects that the overall population has been severely threatened.’

According to official data from fisheries, more than 4 million small cetaceans, which includes whales, dolphins and porpoises, were caught in the Indian Ocean fishing operations between 1950 and 2018.

“Gillnets can and do kill threatened species like snubfin dolphins and dugongs. Our vulnerable species need sanctuary. We must permanently remove gillnets from their habitats,” said Tooni Mahto, a campaigner with the Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS), which published a separate investigation into gillnet bycatch in 2018.

The devastating loss of dolphin species is yet another consequence of the continued mass demand for seafood for human consumption, which is more broadly accelerating the decline of ocean biodiversity at alarming rates. Recent estimates from scientists say that we are quickly approaching a future of oceans with no fish left – at our current rate, by 2050, the seas will have little to no available seafood left for consumption.

Aside from rapidly depleting hunted fish species and harming marine wildlife caught in bycatch, the seafood industry is also linked to the global plastic pollution crisis. A major contributor to our plastic ocean are lost and abandoned “ghost nets” discarded by fisheries, which amount to an astonishing 640,000 tonnes of waste in the ocean.

Although the rise in awareness of the environmental impact of seafood has ushered in “sustainably farmed” seafood in recent years, it has become increasingly clear that farmed fish is not any more “eco-friendly” because it is resource intensive, requiring 2-3 pounds of smaller fish for feed, and requiring huge amounts of antibiotics to ward off diseases and parasites in enclosed fish farms.

The latest study on the impact of the fishing industry on dolphin species renews calls for not only tighter monitoring over companies’ operations to save marine animals from extinction, but a major rethink about traditional seafood consumption altogether.

[twf2020]

What are some of the most dangerous diseases threaning wildlife?

When you think of decreasing population of species in the wild, what is the first thing that comes into your mind? You may have thought of climate change, habitat loss, illegal wildlife trade, poaching and the most obvious one being interference of humans in wild habitats. However, wildlife diseases are equally devestating

One major factor contributing to decline in species population happens to be infectious diseases in wildlife. As in any ecosystem, there are organisms that greatly differ in size, shape, level of organization as well as impact; and microorganisms including viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites naturally coexist with other higher species. Diseases in the wildlife are common but what has changed in the past few decades? There has been a significant rise in emerging infectious diseases in wildlife which has led to spilling over to livestock and humans, Covid 19 being the most recent one. This is why we need to help counter the illegal wildlife trade.

Emerging Infectious Wildlife Diseases

Emerging Infectious Diseases (EIDs) are defined as diseases that have recently increased in incidence or geographic range, recently moved into new host populations, recently been discovered or caused by newly evolved pathogen. Depending on interaction of factors, different organisms can become resistant hosts, dead end host, spill over host or maintenance host. Wildlife reservoirs have been identified to be the cause of several zoonotic diseases (diseases transmitted from animal to human) like plague, rabies and tularaemia. The recent spike in zoonotic diseases can be attributed to anthropogenic activities.

The anthropogenic activities can broadly be classified into two types- human encroachment into wildlife and increased popularity of wildlife. The first factor is an issue that we have been witness to for centuries. Humans have since time immemorial moved around and claimed land to be theirs and more recently destroyed natural habitats. It is the leading cause of wildlife decline and is an issue that needs to be tackled. Strict laws protecting lands and specific species from both habitat loss and illegal hunting and wildlife trade are vital to combating this. This increased interaction of man with wild has resulted in spilling over of pathogens to both livestock and humans.

Reverse zoonosis can also occur wherein, diseases can be transmitted from humans to animals. Examples of this includes from humans to captive elephants, which also go a horrendous plight. The second factor which includes increasing interest and popularity of wildlife is interesting as it has both negative and positive effects. On the bright side, with more awareness and information about wildlife, disease monitoring and detection is done which was not a common phenomenon in the years before. At the same time, wildlife tourism only encourages interaction between man and wild, which must be limited.

What are some implications of wildlife diseases?

Wildlife diseases are a cause of concern for both mankind and wildlife. In the wild it has resulted in massive reduction in populations. In the last 50 years there has been a steady increase in wildlife mortality due to infectious diseases. This can pose serious challenges to wildlife conservation efforts. A few diseases that have caused drastic reduction in species numbers are chytrid fungus, chronic wasting disease, fibropapillomatosis, severe kidney disease of vultures and sea star wasting disease.

Fibropapillomatosis

Fibropapillomatosis also referred to as FP is a viral disease seen in turtles. It causes formation of cauliflower like tumours anywhere on the body of the turtle including eyes and mouth. They can even be formed on internal organs. The disease manifests in mild and severe cases. In sever cases it can lead to debilitation and ultimately death. The disease has been observed to commonly affect green turtles. Emerging sometime in the 1800s, it first appeared in scientific literature only in 1938. It gained attention in the 1980s when there was increased occurrence of the disease in endangered green turtle populations.

Chytrid fungus

Chytrid fungus or Amphibian chytridiomycosis is a fungal disease seen in amphibians, especially frogs. It can be fatal to them. Beginning in the 1970s, the disease spread globally and brought to light how diseases in wildlife can be a major threat to biodiversity. Chytridiomycosis is caused by two species, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis and Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans. Both the species are native to South Asia but got introduced to other countries through global trade of amphibians for food, pet, or research animals. This disease appears as a skin disease and the frogs later die of heart failure. In total, the fungi have driven at least 501 amphibian species to decline and has led to the extinction of at least another 90 in the wild.

Chronic Wasting Disease

Affecting deer, elk, reindeer, sika deer and moose, chronic wasting disease is a prion disease that is found in some areas of North America, including Canada, Norway and South Korea. It is a neurological disease and can take up to year for the animals to manifest any symptoms. It is a disease of concern as the transmission is direct animal to animal and there is no treatment or cure for the same. It shows 100% fatality rate. Between 1988 and 2006 deer abundance declined by 45% due to chronic wasting disease.

Severe Kidney Disease

This is an example of transmission of disease from livestock to wildlife. The disease is seen in vultures. Diclofenac a commonly used anti-inflammatory agent and painkiller for animals has led to the death of several vulture populations that feed on animals medicated with the same, as they are highly toxic to vultures.

Sea star wasting disease

Since 2013, large number of sea stars have been dying due to a disease called sea star wasting disease. It is caused by a virus. Usually, lesions appear on the ectoderm, and they essentially disintegrate. Their limbs crawl on the ocean floor and eventually die. This disease has been exacerbated due to human induced climate change. Sea stars are extremely important predators in intertidal ecosystems and transmission of disease can lead to rapid decline in populations.

Awareness of these emerging wildlife diseases is extremely important for several reasons including, public health, wildlife conservation, climate change and equilibrium in different ecosystems. Information on diseases and the impact it has on native wildlife population can help devise conservations schemes and plans to rehabilitate these vulnerable species.

Help us Help Them! Think Wildlife Foundation is a non profit organization with various conservation initiatives. Our most prominent campaign is our Caring for Pari intiative. Pari is a rehabilitated elephant at the Wildlife SoS Hospital. 25% of the profits from our store are donated to the elephant hospital for Pari. Other than buying our wonderful merchandise, you could donate directly to our Caring For Pari fundraiser. Written by Manasa Ramesh

Originally published at https://thinkwildlifefoundation.com on November 14, 2022.

[askthescp-4050-instances]

Laws in America probably caused by Adrian

Alabama It is illegal to drive a car blindfolded. Bear wrestling matches are prohibited. It is illegal to impersonate a person of the clergy. It is illegal to maim oneself to escape duty. You must have windshield wipers on your car. You may not have an ice cream cone in your back pocket at any time. It is illegal to sell peanuts in Lee County after sundown on Wednesday. Dominoes may not be played on Sunday. It is illegal to wear a fake moustache that causes laughter in church. Putting salt on a railroad track may be punishable by death. Boogers may not be flicked into the wind. It is legal to drive the wrong way down a one-way street if you have a lantern attached to the front of your automobile. No person may spit on the floor of a church. It is illegal to bike, roller-skate, skateboard, or inline skate in a commercially zoned area.

Alaska While it is legal to shoot bears, waking a sleeping bear for the purpose of taking a photograph is prohibited. It is considered an offense to push a live moose out of a moving airplane.

Arizona Hunting camels is prohibited. Any misdemeanor committed while wearing a red mask is considered a felony. There is a possible 25 years in prison for cutting down a cactus. It is a Class 2 misdemeanor if one places a mark upon a flag which is “likely to provoke physical retaliation”. It is illegal to manufacture imitation cocaine. When being attacked by a criminal or burglar, you may only protect yourself with the same weapon that the other person possesses. It is unlawful to refuse a person a glass of water. You may not have more than two dildos in a house. No one is permitted to ride their horse up the stairs of the county court house. One must be 18 years old to buy spray paint.

Arkansas It’s strictly prohibited to pronounce “Arkansas” incorrectly. Oral sex is considered to be sodomy. Alligators may not be kept in bathtubs. It is illegal to kill “any living creature”. No one may "suddenly start or stop" their car at a McDonald's. It is considered disturbing the peace if you honk near a sandwich shop after 9:00 PM. Flirtation between men and women on the streets of Little Rock may result in a 30-day jail term. It is unlawful to walk one’s cow down Main Street after 1:00 PM on Sunday.

California You may only throw a frisbee at the beach in Los Angeles County, CA with the lifeguard’s permission. Sunshine is guaranteed to the masses. It is a misdemeanor to shoot at any kind of game from a moving vehicle, unless the target is a whale. No vehicle without a driver may exceed 60 miles per hour. Bathhouses are against the law. Nobody is allowed to ride a bicycle in a swimming pool. You are not permitted to wear cowboy boots unless you already own at least two cows. It is illegal to spit, except on baseball diamonds.

Colorado One may not mutilate a rock in a state park. It is illegal to ride a horse while under the influence. Tags may be ripped off of pillows and mattresses. Throwing missles at cars is illegal. Establishments which sell alcohol must have enough lighting to read text inside them. Catapults may not be fired at buildings. It is legal to challenge a police officer, but only until he or she asks you to stop. It is illegal to permit ones llama to graze on city property. Boulders may not be rolled on city property. It is illegal to bring your horse or pack mule above the ground floor of any building.

Connecticut Town records may not be kept where liquor is sold. You can be stopped by the police for biking over 65 miles per hour. It is illegal to discharge a firearm from a public highway. It is unlawful to walk backwards after sunset. Only white Christmas lights are allowed for display. You aren’t allowed to cross a street while walking on your hands. You may not educate dogs. The use of a bean whistle in public is prohibited. Silly string is banned.

Delaware “R” rated movies shall not be shown at drive-in theaters. One may not lay down on the beach at night. You may not change clothes in their car. It is illegal to have a picnic on a highway. No person shall pretend to sleep on a bench on the boardwalk.

Florida The state constitution allows for freedom of speech, a trial by jury, and pregnant pigs to not be confined in cages. One may not commit any “unnatural acts” with another person. Unmarried couples may not commit “lewd acts” and live together in the same residence. Corrupting the public morals is defined as a nuisance, and is declared a misdemeanor offense. It is illegal to sell your children. Oral sex is illegal. If an elephant is left tied to a parking meter, the parking fee has to be paid just as it would for a vehicle. Penalty for horse theft is death by hanging. It is illegal to sing in a public place while attired in a swimsuit. Men may not be seen publicly in any kind of strapless gown. It is illegal to skateboard without a license.

Georgia You cannot live on a boat for more than 30 days during the calendar year, even if just passing through the state. The term “sadomasochistic abuse” is defined so broadly, that it could possibly be applied to a person handcuffing another in a clown suit. All sex toys are banned. It is illegal to use profanity in front of a dead body which lies in a funeral home or in a coroners office. Signs are required to be written in English. All citizens must own a rake. If you want to read your favorite book in public to your friends, do it before 2:45 AM. Goldfish may not be given away to entice someone to enter a game of bingo. Owners of mules may not allow their animal to roam around Athens unsupervised. Persons under the age of 16 may not play pinball after 11:00 PM. It is illegal for one to make a disturbing sound at a fair.

Hawaii Coins are not allowed to be placed in one’s ears.

Idaho You may not fish on a camel’s back. Riding a merry-go-round on Sundays is considered a crime. Residents may not fish from a giraffe’s back. If a police officer approaches a vehicle and suspects that the occupants are engaging in sex, he must either honk, or flash his lights and wait for three minutes before approaching the car. Bicycles are not allowed in the tennis courts. The carrying of concealed weapons is forbidden, unless some are exhibited to public view.

Illinois It is forbidden to fish while sitting on a giraffe’s neck. Kites may not be flown within the city limits. It is forbidden by law to eat in a place that is on fire. It is illegal to hang “obstructions” form the rear view mirror, including fuzzy dice, air fresheners, GPS units, etc. In the Pullman area, it is illegal to drink beer out of a bucket while sitting on the curb. It is illegal to give a dog whiskey. It is legal to protest naked in front of city hall as long as you are under seventeen years of age and have legal permits.

Indiana Anyone 14 or older who profanely curses, damns or swears by the name of God, Jesus Christ or the Holy Ghost, shall be fined one to three dollars for each offense, with a maximum fine of ten dollars per day. State government officials who engage in private duels can be dismissed from their post. Mustaches are illegal if the bearer has a tendency to habitually kiss other humans. Hotel sheets must be exactly 99 inches long and 81 inches wide. It is illegal for a man to be sexually aroused in public. One may not sniff glue.

Iowa It is a crime to use a dead person’s handicapped parking sign or license plate. Kisses may last for no more than five minutes. It is a violation of the law to sell or distribute drugs or narcotics without having first obtained the appropriate Iowa drug tax stamp. Horses are forbidden to eat fire hydrants. One must obtain written permission from the City Council before throwing bricks into a highway. All softball diamond lights must be turned off by 10:30 PM.

Kansas Rabbits may not be shot from motorboats. It is illegal to drive one's car through a parade. No one may sing the alphabet on the streets at night.

Kentucky Dogs may not molest cars.

Louisiana You will be fined $500 for sending people a surprise pizza “Fake” wrestling matches are prohibited. Spectators at a boxing match may not mock one of the contestants. You can be jailed for up to ten years for stealing an alligator. It is illegal to rob a bank and then shoot at the bank teller with a water pistol. Biting someone with your natural teeth is “simple assault,” while biting someone with your false teeth is “aggravated assault”. It is illegal to gargle in public places. It is illegal to shoot lasers at police officers. One may not “dare” another to go onto railroad tracks owned by another. It is illegal to steal a “movable” even if it classified as an “immovable”. Rituals that involve the ingestion of blood, urine, or fecal matter are not allowed. One could land in jail for up to a year for making a false promise. Every time a person is seriously burned, he must report the injury to the fire marshal. Prisoners who hurt themselves could serve an additional two years in jail. No one may pour a drink out on the ground at any drive-in movie.

Maine You may not step out of a plane in flight. After January 14th, you will be charged a fine for having your Christmas decorations still up. Strolling down the street while playing a violin is against the law. No person may roller skate on a sidewalk. It is illegal to expectorate from any second-story window. It is illegal to park in front of Dunkin Donuts. Dog leashes may not be over eight feet in length. Advertisements may not be placed in cemeteries.

Maryland It’s illegal to take a lion to the movies. You may not curse inside the city limits. It is illegal to use profane language on a playground. Persons may not swear while on the highway. Citizens may not swim in the public fountains within the city limits.

Massachusetts It is illegal to give beer to hospital patients. Shooting ranges may not set up targets that resemble human beings. At a wake, mourners may eat no more than three sandwiches. Quakers and witches are banned. Bullets may not be used as currency. Taxi drivers are prohibited from "making love" in the front seat of their taxi during their shifts. No gorilla is allowed in the back seat of any car.

Michigan Persons may not be drunk on trains. It is illegal to kill a dog using a decompression chamber. It is legal for a robber to file a law suit, if he or she got hurt in your house. Any person over the age of 12 may have a license for a handgun as long as he/she has not been convicted of a felony. Couples are banned from "making love" in an automobile unless the act takes place while the vehicle is parked on the couple’s own property. Willfully destroying your old radio is prohibited. It is illegal to let your pig run free in Detroit unless it has a ring in its nose.

Minnesota It is illegal to stand around any building without a good reason to be there. A person may not cross state lines with a duck atop his head. It is illegal to sleep naked. Citizens may not enter Wisconsin with a chicken on their head. Airplanes may not be landed in city parks. Placing tacks on a sidewalk is considered a public nuisance.

Mississippi No one may bribe any athlete to “rig” a game, match, tournament, etc. One may be fined up to $100 for using “profane language” in public places.

Missouri Minors are not allowed to purchase cap pistols, however they may buy shotguns freely. It shall be unlawful to provide beer or other intoxicants to elephants. No person may have a “yard sale” in their front yard. No person may own a PVC pipe.

Montana It is illegal to have a sheep in the cab of your truck without a chaperone. No person shall raise pet rats. It is illegal to bring a bomb or rocket at city council proceedings. Bands who play in clubs where alcohol is served may not leave the stage while performing. It is illegal to use speed-dial in the city phone system. Worrying squirrels will not be tolerated. It is illegal to annoy passersby on sidewalks with a revolving water sprinkler. The game of “folf” may not be played at night. No item may be thrown across a street.

Nebraska Drivers on mountains should drive with caution near the right hand edge of the highway. (There are no mountains in Nebraska) It is illegal to fly a plane while drunk. It is Illegal to go whale fishing. It is illegal for bar owners to sell beer unless they are simultaneously brewing a kettle of soup.

Nevada It is illegal to sit or lie down on sidewalks It is illegal to drive a camel on the highway. It’s still “legal” to hang someone for shooting your dog on your property. An ordinance makes bringing a concealable fire arm into the county illegal unless it is registered with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. Benches may not be placed in the middle of any street.

New Hampshire You cannot sell the clothes you are wearing to pay off a gambling debt. At White Mountain National Forest, if a person is caught raking the beaches, picking up litter, hauling away trash, building a bench for the park, or many other kind things without a permit, he/she may be fined $150 for "maintaining the national forest without a permit".

New Jersey Handcuffs may not be sold to minors. It is illegal to wear a bullet-proof vest while committing a murder. It is illegal to delay or detain a homing pigeon.

New Mexico "Idiots" are banned from voting Nudity is allowed, provided that male genitals are covered. Women may walk in public topless provided they have their nipples covered. Hunting is prohibited in Mountain View Cemetery. You may not carry a lunchbox down Main Street.

New York It is against the law to throw a ball at someone’s head for fun. The penalty for jumping off a building is death. During a concert, it is illegal to eat peanuts and walk backwards on the sidewalks. Eating while swimming in the ocean is prohibited.

North Carolina Oral sex is considered a crime against nature. It’s against the law to sing off key. It is a felony to steal more than $1000 of grease. It is illegal to have sex in a churchyard. Persons in possession of illegal substances must pay taxes on them. Organizations may not hold their meetings while the members present are in costume. Bingo games may not last over 5 hours unless it is held at a fair. Serving alcohol at a bingo game is not allowed.

North Dakota Playing bingo while drunk is a Class 2 misdemeanor. You cannot shoot fireworks after 11 PM. Beer and pretzels can’t be served at the same time in any bar or restaurant.

Ohio It is illegal to mistreat anything of great importance. No civil arrests may be made on Sunday or on the Fourth of July. Illegal to sell dyed chickens. It is illegal to get a fish drunk. Participating or conducting a duel is prohibited. If one loses their pet tiger, they must notify the authorities within one hour.

Oklahoma One may not promote a “horse tripping event”. It is illegal for the owner of a bar to allow anyone inside to pretend to have sex with a buffalo. It is against the law to read a comic book while operating a motor vehicle. Fish may not be contained in fishbowls while on a public bus. People who make “ugly faces” at dogs may be fined and/or jailed.

Oregon It is illegal to go hunting in a cemetery. Drivers must yield to pedestrians who are standing on the sidewalk. One may not test their physical endurance while driving a car on a highway. It is illegal to place a container filled with human fecal matter on the side of any highway. Babies may not be carried on the running boards of a car. A door on a car may not be left open longer than is necessary. An adult may not show a minor any piece of classical artwork which depicts sexual excitement. It is illegal to buy or sell marijuana, but it is legal to smoke it on your own property. Juggling is strictly prohibited without a license. It’s illegal to walk down a sidewalk and knock a snakes head off with your cane. You cannot eat a doughnut and walk backwards on a city street.

Pennsylvania It is contrary to Pennsylvania law to discharge a gun, cannon, revolver or other explosive weapon at a wedding. It it illegal to sleep on top of a refrigerator outdoors. Dynamite is not to be used to catch fish. A person is not eligible to become Governor if he/she has participated in a duel. Ministers are forbidden from performing marriages when either the bride or groom is drunk. No more than two packages of beer at a time may be purchased, unless you are buying from an official “beer distributor”. Persons convicted of felonies may not operate Bingo games.

Rhode Island Cap guns are illegal. Ropes may not be strung across a highway. No one may bite off another person's leg. Any marriage where either of the parties is an idiot or lunatic is null and void. It is considered an offense to throw pickle juice on a trolley. It is illegal to wear transparent clothing.

South Carolina It is a capital offense to inadvertently kill someone while attempting suicide. You cannot play pinball if you are a minor. A permit must be obtained to fire a missle.

South Dakota It is illegal to lie down and fall asleep in a cheese factory.

Tennessee It is illegal to share your Netflix password. It is illegal to to post images online that cause emotional distress without legitimate purpose. Any person who participates in a duel may not hold any public office in the state. Giving and receiving oral sex is still prohibited by law. You can’t shoot any game other than whales from a moving automobile. Hollow logs may not be sold. It is illegal to use a lasso to catch a fish. “Crimes against nature” are prohibited. The definition of “dumb animal” includes every living creature. It is illegal to place tacks on a highway. Skunks may not be carried into the state.

Texas You cannot sell a human eye. A felony charge can be levied for promoting the use of, or owning more than six dildos. It is illegal for one to shoot a buffalo from the second story of a hotel. Wire cutters can not be carried in your pocket. It is against the law to throw confetti, rubber balls, feather dusters, whips or quirts (riding crop), and explosive firecrackers of any kind. It is illegal to possess realistic dildos.

Utah No one may have sex in the back of an ambulance if it is responding to an emergency call. It is illegal to detonate any nuclear weapon. Alcohol may not be sold during an emergency. It is illegal to cause a catastrophe. Throwing snowballs will result in a $50 fine.

Vermont It is illegal to deny the existence of God.

Virginia You cannot go trick-or-treating if you are over 12 years old.

Washington The harassing of Bigfoot, Sasquatch or other undiscovered subspecies is a felony punishable by a fine and/or imprisonment. It is illegal to attach a vending machine to a utility pole without prior consent from the utility company. X-rays may not be used to fit shoes.

West Virginia Whistling underwater is prohibited. For each act of public swearing a person shall be fined one dollar.

Wisconsin It is a class A misdemeanor to wave a burning torch around in the air.

Wyoming Using a firearm to fish is strictly forbidden.

[respectanimalrights]

#Repost @suffering4selfies #ahasave @ahasave —— About time South Africa! Let's hope this is just the beginning to really safeguard these gorgeous animals and make sure they can live freely in the wild. #suffering4selfies #banhunting #protectwildlife #lionsofinstagram #thelionking #lionsforever #wildlioness #lioness #pride Repost from @karmagawa In a seismic shift that will send shock waves through many areas of South Africa’s wildlife industry, the Cabinet has endorsed a report calling for the end of lion farming, captive lion hunting, cub-petting and the commercial farming of rhinos. In an unprecedented move to reposition South Africa as a world leader in wildlife conservation, the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries has called for the protection of iconic wild animals to be prioritized over commercial exploitation, and the introduction of legislation to end captive lion breeding. They found that the captive lion industry in South Africa posed risks to the sustainability of wild lion conservation, resulting from the negative impact on ecotourism, which funds lion conservation and conservation more broadly. They also found that the trade in lion parts was also stimulating poaching and illegal trade. Where this will be applauded by a tourism industry battered by the pandemic and worldwide criticism of canned hunting, it will be hotly contested by those involved in the exploitation of wildlife for reasons other than conservation. It’s interesting to note that currently there is no official definition of sustainable use in this regard, and this will undoubtably be the first battle. Please share this GOOD NEWS with your followers and tag people, celebrities, influencers and news media who ned to see and share it too because we need MANY MORE COUNTRIES TO prioritize wildlife over money! Caption/photos by @chancellordavid @bloodlionsofficial @bornfreefoundation #conservation #hunting #trophyhunting #stopthekilling #southafrica #karmagawa https://www.instagram.com/p/COvotqFhATd/?igshid=1aq59gvb91a8u

[orbemnews]

The Price They Pay for Your Perfect Vacation Photo It took nearly three months, but Jody Pinder eventually succeeded. Endangered green sea turtles, usually shy, skittish and satisfied with a diet of sea grass and algae, were accepting handouts of squid that he and other local tour operators were providing at Bottom Harbor in the Bahamas. “If you don’t feed them, they won’t come close enough for you to see them and photograph them,” Mr. Pinder said. Before the pandemic, Mr. Pinder and others had been selling this assured adventure to a booming population of tourists. Day after day, boats would flock to Bottom Harbor and tourists would hop into its shallow turquoise waters holding squid morsels in their hands or on wooden skewers. The turtles would then grab the snacks as the visitors snapped Instagram-worthy images. Those who don’t take care sometimes find themselves getting bitten by the aquatic animals, who may mistake human toes and fingers for another snack. The practice is known as provisioning, and it’s an easy meal for the shelled creatures. But conservation biologists have expressed concern in a number of recent published scientific studies about what this food source means for the physical well-being and natural behavior of not just these turtles, but other marine creatures, from tiny reef fish to giant sharks. “This situation exemplifies one of the biggest challenges in conservation science,” said Owen O’Shea, executive director of the Center for Ocean Research and Education in the Bahamas. “We’re often addressing issues that have already started and we’re playing catch up.” Many experts argue that in marine environments, such feeding practices are poorly regulated, presenting risks for wildlife that are already in decline. When humans ease the energy-intensive process of seeking food for wild animals by frequently offering them grub, it can facilitate habituation. That can make animals less guarded around humans, and lead to other damaging behaviors. Although some conservationists have successfully lobbied to end provisioning at certain sites, to feed or not to feed continues to be a dilemma at others. Free meals with a covert price tag It’s no surprise that the wildlife tourism industry has time and again turned to provisioning wildlife. “From a commercial point of view, what wildlife tourism requires is the ability to sell an experience where you can reliably sight or interact with the wild animals,” said Mark Orams, a professor of marine recreation and tourism at the Auckland University of Technology. “Provisioning allows that to occur.” Local communities and economies in many countries are surely benefiting from wildlife tourism that uses provisioning. But most conservation biologists would describe the feedings as dangerous to the health and safety of wild animals. In marine environments, such provisioning herds species — that would otherwise roam large swathes of the ocean alone — close together. “Suddenly a very independent and solitary animal is in close contact with everybody else, which means it’s easier for them to get infected with parasites or viruses,” said Valeria Senigaglia, a marine biologist at Australia’s Murdoch University. It also encourages wild animals to eat regularly rather than intermittently, and sometimes discourages tracking and hunting of prey. Habituation, aggression and loss of fear toward humans typically follows, which could endanger the animals. Janet Mann, a marine biologist at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., who has witnessed this behavior among dolphins, doesn’t support such provisioning. “Humans have a strong urge to feed wild animals in their environment,” Dr. Mann said. “Sometimes we think we’re doing them a favor, but not necessarily.” National or local laws that ban feeding wild animals can serve as deterrents. In the United States, for example, feeding marine mammals constitutes harassment under the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act. But ongoing illegal feeding of dolphins by local and recreational boaters and tourists in Florida’s Sarasota Bay, for instance, indicates challenges with enforcement. In the Philippines, a country that typically attracts over eight million tourists a year, recent national legislation bans the feeding of whale sharks, the world’s largest species of fish. But the law sometimes clashes with local wildlife welfare rules that only broadly prohibit harassment, without specifically mentioning provisioning. Scars and selfies Villagers in Tan-awan, on Cebu Island in the Philippines, manage the world’s largest whale shark tourism destination. Hand-feeding this globally endangered species with shrimp is central to the operation. Although whale sharks had been spotted in the region, they didn’t historically gather near the village’s coast until 2011. Local fishermen may have used shrimp to lure these underwater giants away from baits used on their fishing lines, which could have inspired tour operators to use similar tactics beginning around that year to attract the gentle filter feeders for visitors’ enjoyment. Since then, the industry has boomed. The local government has created an interaction site 160 feet offshore. There, in a cordoned area the size of almost 12 football fields, fishermen feed the whale sharks and tourists swim or dive to take selfies with the fish. But there are rules: no motorized boats, and only designated fishermen can feed the animals every morning within the buoy-marked boundary. There are also limits on how many people can interact with a single whale shark and how close they can get to it. Touching or riding these animals is prohibited, and a visitor’s time in the interaction area is limited to 30 minutes, while a sea warden keeps guard. Between 2012 and 2018, this provisioning site lured over 400 whale sharks and tourist numbers spiked to over 500,000 from 98,000, generating millions of dollars in yearly revenue. But there’s a price that many whale sharks pay. Researchers at the Philippines’ Large Marine Vertebrate Research Institute found scars on 144 of 152 whale sharks they photographed from 2012 through 2015 near Tan-awan, possibly from contact with ropes, small boats or propellers. At the interaction site, they found some whale sharks spending six times longer in the warm surface waters and performing deeper dives toward the end of the feeding session, possibly to cool down — a behavior that could affect their long-term fitness. Also, despite the many rules, the researchers observed poor compliance from many tourists who moved too close to the whale sharks. Some even touched the animals. The research team has proposed several solutions, including limiting daily tourist numbers and raising ticket prices. Restricting the feeding to a select set of whale sharks could also help. But they also warn that modifying an activity that brings income to a once extremely poor community is complicated. Regulated feeding that’s unlikely to stop At Monkey Mia in Western Australia’s Shark Bay, the state’s Parks and Wildlife Services staff use another regulatory approach to limit the provisioning of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins. Tourists are only allowed to feed two to five identified females — of the area’s thousands — that the bay’s managers track. These dolphins and their calves (who aren’t provisioned) typically visit a 300-foot section of beach, beyond which tourists line up for up to three feeding sessions each morning. Park rangers select some visitors to step knee-deep into the water and hand-feed the adults with the fish they provide. The rangers also limit these handouts to just 10 percent of a dolphin’s daily intake in order to dissuade food dependency. Otherwise touching or swimming with these animals is prohibited. Provisioning looked very different in Monkey Mia in the 1960s, when fishermen tossed unwanted catch or bait along shorelines. Into the 1980s, authorities did not regulate feeding by tourists near the shore or from boats. People touched the dolphins, fed them multiple times during the day and there were no limits on how much fish they were given. “In some ways it was fun for people because where else could you go and frolic around the water with dolphins and get them to play with you,” said Dr. Mann, who has been studying the Monkey Mia dolphins for about 40 years. Although feeding regulations were put in place in 1989, the 1994 deaths of three calves resulted in new rules in 1995 that are still in effect today. Since then, adult dolphins have cut their daily time at the provisioning site by over an hour. The early survival of their calves also substantially improved after 1995, possibly because nursing near shore waters was challenging for mothers. “When a baby dolphin feeds, it needs to go underneath the mother,” Dr. Senigaglia said. “With no space in shallow waters, the dolphin can’t nurse.” Even with these rules in place, compared with the calves of non-provisioned mothers, these baby dolphins received less maternal care and foraged more. Also, the survival benefits recorded among these calves waned at the juvenile stage. But that is unlikely to halt the feeding at Monkey Mia, Dr. Mann said. The site attracts nearly 100,000 tourists every year and millions of dollars in ticket sales. It also provisions only a handful of animals, while offering an avenue to get people interested in dolphin biology and conservation. Unlike the Australian dolphin site, many more locations have unregulated feeding. At some of them, government agencies and conservation organizations have worked together to halt provisioning. At Laganas Bay off Greece’s Zakynthos Island a few years ago, local tour boat operators tossed tomatoes, oranges and other fruits and vegetables into the sparkling blue waters to entice loggerhead turtles. Tourists waited for the turtles to come to the surface, and then took photos and touched them. In the harbor, some fishermen also provisioned these primarily carnivorous turtles, collecting tips from onlookers whom they encouraged to touch the turtle’s head and flippers. “This is totally inappropriate,” said Panagiota Theodorou, a conservation coordinator at Archelon, the sea turtle protection society in Greece. “Then animals start being aggressive to humans.” She came across social media posts of several swimmers who got bitten by the region’s turtles. Ms. Theodorou and her colleagues worked with the local coast guard to raise awareness about the issue among tour operators and tourists. They wrote letters and issued news releases to explain the downsides of such provisioning. The coast guard also issued strict warnings to tour companies to discontinue the feeding or risk fines. The provisioning seemed to have ceased in 2018. Thinking beyond the short-term Back in the Bahamas, Dr. O’Shea and Fee Smulders, a marine ecology graduate student at the University of Wageningen in the Netherlands, observed the provisioned green turtles were also aggressive toward each other when competing for food. By mounting cameras on five fed turtles and studying hours of video footage, they noted that the otherwise solitary animals were resting in groups in shallow waters. “If you have high densities of turtles, then one day a shark could show up,” Ms. Smulders said. “That could be dangerous for tourists.” But in the absence of regulation, the provisioning will likely persist. Mr. Pinder, for instance, has no plans to halt sea turtle feeding at Bottom Harbor. If turtle populations were to decline in the future, he says he would reconsider. For now, though, deviations in natural turtle behavior recorded by scientists don’t seem compelling to him. But Dr. Orams at Auckland University of Technology said there should be priorities in addition to making money. “The evidence is so clear that when we deliberately provision marine animals as a tourist attraction, the long-term implications are never good.” Source link Orbem News #pay #perfect #photo #price #vacation

[extremefrontierssa]

SA government to take action against captive lion hunting and breeding In a move aimed at improving South Africa’s wild lion conservation, and the country’s tarnished ecotourism reputation, the Ministry of Forestry and Fisheries and Environmental Affairs will take action against the breeding, hunting and trade of captive lions. On 2 May the department’s Minister Barbara Creecy released the report of a high-level panel that was appointed to review policies, regulatory measures, practices and policy positions that are related to hunting, trade, captive keeping, management and handling of elephant, lion, leopard and rhinoceros. In her announcement she said the panel identified that “the captive lion breeding industry poses risks to the sustainability of wild lion conservation resulting from the negative impact on ecotourism, which funds lion conservation and conservation more broadly, the negative impact on the authentic wild hunting industry, and the risk that trade in lion parts poses to stimulating poaching and illegal trade”. The panel recommended that South Africa does not breed lions in captivity, keep lions in captivity, or use captive lions or their derivatives commercially. “I have requested the department to action this accordingly and ensure that the necessary consultation in implementation is conducted,” said Minister Creecy. This will include action against the sale of captive lion derivatives (such as lion bones destined for the Asian market); the hunting of captive bred lions; tourist interactions with captive lions (including, so-called voluntourism and cub petting) Dr Louise de Waal who represents the conservation organisation Blood Lions which has long campaigned against the captive lion industry said they are extremely happy with the Minister’s decision to bring an end to the commercial captive lion breeding industry. “The only effective way to safeguard both people and animals throughout this industry is to conduct a phased shift away from commercial captive predator breeding operations”, de Waal said. “These steps will not only ensure improved welfare conditions for captive lions and other big cats, health and safety of the public at large (at South Africa) https://www.instagram.com/p/COqWk0hh7aY/?igshid=my2cknvhprzk

[lucalicatteart]

Some random info about blood in Nanyevimi..

Particularly on the topic of the collecting and selling of it in the realm, attempts to regulate the industry, implications of it, reasons against the practice, etc. (info under read more, even though this is an extremely short post compared to others it’s still in that weird in between length where it’d be just slightly too long if posted fully I guess lol) 

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The concept of blood in the supernatural realm has always been complicated. Many scholars and cultures theorize that it itself, has supernatural properties and something to do with the nature of magic, while others (which is a more common view) claim that though some blood can indeed have magical properties, that is more reliant on the already existing magical aspects instilled in the person themselves by their soul/magic/etc (as there’s still debate as to where precisely magic comes from and what indicators are present on a physical or tangible level). Some people believe all bloods to have differing special properties depending on the species, and some say they’re all virtually the same with little difference, especially when you look at them under scientific examination.  But despite the various beliefs and cultural systems in Nanyevimi all having their own unique relationships with and conceptualization of the idea of blood, and how it should (or shouldn’t) be used, there has always been a (rather small) market for the distribution and collection of it. 

 There are ethical concerns with the mass collection of blood, as despite there being humane ways to collect it, in an industry as unregulated and largely spread out across the world as it is, it can be hard to ensure that that was the case. 

In addition, most species have a huge list of incompatibilities and harmful effects that can occur due to the mixing or accidental consumption of blood. Which is one of the things that has lead some people to believe blood contains magical properties in the first place, as it can have such varied reactions in others. Even if, when examined in a lab two bloods have seemingly no large difference (like obviously blood will vary by species and all blood has normal variations in it, but I mean like.. it's not like you'll compare two of them and one is of such absurdly different composition that you're unsure if it's even blood, etc. Most of them seem fairly in the same range, and there are no currently recognizable properties that correlate with or account for the differences that have been noticed in blood, etc. ), they may still have wildly varying effects in certain applications, hinting at some sort of undetectable inherent properties.  Not to mention all the other various health concerns that arise from improper storage and handling, etc.   

Due to this, it is illegal in many countries in Nanyevimi to collect blood for non-medical purposes, and especially to buy and sell it (with exceptions for Navyete of course as the population (vampires/avirre'thel) literally needs it to survive, but they have their own extensive laws and hugely strict cultural ceremonies and conditions surrounding it, leading to it being highly regulated there and limited to the native population/species). Though of course people find a way to do it anyway.   

Some people collect blood as a form of unofficial research, to use it and examine it, for whatever reason an amateur at home scientist may want to examine blood (like for example, certain small groups of hobbyists who are determined to research and document and test the limits of every known species in the world, but would rather not be subject to the ethics laws of working officially so they just run a lab out of their basement and try to hunt down different people from various species and convince them to come have tests done (or kidnap them, depending on the.. particular attitude of the amateur scientist in question)).   

Others collect it more as a sport, given how many different species and subspecies there are in the world, some (this is like a ridiculous rich person thing lol...like, nobody would give a shit to do this if they weren’t some combination of bored, rich, and lacking empathy for the general population that isn’t like them) people seek to collect samples from them all, making rare or endangered species’ blood incredibly valuable (and again like.. not animals.. like.. very conscious living humanoid beings.. hence the claim that they’re detached from the humanity of others. Stalking and hunting down groups of people like animals just so you can get a blood sample is.. Freak Behavior). This is different from the science hobbyists, in that they don’t want to study them and don’t care about discovering rare evolutionary branches or secret capabilities, they legit just see it as a cool game, like collecting all trading cards in a set and then bragging about it to their other bored and rich friends.   

The most popular reason to acquire blood however, would be to consume it as a delicacy (these are like a sub-category of the 'bored rich idiots', who happen to be more gullible and are convinced it has magical properties. Like, rich fools who are willing to spend tons of money on blood samples because some other vaguely less foolish rich person manipulated and scammed them by claiming that it would give them good luck or get them high or help make them fertile or something), and probably a majority (about 65%) of the underground blood market is for this purpose. People trying to get their hands on different blood from the most obscure or important species, thinking that consuming it will help them in some way or give them bragging rights or that it will just taste different than the others*, and is similar to trying a new fancy food or sampling different wines at an upscale restaurant (but it's USUALLY still out of them thinking it will do something for them. Even a lot of the people who claim they just like sampling and want to try all different types are always, secretly hoping to themselves that they’re going to unlock secret magic from it or something lol)

 *(interestingly though, kind of similar to how some wines in our world have been proven to be this way, most people actually can not distinguish any difference between the different blood of humanoid species. It’s all the placebo effect at best, and pseudoscience peddling blood sellers actually tampering with the blood using magic to give it fake flavors at worst. The only species ever verifiably and reliably proven to be able to detect a distinction between types of blood (in humanoid creatures and animals alike) are the Avirre’thel (which is interesting since perhaps they have a rare ability to actually pickup on some of the aforementioned ‘undetectable magical properties’ or something), but like anyone else who says they can is probably just… a silly rich person tricking themselves into thinking it was wise to spend $20,000 on a rare blood sample from a dingy black market blood shop ) 

 Ironically, the Avirre’thel/vampires, the only species in existence that literally requires consumption of the blood of living beings to survive (so has the best excuse out of everyone to participate in these things), are one of the main combatants of this industry, partially due to the cultural traditions they’ve built up around similar concepts, leading them to see this treatment of blood as highly disrespectful and also grossly irresponsible (especially due to them often having to interact with various human populations be incredibly careful about it, and also being pretty much experts in things like blood sensitivities, what species are compatible/incompatible, basic cross species/cross cultural standards of respect and communication, how to interact safely with those from other areas without starting conflict, etc etc. They have some of the highest standards in the world for all things of that nature (given they have thousands of years of forced experience with it), and they see stuff like this as like absurdly inappropriate and not at all in accordance to how things like this Should be handled). They see it as not only insulting to them (given the significance of blood in their culture), but more importantly, reckless and dangerous to everyone else as well, given how serious of matters are being tampered with and the potential harmful effects that a lack of knowledge and regulation can bring. A deep respect for blood and a cautious reverence for the lives around them is so deeply ingrained in their culture that, despite being probably one of the biggest groups that could stand to gain from an entirely unregulated blood market, they're actually some of the most strongly opposed to it.  

The industry has especially flourished in (or basically has entirely relocated to, as it’s one of the only places where it’s actually legal) Mippya (another reason the Avirre’thel are often involved, given it’s so close to them and… the.. cursed Fanyin elves on their bullshit again), as it is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the supernatural realm (and the least regulated which makes it particularly popular for.. certain types of people).  Blood selling is one of the most prominent forms of “tiri gyeddania” ( meaning ’hidden tourism’ or ‘unseen tourism’, aka any broadly illegal activities/items/etc. that tourists regularly show up to do/purchase,  since Fanyin/Mippya have virtually zero ‘human rights’ or any sort of system that would regulate anything involving other people) that they are known for. Most efforts on an international level to regulate the industry, and warnings from groups like the main council of Navyete and etc., have gone pretty ignored in Fanyin and Mippya, to the delight of weird basement scientists and gullible rich supernatural folk that like to drink overpriced likely fake** blood in underground caves to feel elite and cool about themselves.

  (**often it’s just bird blood labeled as elf blood since nobody can tell the difference. While some buyers are adamant about actually having proof or seeing a living source (which is often, worse and more expensive since, generally implies kidnapping and keeping people captive as living proof of where the blood came from),  a majority of people still are just like… taking a shady vendor’s word for it lol)

[loyallogic]

Overlooked and frequently violated animal welfare laws

This article is written by Aarushi Gupta. 

The chink in Indian Animal Welfare laws armour is applicability of the regulations on stringent grounds. The ultimate consequence is that people don’t take cognizance or are oblivious of the laws. The articles sheds light on the spheres which are commonly not brought to the table by media or the functioning authorities. 

We need to au fait with the fact that the world is full of sorrows but individuals recognize the ones which are showcased and put forward to us. Against this backdrop, individuals commiserate or sympathize when incidents like physical harm on animals, hunting/ poaching, experimentation on animals, caging of animals, sacrificing of animals for religious purpose, etc. occur. However, majority of them fail to take under consideration that animals suffer torment and pang in many other situations which we don’t even fathom. Voluminous laws have been framed which take into account such cases. But stumbling block arises when such commandments are either not taken into deliberation or they are applicable at many incidents, yet laws have not been interpreted in such a manner. 

Broadly five spheres are covered that is slaughter houses, dairy animals, pet animals, street animals, use of animals in religious rituals. These are the realms where laws are often violated and people come in interaction with animals. This is the brief glimpse,  how in daily walk of life, individuals end up violating laws, land/apartment owners cannot ban their tenants dwellers to keep a pet at home; mandatory following of stunning procedure in slaughterhouses; how throwing garbage on road not only does it violate cleanliness laws but also attracts animals laws; the practise of using horse in the marriage, etc.

Slaughter house

People propense that under Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Slaughter House) Rules, 2001 destruction of any animal for the purpose of food is permissible and under section 28 of Prevention to Cruelty Act, 1960 (PCA), to kill any animal in a manner required by the religion of any community is not an offence. However, to shed some light at one more instance, people turn their back when it comes to the end number of laws, acts that have been constituted to protect animals going through agony and throb, before they are slaughtered.

According to Bharatiya Cattle Resource Development Foundation, New Delhi against 3,600 legal slaughterhouses in the country there are 32,000 illegal ones. The heart of the fuss behind this is that when these illegal slaughterhouses do not have license, they don’t have any legal permissions like NOC for waste management, pollution management etc. Moreover, common illegal practices include cramming animals into severely crowded trucks–which routinely causes suffocation and broken bones – marching animals to the place of sacrifice, and breaking their tails and beating them to keep them moving. It is jarring to note that according to the recent report of Food Safety and Standards Authority (FSSAI) of India, 40% of registered slaughterhouses failed in compliance with the slaughterhouse rules. 

These reports are further corroborated by the Centre Pollution Control Board which highlighted that “Most of the slaughter houses in the country are very old and still in primitive condition. These units operate with inadequate basic amenities such as proper flooring, water supply etc.”. This paves to reach the conclusion that how animals are being kept in suffocated, unhygienic conditions and they have to go through unnecessary pain or suffering which is in violation of Section 11 of the PCA (which deals with the cruelty imposed on animals).

The health and condition of the animal is also very important. Animals that are pregnant, has an offspring less than three months old, is under the age of three months, has not been certified by a veterinary doctor that it is in a fit condition to be slaughtered are ineligible for slaughtering.

Another issue which merits scrutiny is the mental trauma, pain which livestock go through because slaughterhouses hunker down the legal procedure which needs to be followed before and during the process of killing. According to Food Safety and Standards Regulations, 2010-Part IV, it is mandatory that no animal is slaughtered before the process of stunning and the system is well in place and effectively functional. Stunning can be affected through asphyxiating the animals with carbon dioxide, shooting them with a gun or a captive bolt pistol, or shocking them with electric current to make them unconscious. This is done in order to reduce pain, anxiety, fear amongst the animals. Addition to this there should be a separate space for the same and slaughtering of one animal cannot be done in front of another.

Even well-established slaughterhouses are ignorant or unacquainted with this procedure. In August 2016, a scrutiny of the Ghazipur slaughterhouse– which is said to be one of India’s largest run by a municipal corporation– was conducted by Satya Sharma, the Mayor of the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) and it reported that stunning procedures are not being followed and they were being treated in inhumane manner. Animals are slaughtered by untrained workers who slit their throats with dull knives. 

These are hardly some reports which are brought to the table. It can be easily contemplated that if such wretched, pitiful conditions are present in registered slaughterhouses (which are a minuscule percentage) then what would be the environment in unregistered slaughterhouses. The laws were formulated with a bang but resulted in a whimper.

Religious ritual of horse/elephant riding 

There is a presence of blatant estrangement between the pleasure of a person and an animal. The prevalent religious rituals where horses and in some cases, elephants are rented for wedding barat has entrenched fissures for these naïve creatures. They are seethed with an unbearable pain. 

Their miserable journey sets on right from the morning where they have to walk for 20-50kms for the venue. By the time they reach the venue, they are exhausted but then they are dressed. The saddle which is placed is a heavy throne and the groom along with his nephew sits on the horse. The music and the band are played at high decibel levels (animals are sensitive to sounds). The horse handler uses spoked bites which are made of iron chain and this rips apart the tongue and makes the gum bleed. According to the inspection done by Delhi Police and animal protection institution named PETA,  as many as 50 spoked bites were stumbled upon.

The parlous situation which they have to endure where they are beaten, kept in unhygienic, small shed, over-loaded comes in for a special attention. According to a report by the National Research Centre on Equines (NREC) a lot of horses that were used in marriage ceremonies are infected with Glanders, a fatal equine disease. The reason behind this was the abysmal conditions in which they were kept. The diesease spread through the swelling below the jaws, infectious diseases from wounds. 

Under Section 11(1) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, no person for any purpose can use any spiked stick or bit, harness or yoke with spikes, knobs or-projections or any other sharp tackle or equipment which causes or is likely to cause bruises, swellings, abrasions or severe pain to the animal. Even in the landmark judgment Animal Welfare Board of India v. A. Nagaraja and Ors 2014 laid down that every species has the right to be treated with compassion and dignity, free from unnecessary pain and suffering. It recognised five fundamental principles of animal welfare– (1) freedom from hunger, thirst and malnutrition; (2) freedom from fear and distress; (3) freedom from physical pain and discomfort; (4) freedom from pain, injury and disease; and (5) freedom to express normal patterns of behaviour.

Through sporadic efforts, courts have targeted their guns at this instance. In Mumbai a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed by Animal and Birds Charitable Trust (ABCT) in 2011, and a verdict was passed where horse-driven carriages/victorias chariots were banned. The agrarian distress which these animal goes through cannot be fathomed and there need to be the strict following to the rules and regulations laid down.

         Click above

Pet Animals

The viability of a pet being contented and exultant is quite bleak in India. Majority of the pet owners have two different strands of thought before and after their purchase. Pets have been always suited to the whims and fancies of humans. The discussion will be based on two broad arenas which is dogs, cats and birds as these are the major part of pet world. Primarily, let’s have a cursory look on dogs and cats. All animals in a puppy mills suffer however the parent dogs normally called ‘breeding stock’ endure cruelty all their lives. The females are repeatedly forced to mate and after 8 years when they can no longer breed, they are abandoned. The females suffer from several illness such as distended vaginas, clogged teats, etc.

To hunker down such diseases Section 5(3) of Prevention-of-Cruelty-to-Animals-Dog-Breeding-and-Marketing-Rules-2017(PCADM) states that no female dog should be exploited to produce litters in two consecutive seasons. They are kept in filthy and unhygienic conditions and are confined in small cages. The puppies are separated from their mothers at a very young age (20-40) days and as a result they have weak immunity. Females are also forced to mate to those who they are related, which means their brother or even children which is referred as inbreeding or incest breeding and it is in violation to the Section 6(3) of PCADM. All such gross incidents are taking place overtly. Recently Animal rights body PETA India on alleged that online portals OLX and Quikr are selling puppies under eight weeks old which is in violation of Section 8(a) of PCADM.

Most of the dog breeders are in the dark and inconsiderate of the fact that to ensure a smooth life for pets they sell,  under Section8(g)(5) of PCADM it’s the breeder’s responsibility to keep track of all the pets sold and check their progress rate at least once in a year. People get swoon away and end up in buying a pet without realising the responsibilities which they have to hold. They are kept in close confinement, most of the time leashed, isolated, fails to provide sufficient food, water. According to report by Times of India, 90% of the people are not kind to animals and over 60% of these animals die. Under Section 11(g) and Section11(h) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act a person cannot keep his pet tethered or chained upon an unreasonably short cord or chain for unreasonably long time. Moreover, they should be provided with sufficient basic amenities. 

These pet owners act as proverbial villains when they abandon them for irrational and irreconcilable reasons. To cite an instance, where a three-year-old Pomeranian was found abandoned with a letter attached to its collar in Thiruvananthapuram. In the note, the owner said that they are fed up with the pet’s “illicit relationship” with a dog in the neighbourhood and they have no option other than abandoning it. Such are the vague reasons presented. 

On one hand there is an exponential upsurge in the number of customers purchasing pets and on other hand there is an equal upswing of pet owners shredding the life of their dogs and cats. In fact, a report by Times of India states that Mumbai saw a double fold increase in pet abandonment. And According to Abhinav Srihan, Fauna Police member and animal rights activist, says at least one pedigreed dog is abandoned in the Capital every day. Under Section 11(i) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, a person without reasonable clause cannot abandon any animal which tender it likely that it will suffer in pain by reason of starvation or thirst.

Furthermore, many people prefer to keep birds as pets as it proves out to be less expensive. The Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, prohibits the birds that are listed in Schedule IV of the Act and keeping them as pets can invite a jail term of up to six years or a fine of over Rs 5,000.

Notwithstanding of these laws,  300 species of birds are openly sold in markets which includes mynhas, parrots, peacocks and parakeets. Parrots comprise of 50% birds trade in India. According to a report by Times of India parrots mostly include Indian hanging parrot(lorikeet) and the rose ringed parakeet which are not allowed to be kept as pets according to the Schedule IV list number 39 and 50 respectively. As per statistics provided by Forest Department in 2018,  more than 2,000 birds were rescued form Coimbatore in last 3 years.

These are the glimpse of some landmark cases which turned the sad pages of birds history. In the case of People for Animals v. M D Mohazzim & Anr, held that: birds have fundamental right to live and they cannot be subjected to human cruelty by keeping them in cages. In Muhammadbhai Jalalbhai Serasiya v. State of Gujarat, held that to keep birds in cages would tantamount to illegal confinement of the birds which is in violation of right of the birds to live in free air/sky.

Street Animals

Ominous clouds have gathered over our street animals which are casting shadows of malady and sorrow. Individuals nit-pick when some wayward people hit street animals, burst crackers, or perform any explicit reckless behaviour. Though all these actions are unlawful (under Section 428 of Indian penal code, whoever commits mischief by killing, poisoning, maiming or rendering useless any animals or animal of the value of the ten rupees or upwards, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both) and gain sympathy of public in large, however we often neglect other aspects of viciousness behaviour to street animals.

Majority of the general public offer food to cows, dogs, etc. in polythene or similar material. Along with the food they also consume the polythene which is toxic to them and does not bode well for their body. Cows which ingest plastic are not able to eat proper food after that. Moreover, according to the report by The Hindu, main reason behind increase in stray dog numbers in Kerala is the careless waste disposal methods, frequently dumped in sacks by poultry traders and meat shops. This could result in fatal diseases and disorders such as anorexia, starvation, constipation, and may be finally death,  According to the report of Blue Cross India 90% of the cows in Chennai have plastic waste in their guts. What is more to add here is that when people litter around the garbage,  on which street animals feed poses far reaching deadly health consequences. In the last five years, magistrates caught 87,784 people found littering in Delhi– on the spot. Statistics show that in five years, challans were issued to 55,929 people for throwing solid waste in drains. In India, 80 % of total plastic consumption is discarded as waste and official statistics say the country generates 25, 940 tonnes of plastic waste daily. At least 40% of this waste is uncollected. 

Not only does littering in itself is a punishable offence under sections 269 (Negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) and 270 (Malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) of the IPC but also this deed attracts some more violation of legal provisions. Feeding an animal in this manner or littering around paves way to consumption of toxic, harmful food substances by these creatures. Such kind of food acts as a slow poison. It is a kind of injury: when such food material is provided then it paves for end number of diseases as mentioned above and they are tortured as they have to endure unnecessary pain. Thus, a person can be charged under Section 11(a) for unnecessary suffering or pain to the animals according to Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. 

Dairy Animals

Across the length and breadth of the country, livestock or pre-dominantly dairy animals are seethed with agrarian distress and unbearable pain. In India, many individuals deploy the ammunition that killing of animals for food is torturous but this line of reasoning will begin to crumble, when the mayhem situations which dairy animals go through will be covered in this article. Though the pervasive illegal use of chemical Oxytocin has been frequently brought to the table which is injected for production of more milk and causes hormonal imbalances, cancer, etc., however other arenas are not looked upon.

At the outset, animals are impregnated repeatedly at least once in a year. People commit heinous offence when they separate the calf as soon as after birth or even after just 3-4 days. These calves are offered limited suckling and substitute of milk constituents and such practises are unlawful under Section 14(i) Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of livestock market) Rules 2016[PCAR]. Moreover, their mothers agitatedly call them and they suffer mental trauma. Calves are tied with the short ropes and their mouth is tied so that they cannot cry. 

The former chairperson of Amul admitted that each year in Mumbai 80,000 calves are put to death. According to a report by PETA,  buffaloes in metropolitan cities like Delhi and Mumbai are kept in unhygienic condition lying around their excreta, suffering from skin infections,  etc. When such developed cities have such miserable conditions then it could be easily estimated the state of other places. Keeping animals tethered on a short rope for unreasonable period, under thirst or starvation, inadequate ventilation is in violation of Section 15 of PCAR.

Furthermore, these animals are poorly fed and, on many instances, they are left on streets, leading to an unhealthy diet. Section 19 of PCAR describes that animal should be provided with adequate and wholesome amount of food, water after each cycle of 6 hours. Individuals are completely oblivious of the recent laws where painting horns, decorating animals through objects and ornaments, tying ropes around penis,  casting animals on hard ground without adequate bedding (during farriery), nose-cutting or ear slitting or cutting by knife or hot iron marking for identification purposes other than by veterinarian, tying nose bags as feeding troughs is in violation of the PCAR act under Section 14.

Conclusion

Although, on one hand India has one of the finest animal welfare laws but on other hand the fauna of our country is highly prone to cruelty and harassment. In recent years, certain arenas have been addressed but many other issues are neglected upon. This article aimed to put forward such derelict occurrences. Furthermore, statistics, figures have been mentioned to conclude that how in large scale such instances are taking place and yet no action has taken place.

Besides that, the penalty and punishment which is imposed is far less than the offences which are committed. Such lacunas need to be filled to reduce such offences.

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[poop4u]

CBD Oil for Dogs

#poop4u #dogs

The post CBD Oil for Dogs by Elizabeth Anderson Lopez appeared first on Dogster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren't considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Dogster.com.

CBD dispensaries have popped up in many states all over the country in people’s hunt for wellness. But CBD oil can also be used to help dogs with anxiety and other issues. What is CBD and how does it work? And, will it give your dog the munchies? First, let’s define some of the terms that can be confusing.

“Cannabidiol, also known as CBD, is a cannabinoid — a naturally occurring compound found in both hemp and cannabis (cannabis is also referred to as marijuana),” says Jodi Ziskin, director of communications with Treatibles in Petaluma, California.

Hemp and marijuana are “Both members of the Cannabis sativa plant and share similarities but have very distinct differences due to each plant’s biological structure,” says Jon Neveloff, partner with King Kanine in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Consider that a rice cake and rice pudding are from the same plant but quite different.

“CBD is one of hundreds of compounds found in cannabis. It is the most prevalent compound in hemp, a special strain of cannabis that has only trace amounts of THC, the substance in medical and recreational strains of hemp that is associated with psychoactive effects,” says Joey DiFrancesco, CEO and founder of LolaHemp in New York City. This is crucial because THC can be toxic to pets. (For more THC specifics, see “Why the Farm Bill Matters” on page 38.) “CBD is non-psychoactive,” Joey adds. It won’t get your dog high in any way.

Hemp Oil vs CBD Oil

Both CBD oil and hemp oil come from the same plant, but CBD oil comes from the flowers, leaves and stalk of the hemp plant, while hemp oil comes from the seeds of industrialized hemp plant.

Hemp oil is a nutritional supplement full of nutrients that can be used in cooking and for moisturizing — like in soaps or lotions. It has a variety of other manufacturing uses, such as making plastic and as a bio-diesel fuel.

CBD oil is a supplement used for medicinal purposes, like treating various conditions, such as inflammation and anxiety, among others.

Help for anxiety

Many owners report benefits to using CBD oil for dogs, and CBD oil has been recommended to assist with many ailments that plague our furry friends, including anxiety.

“The most common conditions that relate to anxiety include location and separation anxiety, as well as noise phobias,” says Annie Chrysler, CBD specialist and product manager with SpaRoom based in Cleveland, Ohio. “For example, CBD oil can provide noticeable relief to dogs who demonstrate car ride anxiety or who experience anxiety when visiting the veterinarian’s office. CBD oil can also provide noticeable relief for dogs who have noise sensitivities such as fireworks and thunderstorms.”

Amanda Howland, co-founder and CTO of ElleVet Sciences in Portland, Maine, explains further. “Pain and anxiety are so interrelated in dogs that we wanted to have both a profound anti-anxiety effect and an extremely effective pain management effect, to help the pet feel better in every way.”

Angie Krause, DVM, with Boulder Holistic Vet in Boulder, Colorado, says in her experience CBD is consistently effective for treating dogs with mild to moderate anxiety. “For severe generalized anxiety, I have more success with drugs like Prozac,” she adds.

So how does it work? It’s based on science; the same science that explains how CBD works with man and man’s best friend, who have some biology in common. That’s because all mammals have an endocannabinoid system (ECS.)

CBD can help keep your dog calm around other animals. Photography by: ©chendongshan | Getty Images

Jillian Dutson, marketing and advertising manager with Pet Releaf, based in Littleton, Colorado, explains. “When your dog consumes CBD, his ECS is activated. The ECS works as a two-way communication system with various systems in the body such as the immune, nervous and digestive systems just to name a few. This two-way communication allows these parts of the body to speak to one another to help them function at optimal levels of health.”

And there’s more to it: “Although further studies are needed, initial findings show that CBD binds to a number of endocannabinoid receptors,” says Lauren Brychell, marketing coordinator with cbdMD in Charlotte, North Carolina. “These receptors regulate everything from inflammation to pain perception, and CBD has shown the ability to potentially raise dopamine levels and improve mood while reducing symptoms of anxiety.”

Speaking of studies, “Most of the research done on cannabidiol, indeed cannabis writ large, has taken place outside of veterinary research, which is not uncommon, as vet research typically lags behind human medicine,” Joey says.

More benefits and dosage

There are many common uses for CBD oil in dogs, other than anxiety. “I use CBD for dogs with seizures, arthritis, cancer, pain, chronic inflammation and allergies,” Dr. Krause says.

Joey, too, cites success in using CBD for the Big C. It can “Shrink tumors in several types of cancer both because it appears to have antitumorigenic properties of its own and because it appears to enhance the effectiveness of some chemotherapy agents.”

CBD oil has also been used to treat the following ailments:

Sleep issues

Vomiting and nausea

Muscle spasms

Glaucoma

Digestive issues and appetite loss

Skin conditions

As with any supplement or medication, getting the correct dose is crucial. Many of the manufacturers state dosing suggestions should be determined based on each dog’s individual stats and condition. Some suggest generic guidelines as a starting point: 1 mg per 10 pounds of body weight twice a day; Dr. Krause recommends 0.5 mg/kg of CBD twice daily for anxiety.

Of course, always get input from your dog’s vet on any treatment. “First, many symptoms that CBD may help with can be an indication of a deeper and more serious medical problem that needs to be treated,” Joey says. “Second, CBD oil can interfere with the metabolization of other drugs (in a similar way that grapefruit does). Third, the answer to dosing questions is dependent on what condition is being addressed.”

And don’t assume you and Fido are in for a quick fix. “While some dog owners may notice an immediate difference in their pet, we suggest waiting two to three weeks to see the full effects,” Lauren says.

Giving to your dog

Whatever the dosage, you have a couple of options on how to administer CBD oil: topically or ingested. But which is better?

“The answer ultimately depends on the individual dog,” Annie says. “More commonly, topical application can provide a more localized sense of relief, such as pain relief in the hips and legs. Ingesting can provide a broader sense relief, such as separation anxiety relief.”

Angela Ardolino, founder and CEO of CBD Dog Health in Tampa, Florida, lists other conditions that lend themselves to direct applications. “It has incredible benefits for skin issues, including allergies, hot spots, bug bites, skin tumors, warts and cysts when applied topically,” she says.

If you do decide to go the oral route you have more choices here, too. According to Angela, “The best way to administer CBD is to lift the dog’s lip and administer it right onto the gums (it is absorbed through capillaries in the gums).” Putting it under the tongue is also common. CBD oil can be mixed in with your dog’s food or treats made with CBD oil.

It may come down to what your dog — and wallet — prefer. “The oils and treats that I use in the practice have the same hemp extract in both,” Dr. Krause says. “The oil is more cost effective.”

Why the Farm Bill Matters

In December 2018, President Trump signed the much anticipated 2018 Farm Bill into law. Whether you’ve got a city dog or a country dog this is something that can affect dog owners everywhere regarding CBD. In short, the Farm Bill officially legalizes cultivating and producing industrial hemp and removing the crop from the federal list of controlled substances.

The Farm Bill helps lit restrictions off of CBD production. Photography by: ©CaraMaria | Getty Images

That last part may also free up your veterinarian to be able to discuss CBD oil more in depth with you. The Federal Drug Enforcement Administration named cannabis and cannabinoid products as Schedule I controlled substances, with no accepted medical use. That hindered veterinarians’ ability to administer or prescribe them. Some vets opted not to talk about CBD as a treatment because of these restrictions.

“Now that the Farm Bill has passed, I believe this will not be an issue moving forward,” says Angie Krause, DVM, with Boulder Holistic Vet in Boulder, Colorado. “Hemp is legal at a federal level, and each state will decide how they want to regulate hemp. If a state declares hemp illegal, it may limit the veterinarian’s ability to prescribe or discuss hemp/CBD.”

The Farm Bill will:

Define industrial hemp broadly to cover all parts of the Cannabis plant including seeds, derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, etc. as long as it has a THC level of 0.3 percent or less.

Remove hemp completely from the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).

Make the USDA the sole federal regulatory agency overseeing hemp cultivation.

Authorize and fund hemp research as part of the Supplemental and Alternative Crops program and the Critical Agricultural Materials Act.

Regarding that research, Heidi Hill, Holistic Hound founder and trained homeopath in Berkeley, California, says, “We are thrilled with this victory … This decision will also fund and allow long-overdue research into the many health and wellness benefits of this amazing plant.”

A final look at terminology

Some manufacturers tout CBD isolate while others say full spectrum is better. Here’s the difference and an industry professional’s take on each:

Full spectrum, or whole plant, CBD contains all other cannabinoids found in the marijuana plant, including minute amounts of THC. “[Full spectrum] contains all the beneficial constituents of the whole plant, including other cannabinoids, terpenes, flavonoids and fatty acids. These naturally occurring components all work together for enhanced benefit and what is called ‘the entourage effect,’” says Heidi Hill, Holistic Hound founder and trained homeopath in Berkeley, California.

CBD isolate is purified CBD that has been extracted from the marijuana plant and isolated, hence the name, from the other cannabinoids. “Our knowledge about CBD and its benefits are well-established, but we are just beginning to learn about the possible benefits of other compounds in the hemp plant. To claim the benefit of a full spectrum product over CBD itself, is premature,” says Joshua Sosnow, DVM, chief medical officer of CompanionCBD and owner of Arizona practices North Scottsdale Animal Hospital and Desert View Animal Hospital.

Know the facts about CBD to keep your dog healthy and relaxed. Photography by: ©Getty Images

Sharing pros and cons

If you have other pets at home with similar conditions, they may also benefit from the same product your dog uses — with different dosages, of course. “There is a big difference in dosing for dogs and cats,” Amanda says. “Cats are not small dogs! The half-life in cats is extremely short, meaning they metabolize it very quickly. We have very specific dosing for dogs and for cats based on science.”

According to Colette Florido, founder and president of CR Pets Thrive in St. Petersburg, Florida, says, “A high-quality CBD product will work equally well for both cats and dogs. The main difference you’ll find between options for cats and dogs is what other flavors are combined with the CBD, knowing that each pet has their preferences.”

Some CBD products for cats come in catnip or fish flavors, while beef or peanut butter flavors are used for dogs.

The most important part about sharing CBD oil is to never share products made for humans with your dog or any other pets. “It is vital to make sure that the oil you are buying is not just a human product with a paw print on the label,” Angela says. “Human products may contain artificial flavoring, like xylitol, that is toxic to dogs.”

Joey gave a flavor-specific example of toxicity. “Wintergreen oil, which is perfectly fine for people and probably won’t bother a dog, is potentially toxic to cats. It is commonly found in CBD products made for people.”

There is much more research to be done on using CBD oil for your dog but hopefully you now know more about how it works and how it might help. And just to confirm: CBD oil won’t give your dog the munchies. If your dog is craving Scooby snacks, it has nothing to do with a supplement.

CBD QAFs

Nope, not FAQs, these are Questions to Ask Frequently when looking for quality CBD for your dog.

Make sure to ask the right questions to keep your dog safe! Photography by: ©vitalytitov | Getty Images

Jon Neveloff, partner with King Kanine in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, says, “The most important question is: Are there lab results on this bottle of CBD? If so, what are they testing for?”

“Know where the hemp is grown,” recommends Angie Krause, DVM, with Boulder Holistic Vet in Boulder, Colorado. “U.S. hemp grown organically is preferred. Extraction technique is very important. For cats, I prefer CO2 extraction. This ensures there are no harmful chemical residues. A guaranteed analysis should be available from the manufacturer to quantify the concentration of CBD in each ml.”

Colette Florido, founder and president of CR Pets Thrive in St. Petersburg, Florida, says to “ask to see the company’s certificate of analysis (COA) and lab tests. If the company can’t or won’t [share it], do not buy. It means they don’t test for pesticides, solvents, mold, yeast and E. coli. An ethical CBD company will proudly show you their COA.”

Jillian Dutson, marketing and advertising manager for Pet Releaf, in Littleton, Colorado, suggests you ask these questions when comparing CBD products:

Where is their hemp grown and can they prove it?

If claiming organic, do they have the necessary certifications to verify these claims?

How much CBD is in their products and do they have consistent third-party testings to confirm these amounts?

Jodi Ziskin, director of communications with Treatibles in Petaluma, California, adds these:

Does the milligram count on the label reflect the amount of hemp oil or does it include the carrier oil(s)?

Is the company a National Animal Supplement Council (NASC) member and are they fully compliant with their packaging and marketing?

“We bought and tested about 20 different products we got from pet stores and online, and out of the 20, none had what was advertised on the label and some had no CBD at all,” said Amanda Howland, co-founder and CTO of ElleVet Sciences in Portland, Maine. “Pet owners need to be careful and research the company.”

Thumbnail: ©Teran Buckner | Phido Photography

About the author:

Elizabeth Anderson Lopez is an award-winning writer based in Lake Forest, California. She and her husband have many pets, including two English Bull Terrier rescues named Dexter and Maybelene. You can contact her at fromconcepttocontent.com.

Learn more about dog health care at dogster.com:

Treating Separation Anxiety in Dogs

Dog Seizures: What Causes Them and How Should They be Treated?

7 Means of Dog Anxiety Treatment

The post CBD Oil for Dogs by Elizabeth Anderson Lopez appeared first on Dogster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren't considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Dogster.com.

via www.Poop4U.com Trippy.Tube, Poop4U

[timeclonemike]

The Last Machine: Technology

For a summary of the setting as a whole, click HERE.

For a summary of the Chimera Virus and its impact, click HERE.

For details on the population of Lost Eagle County, click HERE.

For an overview of the magic system used in the setting, click HERE.

Broadly speaking, the technology in Lost Eagle Country doesn’t compare to the technology common in The World That Was, even after a hundred years of rebuilding. To be fair, a lot of that time was spent simply trying to survive, especially the first decade or so. Likewise, the discovery and study of magic is also a major concern that takes up a considerable amount of time, resources, and popular imagination. Another factor is that the raw materials that would be needed for a major industrial boom just aren’t there, at least not anymore; in the early days, different communities doubled down on recycling the scrap and junk leftover from The World That Was because it was readily available, but that only lasted so long.

Agriculture: The age of monoculture crop has come and gone, and any genetically modified food crop that was not able to survive on its own or breed true over multiple generations has long since gone extinct. Lost Eagle Country lives on a varied and complex diet of grains, vegetables, fruit, fish, and poultry, much of it from small gardens and greenhouses. The largest farms are found in and around the Human town of Millstone, where the terrain and the soil are both more amenable to large fields and larger farming machinery; while tractors in the traditional sense of traction engines can be found doing heavy work all over, Millstone is the only place that people are likely to see combination harvesters. On the other hand, using magic to improve soil quality and ward off pests has helped make up for lack of fertilizers and pesticides, and yields tend to be consistent from year to year... one of the biggest reasons that the Invader has his eyes on Lost Eagle Country, actually.

Communication: Most of the people in Lost Eagle Country get their daily dose of news and gossip from some sort of newspaper or newsletter, supplemented by radio broadcasts. All of the largest settlements have at least one paper and usually two, which are competitors vying for readership. Radio transmitters and stations can be found in Postville, Elsie, Romero and Arcadia. The paper for the newspapers comes from various plant fibers, and tends to be recycled one way or another. Printed books are often made the same way, but the more valuable books have pages made from a more durable “mineral paper” created from aluminum silicate clay, which is more resistant to fire, moisture, insects and rot. (This also makes it useful for a lot of other purposes, include packaging and food preservation.) As of 2125, there is no direct equivalent to the electronic infrastructure of The World That Was in Lost Eagle Country... yet.

Heavy Industry: Factories are rare in Lost Eagle Country, owing to the limited amount of materials that can be fed into them in a timely manner, as well as the limited number of customers for the finished product. There are a few exceptions, based around local skills and natural resources. The Mt. Glory Freehold features a blast furnace and steel mill, Elsie has a number of sawmills and lumberyards, Millstone has vertically integrated every level of textile production when it comes to plant fibers, Elsie and Romero both have extensive dockyards and harbors (for different types of ships), Romero and Millstone both have canning facilities to preserve food for shipping, and the Postville Powder Works produces the best, most reliable gunpowder for miles around. Beyond that, the most extensive widespread industry is either construction, or the creation of construction equipment, and none of it is intended to build anything taller than five or six stories anyway. Most consumer goods are produced on-demand by local craft workshops, from furniture to cookware to home appliances. When any community in Lost Eagle Country has a big project going on, they often have to commission the appropriate materials from producers in every other community, all to the same dimensions and standards.

Power Generation: For better or worse, none of the people of Lost Eagle Country are sitting on a lot of fuel. This has made them pretty inventive by necessity, and some solutions were easier and more obvious than others. Mt. Glory and Mt. Humble have pretty strong winds and are good spots for windmills, and Millstone and Romero are both in the idea place to harness rivers for water power. (In fact, that’s what gives Millstone its name.) Postville, however, rapidly exceeded the capacity of the nearby river to provide power and in the end, the city basically ripped off the solar power plant that the Beastkin built in the Banshee Desert to power Arcadia. Metal mirrors focused sunlight on a heat exchanger, boiling water into steam for piston engines and turbines. While useless during bad weather or at night, these solar steam plants were so effective that they became the most common power plant for a lot of heavy machinery, including the combination harvesters of Millstone; after all, if the weather was wet, the harvesters wouldn’t be out in the field anyway. For overnight or rainy day power needs, these power plants are used to pump up hydraulic accumulators; massive pressurized reservoirs that could be used to keep turbines spinning and generators humming. While not every single private residence is electrified, every major town (with the exception of Romero, since their alchemical work can be disrupted by too much light pollution) is lit up at night by shielded arc lamp streetlights.

Medicine: Pharmaceutical science in Lost Eagle Country is far behind the level of sophistication of The World That Was. A few antibiotics have been rediscovered, including penicillin, but antibiotic resistance has become the norm rather than the exception among microbial pathogens. Painkillers are the most common medicinal compound available, and most of them are derived from recreational plants that were illegal or at least restricted a hundred years before. On the other hand, diagnostic knowledge and instruments are common, ranging from the humble stethoscope and otoscope to much larger Fluoroscope and X-Ray Photography machines. Sterile conditions for surgery are possible, along with precision surgical instruments and the anesthesia needed to put patients under. Healing magic and alchemical potions have filled in most of the gaps left by the loss of advanced drugs, and in a few areas have exceeded them in utility and application.

Textiles: Cotton is the most common natural fiber grown in Lost Eagle Country, primarily in Millstone where it can be rapidly harvested and processed through mechanization, from field to thread to bolt. Somewhat less common is wool, owing to the limited land suitable for raising large herds of livestock; the majority of all wool comes from herds kept in the hills or foothills near Dwarven freeholds. The actual animals raised for their wool range from sheep and goats to alpacas and llamas. It’s worth noting that some Beastkin have a considerable amount of wool that they have to shear off for the sake of comfort, hygiene, and temperature regulation, but the resulting fleece is not incorporated into the same textile processes as livestock. Part of this is justified by various chemical and mechanical differences in the fibers, but mostly it’s a cultural thing; most people think it’s “weird” and that’s being generous.

Transportation: Dragons build ships that sail the skies, and Gnomes build ships that sail the seas. Millstone, Postville, and Romero are all technically connected by waterways, but the current works against everyone half of the time, so roads were constructed to assist with moving people and trade goods. While steam powered vehicles created these roads, most of their traffic is self-propelled; bicycles are a common sight and are the most popular means of personal conveyance. For moving large amounts of goods, there are trucks and wagons powered by solar steam plants, but motorized land transport is the exception, not the rule; the smaller the vehicle, the harder it is to mount a solar plant on it. Plans did exist to connect Postville, Millstone, and Arcadia via railroads, but those plans were put on hold indefinitely as a result of the Invader’s threat.

Weapons: The Dwarves have a long and colorful history when it comes to weapons, and claim the best, most skilled gunsmiths among their populations. Outside of the freeholds, the most common firearms tend to consist of single shot, bolt action rifles for hunting and pump action or double barreled break open shotguns for defense. Pistols and handguns tend to be under powered in comparison to long arms, and are considered status symbols more than effective personal weapons. Of course, firearms are not the only way to fight an enemy in Lost Eagle Country; there are bows, crossbows, swords, axes, blunt instruments of every size and shape, and bare hands (or claws) without even getting into the martial applications of magic.

[ourartzoneblog-blog]

Marine Heads Blog: Salvaging Your Boat After a Hurricane Hits Hard

A Hurricane Doesn't Mean You Can't Salvage Your Boat

Raritan Engineering Company your marine heads experts would like to share with you these topics we thought would be of interest to you this month regarding how to salvage your boat after a hurricane hits hard.

With the remnants of Hurricane Florence now on the way out to sea and high waters still posing a threat in some regions, boat owners are starting recovery efforts. The BoatUS Marine Insurance Catastrophe Team began field operations on Sunday, Sept. 16, in the Carolinas. 

1. Get permission first. Your marine toilet specialists talk about how you never try to enter a storm-affected marina or boat storage facility without permission. Spilled fuel combined with the potential of downed electrical wires and a host of other hazards make them extremely dangerous places. Smoking is a big no-no. 

2. Remove valuables. If your boat has washed ashore, remove as much equipment as possible and move it to a safe place to protect it from looters and vandals.

3. Minimize further damage. Protect your boat from further water damage resulting from exposure to the weather. This could include covering it with a tarp or boarding up broken windows or hatches. As soon as possible, start drying out the boat, either by taking advantage of sunny weather or using electric air handlers. 

4. “Pickle” wet machinery. Engines and other machinery that were submerged or have gotten wet should be “pickled” by flushing with freshwater and then filled with diesel fuel or kerosene. 

5. Consult your insurance provider. If your boat is sunk or must be moved by a salvage company, BoatUS recommends that boat owners should not sign any salvage or wreck-removal contract without first getting approval from their insurance company. 

Your electric marine toilets distributors ask the question, “what kind of madman would intentionally pitch a perfectly good outboard engine over the side of his boat?” Yep, that would be me. But I haven't lost my mind, mechanical frustration hasn't made me go insane, and crazy thoughts haven't caused me to strand myself at sea. 

If your outboard gets submerged in salt water-whether it's because it jumped off the transom, your boat sank, or you got a bad case of butter-fingers while walking down the dock-you'll need to know how to get it up and running again, while also protecting it from an explosion of corrosion. The process is called “pickling.” 

Browse our selection of marine heads here at Raritan Engineering, where we only offer the best in marine sanitation supplies.

Motor M*A*S*H

Before giving my hapless horses the heave-ho, I've set up an emergency outboard operating center back at the house. No, most of us won't have the clairvoyance to do this before our engines get dunked, but we'll still need to start this process properly prepared-even if it means letting the engine soak longer than otherwise necessary. 

What should you do if you need to drive for an hour or more, to get your engine home? If at all possible, keep the motor submerged as you transport it. Depending on its size and weight you may be able to keep it in a large cooler filled with water, or some other form of make-shift tank. 

Start the process by showering the engine with fresh water. Don't worry about getting the components saturated-it's too late for that-just remember that a whole lot of freshwater in and on the engine is far better than a little bit of saltwater. 

Now, you need to get the water out of the rest of the engine. Remove the breather and the spark plug(s), and tilt the motor every which way you can to allow as much water as possible to escape. If your outboard is a four-stroke, this is also the time to drain off the oil and remove the oil filter.

The Big Flush

Now that you've washed away all the salt water and drained the engine of all fluids possible, you need to flush it out with diesel fuel. The diesel will displace any remaining water, and (hopefully) carry it all away. 

Once the engine is uber-filled, manually crank it over several times to distribute the diesel evenly throughout the cylinders. Then pull the plugs again, and let the diesel drain down. Replace the oil plug, put on a new filter, and then re-fill the engine oil.

Fine Brine

At this point, you can take a breath and slow down. You've done what's necessary to halt the corrosion, and the rest of the pickling process is a bit less time-sensitive. Your portable marine toilet suppliers talk about how you're not quite out of the woods yet.

Next, you're going to have to flush out all of the internal fuel lines. They may be just fine, but if a single drop of water got into them it'll lead to trouble. So disconnect them at both ends, flush them out into one of your buckets, and replace any in-line filters. If your engine has an internal fuel tank, drain and refill that, as well.

With the process completed on my Mariner, I waited a week to see if any internal corrosion would take hold, then cranked it over. Thankfully, it started and is still running strong today.

So don't forget these helpful tips when trying to salvage your boat after a hurricane hits. 1) Never try to enter a storm-affected marina or boat storage facility without permission;  2) if your boat has washed ashore, remove as much equipment as possible and move it to a safe place to protect it from looters and vandals;  and 3) engines and other machinery that were submerged or have gotten wet should be “pickled” by flushing with freshwater and then filled with diesel fuel or kerosene.

Amazing Moment Giant Grey Whale Plays With Boat And Its Passengers

Whales are pretty spectacular creatures, but usually best kept at something of a length.

After all, they're the largest animals on Earth and generally unconcerned about humans, so they can unwittingly throw their weight around. For this grey whale, however, there are no such problems with people – this one just wants to snug up and make friends. Watch the amazing video here.

It swims up right to the side of their vessel and allows the people to stroke it on its side, with one even leaning over and seeming to give the mega-mammal a little kiss.

They can grow to lengths just shy of 15 metres in length and weighs somewhere in the region of 36 tonnes, which is massive by anyone's standards.

Grey whales live predominantly in the northern Pacific Ocean, along the western coast of North America, though they also possess one of the widest migratory ranges of any animal on Earth and thus can be found across a huge swath of the Pacific Ocean.

Grey whales have been hunted by whalers – they only predators are humans and killer whales – although killing them is now broadly illegal.

Humans have also nearly eradicated the species from the eastern Pacific, where Japanese and Korean whalers have reduced their numbers to less than 200.

Whaling for grey whales is only allowed in very controlled circumstances and by aboriginal inhabitants of the North American Pacific Coast.

Alaska natives recently caused controversy by killing a grey whale under the impression that it was a Beluga whale, which they are allowed to kill

Buy a marine head here at Raritan Engineering, where we always take care of your marine sanitation needs.

via BoatUS: How to Recover Your Boat After a Hurricane

  via Outboard Overboard: Quick, Pickle It

via Amazing Moment Giant Grey Whale Plays With Boat And Its Passengers

[csnews]

Savannah’s dolphins still beg, but behavior decreasing

Mary Landers - September 22, 2018

Savannah’s dolphins are beggars.

Marine Sciences Professor Tara Cox learned this fact before she began work at the dolphin research lab at Savannah State University. On a break during her job interview in 2007 she went out on the water with some students. They didn’t get far before they encountered dolphins on Country Club Creek.

“The boat captain cut the motor and the dolphins came right up to the boat and started lifting their heads right up out of the water with their mouths open almost like Sea World,” she recalled recently from her office in the Savannah State Marine Science Building. “And the students were tapping on the side of the boat. The boat captain, not our current boat captain, and all the students were like, ‘Yeah this is what our dolphins do around here.’ I said, ‘No, they’re not supposed to, ... this isn’t normal.’”

Cox and lab have been documenting this behavior ever since, while trying to get the word out that feeding dolphins is bad for the animals and bad for people.

“I don’t want people to be afraid of dolphins but we have to respect our wildlife and know there are consequences beyond you having a good day feeding the dolphins,” she said.

“Your dolphins are crazy”

Cox had intended to focus her research efforts on strand feeding, when dolphins herd fish into shallow water or the shore as a hunting strategy. But the begging caught her attention, so she assigned graduate student Robin Perrtree to tag along on strand feeding research and document begging, too.

“I thought what I saw was a fluke,” Cox said of the begging that first day. “And I thought we’d see strand feeding all the time.”

The opposite was true. Strand feeding proved sporadic here but begging was rampant.

In 2010 the researchers saw dolphins begging or interacting with crab pots or shrimp boats — what they broadly termed “human interaction behaviors” — 85 percent of the summer days they were out on the water. A symposium at Savannah State that year brought together dolphin researchers who worked in places like Australia and Sarasota where dolphins were known to beg. Those researchers were skeptical about the prevalence of it here until they went out on the water.

“I will never forget when we got off boat that day they were like, ‘Whoa, we did not expect that,’” Cox said. ”‘Your dolphins are crazy.’”

The researchers define begging as a dolphin surfacing within 10 meters of a vessel with its chin up, head out of the water oriented toward the vessel. If the dolphin doesn’t have its head up and is merely on its side, it must be within 2 meters of the boat or dock to be considered begging.

Randy Wells was one of the researchers at the symposium. The director of the Chicago Zoological Society’s Sarasota Dolphin Research Project, he said dolphins’ behavior can be shaped in the same way a dog’s or a person’s can.

“The way they train dolphins under human care is they get a food reward for behavior the trainer wants to see again,” he said.

And they’ll keep begging even if it doesn’t always get them a meal, which is what seems to happen in Savannah.

“Intermittent rewards can keep the behavior going,” he said.

Help from the feds

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries program has long taken notice of Savannah’s dolphins. In 2007 and again in 2010 the program sent letters to marinas, as well as tour boat and charter operators in the area, emphasizing the law against feeding or harassing dolphins, which are protected under the Marine Mammals Protection Act.

In 2008 and 2009 officials from NOAA Fisheries including marine mammal biologist Jessica Powell personally visited commercial operators in the Savannah area, offering outreach materials they could share with their customers.

“We want to make sure everyone is well educated, that they know the law and have the opportunity to comply,” Powell said.

Researchers at Savannah State documented what seemed to be a dip in begging when they saw it at 40 percent of the summer days in 2013. But there’s not a clear downward trend, Cox said, as the number has hovered around 40-60 percent in subsequent summers.

An SSU researcher’s survey of attitudes about feeding dolphins revealed that 59 percent of residents agreed it’s both illegal and harmful. Nearly all the commercial operators – 95 percent – agreed. But that’s a relatively new idea. In 1988 a commercial “feed-the-dolphin” tour began operating out of Hilton Head Island, Savannah State researchers wrote in a 2014 journal article. It morphed into an observational tour after a 1993 court decision that feeding wild dolphins was a violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

Researchers say the harm to the dolphin comes in many forms, with both immediate and long-term consequences. For starters, the food they beg can be bad for their health.

“We have a picture of a person throwing a Dorito to a dolphin,” Cox said. And even if people are feeding them fish it can be contaminated with bacteria, especially if it’s been sitting out on a boat deck for any time.

Dolphins are intelligent, social animals and once one learns to beg its peers can imitate it. Babies learn to forage — or not — from their mothers.

Cox tells the story of a dolphin named Fall to illustrate the point. Fall and his mother were seen begging about a year before he was found dead on Tybee. Cox can’t connect his death directly to the behavior but the calf, who was about 3 when he died, had only half a tail fin and was emaciated. He’d been seen the previous winter with a cut over his blowhole. It’s possible his mother wasn’t teaching him to forage, Cox said, and that because he begged he frequently swam too close to boats.

It’s not a coincidence that, like Fall, many of Savannah’s dolphins have multiple scars. That happens when dolphins beg.

“Because they lose their natural wariness of boats they’re more at risk of boat strikes,” Powell said. “People think they can get out of the way but a lot of the time they can’t, especially if they’re distracted by a food hand out.”

Losing their wariness also leads to dolphins “stealing” bait off lines. They risk entanglement and ingesting hooks, which can be fatal. This “theft” behavior can also put them at odds with commercial or recreational fishermen. Powell said there’s been evidence of retaliatory acts in the Gulf, including a dolphin being shot and one seen swimming with a screwdriver in its head. People are also at risk from dolphins that lose their fear. Dolphins can bite people feeding them or swimming near them, leaving cuts prone to infection. The bottom line: feeding dolphins is a bad idea.

“There are a lot of different domino effects,” Powell said. “It’s illegal and it’s harmful.”

Dolphins are long-lived, the oldest recorded at 67 years, so their bad habits could take time to extinguish. In the meantime, the attitudes of Savannah area residents do seem to be changing.

“We still run across people who talk about feeding wild dolphins,” Cox said. “But it’s getting more to where people say, ‘When I was growing up we’d take a bucket of fish.’ I’d like to think the word is getting out.”

[marineparts1-blog]

Marine Heads Blog: Salvaging Your Boat After a Hurricane Hits Hard

A Hurricane Doesn't Mean You Can't Salvage Your Boat

Raritan Engineering Company your marine heads experts would like to share with you these topics we thought would be of interest to you this month regarding how to salvage your boat after a hurricane hits hard.

With the remnants of Hurricane Florence now on the way out to sea and high waters still posing a threat in some regions, boat owners are starting recovery efforts. The BoatUS Marine Insurance Catastrophe Team began field operations on Sunday, Sept. 16, in the Carolinas. 

1. Get permission first. Your marine toilet specialists talk about how you never try to enter a storm-affected marina or boat storage facility without permission. Spilled fuel combined with the potential of downed electrical wires and a host of other hazards make them extremely dangerous places. Smoking is a big no-no. 

2. Remove valuables. If your boat has washed ashore, remove as much equipment as possible and move it to a safe place to protect it from looters and vandals.

3. Minimize further damage. Protect your boat from further water damage resulting from exposure to the weather. This could include covering it with a tarp or boarding up broken windows or hatches. As soon as possible, start drying out the boat, either by taking advantage of sunny weather or using electric air handlers. 

4. “Pickle” wet machinery. Engines and other machinery that were submerged or have gotten wet should be “pickled” by flushing with freshwater and then filled with diesel fuel or kerosene. 

5. Consult your insurance provider. If your boat is sunk or must be moved by a salvage company, BoatUS recommends that boat owners should not sign any salvage or wreck-removal contract without first getting approval from their insurance company. 

Your electric marine toilets distributors ask the question, "what kind of madman would intentionally pitch a perfectly good outboard engine over the side of his boat?" Yep, that would be me. But I haven't lost my mind, mechanical frustration hasn't made me go insane, and crazy thoughts haven't caused me to strand myself at sea. 

If your outboard gets submerged in salt water-whether it's because it jumped off the transom, your boat sank, or you got a bad case of butter-fingers while walking down the dock-you'll need to know how to get it up and running again, while also protecting it from an explosion of corrosion. The process is called “pickling." 

Browse our selection of marine heads here at Raritan Engineering, where we only offer the best in marine sanitation supplies. Motor M*A*S*H Before giving my hapless horses the heave-ho, I've set up an emergency outboard operating center back at the house. No, most of us won't have the clairvoyance to do this before our engines get dunked, but we'll still need to start this process properly prepared-even if it means letting the engine soak longer than otherwise necessary. 

What should you do if you need to drive for an hour or more, to get your engine home? If at all possible, keep the motor submerged as you transport it. Depending on its size and weight you may be able to keep it in a large cooler filled with water, or some other form of make-shift tank. 

Start the process by showering the engine with fresh water. Don't worry about getting the components saturated-it's too late for that-just remember that a whole lot of freshwater in and on the engine is far better than a little bit of saltwater.  Now, you need to get the water out of the rest of the engine. Remove the breather and the spark plug(s), and tilt the motor every which way you can to allow as much water as possible to escape. If your outboard is a four-stroke, this is also the time to drain off the oil and remove the oil filter. The Big Flush Now that you've washed away all the salt water and drained the engine of all fluids possible, you need to flush it out with diesel fuel. The diesel will displace any remaining water, and (hopefully) carry it all away. 

Once the engine is uber-filled, manually crank it over several times to distribute the diesel evenly throughout the cylinders. Then pull the plugs again, and let the diesel drain down. Replace the oil plug, put on a new filter, and then re-fill the engine oil.

Fine Brine At this point, you can take a breath and slow down. You've done what's necessary to halt the corrosion, and the rest of the pickling process is a bit less time-sensitive. Your portable marine toilet suppliers talk about how you're not quite out of the woods yet. Next, you're going to have to flush out all of the internal fuel lines. They may be just fine, but if a single drop of water got into them it'll lead to trouble. So disconnect them at both ends, flush them out into one of your buckets, and replace any in-line filters. If your engine has an internal fuel tank, drain and refill that, as well. With the process completed on my Mariner, I waited a week to see if any internal corrosion would take hold, then cranked it over. Thankfully, it started and is still running strong today.

So don't forget these helpful tips when trying to salvage your boat after a hurricane hits. 1) Never try to enter a storm-affected marina or boat storage facility without permission;  2) if your boat has washed ashore, remove as much equipment as possible and move it to a safe place to protect it from looters and vandals;  and 3) engines and other machinery that were submerged or have gotten wet should be “pickled” by flushing with freshwater and then filled with diesel fuel or kerosene.

Amazing Moment Giant Grey Whale Plays With Boat And Its Passengers

Whales are pretty spectacular creatures, but usually best kept at something of a length.

After all, they're the largest animals on Earth and generally unconcerned about humans, so they can unwittingly throw their weight around. For this grey whale, however, there are no such problems with people - this one just wants to snug up and make friends. Watch the amazing video here.

It swims up right to the side of their vessel and allows the people to stroke it on its side, with one even leaning over and seeming to give the mega-mammal a little kiss.

They can grow to lengths just shy of 15 metres in length and weighs somewhere in the region of 36 tonnes, which is massive by anyone's standards.

Grey whales live predominantly in the northern Pacific Ocean, along the western coast of North America, though they also possess one of the widest migratory ranges of any animal on Earth and thus can be found across a huge swath of the Pacific Ocean.

Grey whales have been hunted by whalers - they only predators are humans and killer whales - although killing them is now broadly illegal.

Humans have also nearly eradicated the species from the eastern Pacific, where Japanese and Korean whalers have reduced their numbers to less than 200.

Whaling for grey whales is only allowed in very controlled circumstances and by aboriginal inhabitants of the North American Pacific Coast.

Alaska natives recently caused controversy by killing a grey whale under the impression that it was a Beluga whale, which they are allowed to kill

Buy a marine head here at Raritan Engineering, where we always take care of your marine sanitation needs.

via BoatUS: How to Recover Your Boat After a Hurricane

  via Outboard Overboard: Quick, Pickle It

via Amazing Moment Giant Grey Whale Plays With Boat And Its Passengers

[nunoxaviermoreira]

Markhors. by Noor Hussain. Markhor is a wild goat and one of the most beautiful wild animals inhabiting the mountainous regions of Pakistan. The animal prefers living on dangerous and steep cliffs of the mountains to protect themselves from the attacks of wild predators including snow leopard and wolf. Also these high cliffs provide safe refuge from the hunters, who wishes to get at least one pride trophy of markhor in their hunting life. The male markhor is more beautiful while having long twisted horns. These animals have strong role in the food web of the mountains ecosystem and their presence ensures to keep it in shape both for nature and humans. Pakistan hosts seven Caprinae species with 11 sub-species occupying habitats from the hills in the southern desert to the high alpine areas of the Himalaya (Hess et al., 1997). Most of the worlds Caprinae population inhabits Pakistan’s lower altitudes, use steep slopes, loosely covered by bushesor open forests, providing readily available rock bluffs as escape terrain. Broadly, there are divided into two categories: flare-horned markhor (Capra falconeri falconeri) and straight-horned markhor (Capra falconeri megaceros). Flare-horned markhor includes two sub-species: Pir Panjal or Kashmir markhor and Astore markhor, whereas straight-horned markhor also includes two sub-species as well: Kabul markhor and straight-horned or Suleiman markhor. The Chiltan Markhor has been categorised as Chiltan Wild Goat. they are potential prey for snow leopards, brown bears, lynx, jackals, and golden eagles. While not directly causing their endangerment, the already small population of markhor is further threatened by their predation. Hunting for meat as a means of subsistence or trade in wildlife parts adds to the growing problem for wildlife managers in many countries. Poaching, with its indirect impacts as disturbance, increasing fleeing distances and resulting reduction of effective habitat size, is by far the most important factor threatening the survival of the markhor population. The most important types of poachers seem to be local inhabitants, state border guards, the latter usually relying on local hunting guides, and Afghans, illegally crossing the border. Poaching causes fragmentation of the population. into small islands were the remaining subpopulations are prone to extinction. The markhor is a valued trophy hunting prize for its incredibly rare spiral horns which became a threat to their species. The continuing declines of markhor populations finally caught the international community and became a concern. https://flic.kr/p/259ftMd

[orbemnews]

For Planet Earth, No Tourism is a Curse and a Blessing For the planet, the year without tourists was a curse and a blessing. With flights canceled, cruise ships mothballed and vacations largely scrapped, carbon emissions plummeted. Wildlife that usually kept a low profile amid a crush of tourists in vacation hot spots suddenly emerged. And a lack of cruise ships in places like Alaska meant that humpback whales could hear each other’s calls without the din of engines. That’s the good news. On the flip side, the disappearance of travelers wreaked its own strange havoc, not only on those who make their living in the tourism industry, but on wildlife itself, especially in developing countries. Many governments pay for conservation and enforcement through fees associated with tourism. As that revenue dried up, budgets were cut, resulting in increased poaching and illegal fishing in some areas. Illicit logging rose too, presenting a double-whammy for the environment. Because trees absorb and store carbon, cutting them down not only hurt wildlife habitats, but contributed to climate change. “We have seen many financial hits to the protection of nature,” said Joe Walston, executive vice president of global conservation at the Wildlife Conservation Society. “But even where that hasn’t happened, in a lot of places people haven’t been able to get into the field to do their jobs because of Covid.” From the rise in rhino poaching in Botswana to the waning of noise pollution in Alaska, the lack of tourism has had a profound effect around the world. The question moving forward is which impacts will remain, and which will vanish, in the recovery. A change in the air While the pandemic’s impact on wildlife has varied widely from continent to continent, and country to country, its effect on air quality was felt more broadly. In the United States, greenhouse gas emissions last year fell more than 10 percent, as state and local governments imposed lockdowns and people stayed home, according to a report in January by the Rhodium Group, a research and consulting firm. The most dramatic results came from the transportation sector, which posted a 14.7 percent decrease. It’s impossible to tease out how much of that drop is from lost tourism versus business travel. And there is every expectation that as the pandemic loosens its grip, tourism will resume — likely with a vengeance. Still, the pandemic helped push American emissions below 1990 levels for the first time. Globally, carbon dioxide emissions fell 7 percent, or 2.6 billion metric tons, according to new data from international climate researchers. In terms of output, that is about double the annual emissions of Japan. “It’s a lot and it’s a little,” said Jason Smerdon, a climate scientist at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. “Historically, it’s a lot. It’s the largest single reduction percent-wise over the last 100 years. But when you think about the 7 percent in the context of what we need to do to mitigate climate change, it’s a little.” In late 2019, the United Nations Environment Program cautioned that global greenhouse gases would need to drop 7.6 percent every year between 2020 and 2030. That would keep the world on its trajectory of meeting the temperature goals set under the Paris Agreement, the 2016 accord signed by nearly 200 nations. “The 7 percent drop last year is on par with what we would need to do year after year,” Dr. Smerdon said. “Of course we wouldn’t want to do it the same way. A global pandemic and locking ourselves in our apartments is not the way to go about this.” Interestingly, the drop in other types of air pollution during the pandemic muddied the climate picture. Industrial aerosols, made up of soot, sulfates, nitrates and mineral dust, reflect sunlight back into space, thus cooling the planet. While their reduction was good for respiratory health, it had the effect of offsetting some of the climate benefits of cascading carbon emissions. For the climate activist Bill McKibben, one of the first to sound the alarm about global warming in his 1989 book, “The End of Nature,” the pandemic underscored that the climate crisis won’t be averted one plane ride or gallon of gas at a time. “We’ve come through this pandemic year when our lives changed more than any of us imagined they ever would,” Mr. McKibben said during a Zoom webinar hosted in February by the nonprofit Green Mountain Club of Vermont. “Everybody stopped flying; everybody stopped commuting,” he added. “Everybody just stayed at home. And emissions did go down, but they didn’t go down that much, maybe 10 percent with that incredible shift in our lifestyles. It means that most of the damage is located in the guts of our systems and we need to reach in and rip out the coal and gas and oil and stick in the efficiency, conservation and sun and wind.” Wildlife regroups Just as the impact of the pandemic on air quality is peppered with caveats, so too is its influence on wildlife. Animals slithered, crawled and stomped out of hiding across the globe, sometimes in farcical fashion. Last spring, a herd of Great Orme Kashmiri goats was spotted ambling through empty streets in Llandudno, a coastal town in northern Wales. And hundreds of monkeys — normally fed by tourists — were involved in a disturbing brawl outside of Bangkok, apparently fighting over food scraps. In meaningful ways, however, the pandemic revealed that wildlife will regroup if given the chance. In Thailand, where tourism plummeted after authorities banned international flights, leatherback turtles laid their eggs on the usually mobbed Phuket Beach. It was the first time nests were seen there in years, as the endangered sea turtles, the largest in the world, prefer to nest in seclusion. Similarly, in Koh Samui, Thailand’s second largest island, hawksbill turtles took over beaches that in 2018 hosted nearly three million tourists. The hatchlings were documented emerging from their nests and furiously moving their flippers toward the sea. For Petch Manopawitr, a marine conservation manager of the Wildlife Conservation Society Thailand, the sightings were proof that natural landscapes can recover quickly. “Both Ko Samui and Phuket have been overrun with tourists for so many years,” he said in a phone interview. “Many people had written off the turtles and thought they would not return. After Covid, there is talk about sustainability and how it needs to be embedded in tourism, and not just a niche market but all kinds of tourism.” Updated  March 6, 2021, 6:57 p.m. ET In addition to the sea turtles, elephants, leaf monkeys and dugongs (related to manatees) all made cameos in unlikely places in Thailand. “Dugongs are more visible because there is less boat traffic,” Mr. Manopawitr said. “The area that we were surprised to see dugongs was the eastern province of Bangkok. We didn’t know dugongs still existed there.” He and other conservationists believe that countries in the cross hairs of international tourism need to mitigate the myriad effects on the natural world, from plastic pollution to trampled parks. That message apparently reached the top levels of the Thai government. In September, the nation’s natural resources and environment minister, Varawut Silpa-archa, said he planned to shutter national parks in stages each year, from two to four months. The idea, he told Bloomberg News, is to set the stage so that “nature can rehabilitate itself.” An increase in poaching In other parts of Asia and across Africa, the disappearance of tourists has had nearly the opposite result. With safari tours scuttled and enforcement budgets decimated, poachers have plied their nefarious trade with impunity. At the same time, hungry villagers have streamed into protected areas to hunt and fish. There were reports of increased poaching of leopards and tigers in India, an uptick in the smuggling of falcons in Pakistan, and a surge in trafficking of rhino horns in South Africa and Botswana. Jim Sano, the World Wildlife Fund’s vice president for travel, tourism and conservation, said that in sub-Saharan Africa, the presence of tourists was a powerful deterrent. “It’s not only the game guards,” he said. “It’s the travelers wandering around with the guides that are omnipresent in these game areas. If the guides see poachers with automatic weapons, they report it.” In the Republic of Congo, the Wildlife Conservation Society has noticed an increase in trapping and hunting in and around protected areas. Emma J. Stokes, regional director of the Central Africa program for the organization, said that in Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park, monkeys and forest antelopes were being targeted for bushmeat. “It’s more expensive and difficult to get food during the pandemic and there is a lot of wildlife up there,” she said by phone. “We obviously want to deter people from hunting in the park, but we also have to understand what’s driving that because it’s more complex.” The Society and the Congolese government jointly manage the park, which spans 1,544 square miles of lowland rainforest — larger than Rhode Island. Because of the virus, the government imposed a national lockdown, halting public transportation. But the organization was able to arrange rides to markets since the park is considered an essential service. “We have also kept all 300 of our park staff employed,” she added. Largely absent: the whir of propellers, the hum of engines While animals around the world were subject to rifles and snares during the pandemic, one thing was missing: noise. The whir of helicopters diminished as some air tours were suspended. And cruise ships from the Adriatic Sea to the Gulf of Mexico were largely absent. That meant marine mammals and fish had a break from the rumble of engines and propellers. So did research scientists. Michelle Fournet is a marine ecologist who uses hydrophones (essentially aquatic microphones) to listen in on whales. Although the total number of cruise ships (a few hundred) pales in comparison to the total number of cargo ships (tens of thousands), Dr. Fournet says they have an outsize role in creating underwater racket. That is especially true in Alaska, a magnet for tourists in search of natural splendor. “Cargo ships are trying to make the most efficient run from point A to point B and they are going across open ocean where any animal they encounter, they encounter for a matter of hours,” she said. “But when you think about the concentration of cruise ships along coastal areas, especially in southeast Alaska, you basically have five months of near-constant vessel noise. We have a population of whales listening to them all the time.” Man-made noise during the pandemic dissipated in the waters near the capital of Juneau, as well as in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. Dr. Fournet, a postdoctoral research associate at Cornell University, observed a threefold decrease in ambient noise in Glacier Bay between 2019 and 2020. “That’s a really big drop in noise,” she said, “and all of that is associated with the cessation of these cruise ships.” Covid-19 opened a window onto whale sounds in Juneau as well. Last July, Dr. Fournet, who also directs the Sound Science Research Collective, a marine conservation nonprofit, had her team lower a hydrophone in the North Pass, a popular whale-watching destination. “In previous years,” she said, “you wouldn’t have been able to hear anything — just boats. This year we heard whales producing feeding calls, whales producing contact calls. We heard sound types that I have never heard before.” Farther south in Puget Sound, near Seattle, whale-watching tours were down 75 percent last year. Tour operators like Jeff Friedman, owner of Maya’s Legacy Whale Watching, insist that their presence on the water benefits whales since the captains make recreational boaters aware of whale activity and radio them to slow down. Whale-watching companies also donate to conservation groups and report sightings to researchers. “During the pandemic, there was a huge increase in the number of recreational boats out there,” said Mr. Friedman, who is also president of the Pacific Whale Watch Association. “It was similar to R.V.s. People decided to buy an R.V. or a boat. The majority of the time, boaters are not aware that the whales are present unless we let them know.” Two years ago, in a move to protect Puget Sound’s tiny population of Southern Resident killer whales, which number just 75, Washington’s Gov. Jay Inslee signed a law reducing boat speeds to 7 knots within a half nautical mile of the whales and increasing a buffer zone around them, among other things. Many cheered the protections. But environmental activists like Catherine W. Kilduff, a senior attorney in the oceans program at the Center for Biological Diversity, believe they did not go far enough. She wants the respite from noise that whales enjoyed during the pandemic to continue. “The best tourism is whale-watching from shore,” she said. Looking Ahead Debates like this are likely to continue as the world emerges from the pandemic and leisure travel resumes. Already, conservationists and business leaders are sharing their visions for a more sustainable future. Ed Bastian, Delta Air Lines’ chief executive, last year laid out a plan to become carbon neutral by spending $1 billion over 10 years on an assortment of strategies. Only 2.5 percent of global carbon emissions are traced to aviation, but a 2019 study suggested that could triple by midcentury. In the meantime, climate change activists are calling on the flying public to use their carbon budgets judiciously. Tom L. Green, a senior climate policy adviser with the David Suzuki Foundation, an environmental organization in Canada, said tourists might consider booking a flight only once every few years, saving their carbon footprint (and money) for a special journey. “Instead of taking many short trips, we could occasionally go away for a month or more and really get to know a place,” he said. For Mr. Walston of the Wildlife Conservation Society, tourists would be wise to put more effort into booking their next resort or cruise, looking at the operator’s commitment to sustainability. “My hope is not that we stop traveling to some of these wonderful places, because they will continue to inspire us to conserve nature globally,” he said. “But I would encourage anyone to do their homework. Spend as much time choosing a tour group or guide as a restaurant. The important thing is to build back the kind of tourism that supports nature.” Lisa W. Foderaro is a former reporter for The New York Times whose work has also appeared in National Geographic and Audubon Magazine. Source link Orbem News #Blessing #Curse #Earth #planet #Tourism