Environmentalism Chapter 29 - Flores Hobbit Evolution (Evil Go-Go)
Could the worlds tiniest monkey help unravel the mysterious origins of Homo floresiensis the Hobbit human relative? Emergence of The Hobbits skull is similar to that of a taller hominin, Homo erectus. This suggests to some that the Homo floresiensis, whose remains were found on an Indonesian island ten years ago, was a dwarf species that evolved from this larger one.
However its brain and teeth are proportionally much smaller than in typical dwarf species which others say indicates the Hobbit is merely and unusual form of our species. But perhaps the Hobbit was not a typical dwarf.
Scientist’s that observed Pygmy Marmosets Callithrix pygmaea, quoted they too have previously been put forward as a dwarf species but, again have unusually small teeth. This pinpointed against dwarfism of which scientists are using a primate evolutionary tree, scientists have confirmed that these monkeys did evolve from larger ancestors and undergo dwarfism.
So why do they have such small teeth?
The evolution of such a small species usually involves shortening the length of pregnancy or infancy, but recently it has been suggested that there might be a more unusual route: pregnancy length stays the same but the growth of the fetes slows down. This might influence brain and tooth size as they develop early.
Scientists found that the Pygmy Marmoset’s pregnancy and infancy are similar in length to their evolutionarily close, larger relations.
This suggests the unconventional route to small stature (Journal of Biology 2000).
If Homo floresiensis is a dwarf, one of the controversies has been whether it fits with previous patterns of dwarfism. The new analysis suggests it may fit with what is seen in Pygmy marmosets. Some scientists are not convinced though stating that its adamant that the Hobbit is simply a diseased member of our species however other critics state the analysis makes a strong case that primate can undergo dwarfism.
Dwarfism;
The first set of remains to have been found, LB1, was chosen as the type specimen for the proposed species. LB1 is a fairly complete skeleton, including a nearly complete cranium (skull), determined to be that of a 30-year-old female. LB1 has been nicknamed the Little Lady of Flores or “Flo”.
LB1’s height has been estimated at about 1.06 m (3 ft. 6 in). The height of a second skeleton, LB8, has been estimated at 1.09 m (3 ft. 7 in) based on measurements of its tibia. These estimates are outside the range of normal modern human height and considerably shorter than the average adult height of even the smallest modern humans, such as the Mbenga and Mbuti (< 1.5 m (4 ft. 11 in) Twa, Semang (1.37 m (4 ft. 6 in) for adult women) of the Malay Peninsula, or the Andamanese (1.37 m (4 ft. 6 in) for adult women).
By body mass, differences between modern Pygmies and Homo floresiensis are even greater. LB1’s body mass has been estimated at 25 kg (55 lb.). This is smaller than that of not only modern H. sapiens, but also H. erectus, which Brown and colleagues have suggested is the immediate ancestor of H. floresiensis. LB1 and LB8 are also somewhat smaller than the australopithecines from three million years ago, not previously thought to have expanded beyond Africa. Thus, LB1 and LB8 may be the shortest and smallest members of the extended human family discovered thus far.
Could the Scientists be correct, could the “cause for debate” simply be a diseased relative?
Laron syndrome;
Laron syndrome is a disorder chiefly characterized by marked short stature. Signs and symptoms in the newborn period typically include low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) and having an unusually small penis (micropenis). Affected children have slow and disproportionate growth, delayed motor development due to decreased muscle mass, and delayed puberty. Other signs and symptoms include distinctive facial features (protruding and high forehead, shallow eye sockets, underdeveloped nasal bridge and small chin); delayed teething; a high-pitched voice; thin bones and skin; and decreased sweating (hypohidrosis). It is often caused by mutations in the GHR gene and is inherited in an autosomal recessive manner. Treatment focuses on improving growth and includes injections of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) and a diet with adequate calories.[
Pygmy Marmoset;
The pygmy marmoset is 4 1/2 to 6 inches long with a 7 to 9 inch tail. It weighs 3 5/8 to 4 ounces. It is the smallest monkey in the world. The fur on its hair is long, forming a cape or hood. Its color is tawny and speckled. It has barely visible rings of black and tawny on its tail. Its fingers and toes have claws.
The pygmy marmoset lives in groups and pairs. Groups contain one breeding pair and 3 to 7 offspring. The older offspring help to take care of the youngest or new offspring of the pair after the first few weeks. The first few weeks the father takes care of the young except during nursing.
There is no apparent breeding season for the pygmy marmoset and it most likely breeds twice per year. The gestation or pregnancy lasts 130 to 150 days. Twins are most common. Single births are rare. The young suckles for 3 months before it is weaned. Both males and females become sexually mature between 1 and 1 1/2 years old. The lifespan of the pygmy marmoset may reach up to 12 years which is long in relation to the animal’s size.
They pygmy marmoset, like most marmosets, eats the gum of trees as its main source of food. However, unlike most marmosets that search for new sources each day the pygmy marmoset gouges about 10 holes in the bark each day, scent marks the tree and then returns later to scrape up the liquid oozing out of the tree with its teeth. It also eats nectar, fruits and small creatures like grubs and spiders. The pygmy marmoset is located in South America. It is arboreal so requires trees to spend its life in so occupies tropical and floodplain forest habitats.
The pygmy marmoset is classified least concern on the IUCN (International Union of Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) red list of threatened species. This classification is the lowest and means the species has a large widespread, population and no current threats that would likely decrease its population in the foreseeable future.
International Animal Rescue Foundation Forestry Conservation & Speciesism Watch
Director
www.international-animalrescue-foundation.org.uk
Environmentalism Chapter 22 - Understating Poaching
The poaching crisis in Africa and Asia is out of control and there seems to be no stopping these brutal and heavily armed sophisticated poachers as yet. Africa is again seeing the brunt of all poaching that includes both the Elephant and the Rhinoceros to Pangolin with Lion bones being used more than ever to produce fake Asian medicine bone wine.
The numbers of the one horned Rhinoceros and Asian Elephant and Pygmy Elephant (rare to poach) are incredibly low too which would indicate why there are such low poaching “incidents” however when a poaching incident occurs it’s now in large numbers taking out large numbers.
Arrests are climbing “to a certain degree” and within January 2013 there were many animal parts seizures internationally both in Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Hong Kong and Singapore of Rhinoceros horn, Elephant ivory to other animal parts and living specimens too from snakes seized in Thailand of just over two thousand living snakes (February 2013 – Chinese new year) as of course it is the year of the “snake” as advertised all over Asia so in theory the snake will be brutalised to great lengths this year for fake potions, medicines and bush meat to satisfy Asian demand which is incredibly high with no signs of a decrease as yet in some animal parts.
However there has been a decrease in Rhinoceros horn on the market in Vietnam and China which I have explained further on within this news and media documentary.
There is no hiding the fact though that poaching is erratically out of control in Africa with last year’s poaching statistics standing at an eye watering six hundred and twenty two brutally slain Rhinoceros for counterfeit Asian pharmaceuticals for the month of December 19th 2012 as stated by the Department of Environmental Affairs minister Rt Hon Albi Modise and Rt Hon Minister Bomo Edna Molewa.
The total end poaching statistics for December end of 2012 stood at six hundred and sixty-eight poached Rhinoceros for South Africa shocking Africa and many conservationists around the globe. http://wessa.org.za/get-involved/rhino-initiative/current-rhino-poaching-stats.htm
The current number of Rhinoceros in South Africa alone that we can only go on from our previous correspondence with the Department of Environmental Affairs (Dec 2012) is totalled at 18,800 however this number in detailed correspondence in many email’s to us from Rt Hon Albi Modise states that number is from the “2010 census count” and is not the true figure for 2012-2013 with many propagandists placing the Rhinoceros populations in South Africa at a non-factual 22,000 – 22.200 which it completely untrue with no supporting evidence to back this evidence up.
Based on poaching statists and the population counts for 2010 then adding to that the “gestation” length of birth coupled with the female cow only giving birth to one Rhinoceros with gestation at 450 days then we have estimated the total number of Rhinoceros (which is not a factual precise number) at 15,300 and dropping rapidly now at two to three a day every day being poached. We also took into account the number of hunting permits that was handed to hunters (hunting within Africa) to hunt “Rhinoceros” standing at one every year.
15,300 is as we have calculated non-factual due to not being able to “fulfil a detailed census count” however based on reams of evidence this is the closest number based on scientific data, hunting permit records, gestation, and the number of poaching incidents to the “population” count of 2010 too that we have located which is now frighteningly worrying. Should there be no serious plan of action implemented on all sides and not just including the South African government then regrettably we will one of our famous big five.
Within India Assam, Kaziranga that holds roughly 2,200 Indian one horned Rhinoceros the poaching figures for December end 2012 was eighteen with many arrests and poachers shot dead on site. For February 2013 India sadly see’s nine one horned Rhinoceros poached dead to date for February 16th 2013 as communicated to us by the forestry and ecotourism ministry of Assam, India.
Elephant poaching statistics for the entire continent of Africa, and India including Indonesia and Malaysia are sketchy as the authorities are reluctant to release factual data with regards to the world’s largest land mammal that’s roamed the continents for millions of years.
What we have managed to locate is an estimated 25,000 elephants that were slaughtered in 2011 with most of these being hit in Kenya, Cameroon and Zimbabwe. For 2012 the “estimated figures are” that have yet to be released by all official governmental environmental agencies stands at 27,600 again that is increasing and very alarming and is estimated by many non-governmental organisations and non-profits. The actual true extent down to the nearest number will never be known for Africa or India due to the sheer size in continents and dead non-accounted for.
Within India the total number of Elephants slain is again sketchy as (The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora does not want to place within the public domain information with regards to the poaching of these magnificent gentle giants to a certain level.
For 2012 in India that holds a very low population of Asian Elephants standing at 20,000 poaching statistics are roughly to date for February 16th 2013 sixty one poached, however in Odisha just outside of India the number of deaths stands at two hundred and ninety five. Odisha is situated here http://goo.gl/maps/Qrv60
The Asian Elephant is now at extremely decreased population levels concerning ourselves International Animal Rescue Foundation ©, World Wildlife Fund, The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, TRAFFIC the wildlife trade monitoring network, and The International Union for the Conservation of Nature plus many more conservation networks.
The critically endangered Pygmy Elephant is also in danger to, the Pygmy that “had” a population of 1,500 at the start of January 2013 now stands at 1,430 with most slaughtered not for “ivory” but because they are pests within and around the buffer zones of palm oil and pulp and paper plantations within mainly Malaysia and Indonesia.
Before January 2013 it was estimated that 11 critically endangered Pygmy Elephants had been deliberately slaughtered by poisons just to keep them away from the palm and paper plantation’s with another 8 found on January 26th 2013 and 5 more on February 4th 2013 there is unfortunately speculation that more may lay dead from poisoning just to satisfy greed from over obsessive consumerism outside of Asia for palm oil, wood and paper products.
The Asian Elephant is continuously slaughtered now in the most graphic and nauseas manners we’ve ever seen of such a splendid mammal, almost identical to that of the barbaric fur trade they are slaughtered by electrocution a new and torturous method of murder for ivory.
To kill an animal in such a disgraceful manner like this, knowing that it will burn alive from the inside out slowly and withering in agony then poachers and syndicates are dropping to all-time lows in side India and Africa which now must work together to end this sickening and repulsive bloody destruction of our critically endangered, endangered and vulnerable fauna and flora just for myths and counterfeit Asian pharmaceuticals within the Asian alternative medicine market.
Recent surveys have proved for 2012 that the Alternative Medicine Market or TCM/TIM is now using more African animal parts than ever before. Traditional Chinese Medicine and Traditional Indian Medicine that are both popular alternative medicine practices internationally using approximately 1,000 plant and 36 animal species to date based on recent 2012-13 TCM/TIM surveys conducted by International Animal Rescue Foundation ©, this is also including the tiger, rhinoceros, black bear, musk deer, and sea horse the tiger, rhinoceros, and sea horse are endangered or moving to endangerment.
As many know or don’t know Rhinoceros horn is used in fake Asian medicine to treat fever, convulsions, and delirium (Rhinoceros horn does not and never has cured any disease). Its popularity has been a major factor in the reduction of the rhinoceros population in Africa and Asia.
According to the World Wildlife Fund, only about 3,100 black Rhinoceros in Africa and 2,800 of all three Asian species (Sumatran, Javan, and Indian) in Asia are still survive. Black, Sumatran, and Javan Rhinoceros are designated as critically endangered on the 2007 World Conservation Union Red List of Threatened Species. The Javan numbers at 30 left in the Asian wild (2013)
The Indian endangered one horn Rhinoceros, and the African White Rhinoceros variety are now nearing possible endangerment to extinction of which we could see the Indian species gone in 1-2 years maximum unless actions are taken to flow the demand with the White Rhinoceros banished in 3-4 years.
Despite protective laws, poaching continues still motivated by the Asian market for Rhinoceros horn. Captive-breeding is now the only hope for some species until protection can be provided in the wild sadly this is not the always the answer and breeding does not and has proven to be ineffective in increasing birth rates however does higher “mortality” to a considerable level, it regrettably is not the answer though.
Within India In an attempt to stay one step ahead of the local authorities, poachers in the Ganjam district of Odisha, India, are configuring power lines into homemade, electrocution tripwires, which they are using to kill elephants. 91 deaths that have occurred of the Asian Elephant have occurred from “some form of Electrocution” it’s the most silent way and easiest way in order to take an Elephant down so Assam Anti-Poaching teams have quoted to us (2013) which they are now launching in-depth investigations into the number of deaths so far this year.
Wildlife officers have suggested several remedies, including building taller, more insulated power lines, to help ensure the elephants’ safety. Others suggest cutting off power to areas with large elephant populations during strategic migratory periods. With poaching “known” though in these areas energy officers and anti-poaching rangers are in bitter battles on “who is to blame” (the poacher or the energy officials) “I think we all know who is to blame.
Zimbabwe holds a rough total of 700 Rhinoceros with 19 lost in 2011 from illegal poaching with great fears that the current poaching epidemic has now spread in to neighbouring states concerning many conservationists. Reported on 14th January 2013 Zimbabwe saw a copious hit on its Rhinoceros population on New Year’s Day with a total of four white Rhinoceros slaughtered with a remaining eight Rhinoceros horns recovered and spent ammunition cartridges. 2010 saw 23 Rhinoceros poached. Poaching is now considered rife in Zimbabwe’s game reserves, fuelled by cross-border syndicates from Mozambique, Zambia and South Africa.
It was stated in news feeds with regards to the four Rhinoceros that had been slaughtered in Zimbabwe that “mounting speculation that there is more than meets the eye in the suspected ‘poaching’ of the Rhinoceros on the Thetford Estate, which belongs to controversial businessman and known ZANU PF crony Mr John Bredenkamp”.
At the beginning of January it was reported in Kenya one of the worst nations with regards to out of control Elephant poaching that a family of 12 elephants were the most recent victims of a new epidemic of poaching sweeping Kenya, and Africa. It was the worst poaching hit in decades.
A gang stuck the Tsavo National Park in Kenya, one of the largest elephant sanctuaries in the world, slaughtering the animals, hacking off their tusks. The incident is the worst recorded ivory poaching incident in the history of the country.
According to the Kenyan Wildlife Service and International Fund for Animal Welfare, the trade in ivory, fuelled from Asian countries such as Japan and the rapidly prospering China, has increased to epidemic levels over the past few years.
Last year almost 34 tonnes of ivory was seized across East Africa, with 34 tons seized in 2012 with nearly 90% of all ivory seized had come from or had been transported through East Africa, and The number of animals that died for their tusks doubled in less than two years to approximately 360 in 2012.
In 2011 40 poachers where shot dead on site in Kenya by rangers, all of the poacher had heavy military or “hunting rifles” which is now fuelling speculation again that there is a hunting fraternity in Africa that is supplying these rifles, who these individuals are though are yet to be announced however we ourselves are investigating too with Africa being one of the worst nations in the world with regards to illegal poaching rising (and it’s going to keep rising unless more governments act and place a complete moratorium on hunting which we International Animal Rescue Foundation © are fighting in silence.
We know that hunters, rangers, police, to even the specialist Anti-Poaching Units are involved to “a degree” not all but some individuals are which has been proven time again. These members of the public and wildlife protection force are supposedly trusted individuals however with recent arrests in 2011 and 2012 it’s not looking good and is also effecting funding and “whom” to place trust in.
Some Charities are calling for a return to a full ban on the sale of ivory, and for authorities to address the involvement of international criminal gangs being involved in the trade.
Greater education for consumers might also help to stem demand, according to campaign group Dirty Ivory, a survey in China showed that almost 70% of the public thought ivory did not come from dead elephants, but that it fell out naturally, like teeth, by simply searching online one can view that ivory is freely available to purchase. Please view the links of which took our investigators on 3.6 minutes to search for and is widely available on the internet illegally.
http://www.npm.gov.tw/exh98/carvings/ch_05.html
http://duocminhanh.com.vn/am140/Vong-tay-nga-voi.html
Elephant slaughtered for it’s tusks in Tanzania - Just to make ivory (What a waste of such a precious life)
The South African government have again launched a new war on the poachers however it’s not working and what it appears to us is that “anyone and everyone” is being arrested apart from the perpetrators themselves.
Within SABC news column the Department of Environment and Affairs minister for South Africa quipped;
Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa says she’s confident that Sanparks may be on the verge of a turnaround with regard to the fight against rhino poaching.
Molewa says they now had a stronger team and a stronger force to help in the fight against rhino poaching. “Indeed there are people who have helped us to get new equipment which are able to help us deter those poachers from very far. There has been a contribution of helicopters by private sector and ordinary people.
“We now have a stronger team and a stronger force not just from Sanparks but from South Africans and the media” says Molewa. The Minister also thanked Lead SA, who she says has been at the fore front of the campaign.
Meanwhile, two more rhinos have been poached. The Hawks say the animals were killed and dehorned at Bulhoek farm near Brits in the North West, three or four days ago from the 10th February 2013. The rhino task team in the province is investigating.
Over 80 rhinos have been killed in South Africa since the beginning of the year (Jan 2012). Kruger National Park remains the hardest hit with 61 rhinos lost, to presumed foreign poachers. Kruger National Park is the worst hit park of them all.
We do not view this as very promising and with the latest shoot-out last Saturday and Sunday (Feb 2012) http://stfrancischronicle.com/2013/02/11/three-suspected-rhino-poachers-killed-in-shootout-with-rangers/ and with demand shooting through the roof then the war needs to be “moved into Asia” and not just in South Africa.
The Rhinoceros species could be preserved more if the government of South Africa simply;
- Place an immediate moratorium on hunting of which they quoted to us that this is not possible as hunting brings in more funding thus preserving conservation, plus in further correspondence “it would have to be proven that species in Africa where under threat”
- Cease the movements/sales of all Rhinoceros in South Africa to nations where Vietnamese hunting permits can still be used
- Improves tourism which brings in a considerable amount of income for conservation relief
- Quicker and harsher sentences for poachers and corrupt individuals
- Improving communications
- Brining all Anti-Poaching Units under governmental control and “funding them”
- Introducing a strategic Anti-Poaching command base with landing pads and runways
- Rooting out corruption with the use of polygraph technology invented in 1921
- Securing the main border channels
- More stringent checks on Asian construction workers
- Ceasing the sales of taxidermy to Asia which would impact on demand
- Tackling the air and freight ports
- Funding more security and newer high grade technology for reserves and farms
- Lowering tuition fees for those wanting to train as conservationists and/or ranger’s within South Africa
- Funding more ranger schools
- Tackling crime in “shanty town districts where poaching gangs are known by ourselves to hide”
- Education and awareness of tribal gangs and community relations
- Investigations into where donations are going to that are being ploughed in parks
- Release the R1 million that SANparks asked for in 2012 for equipment and ranger training (and purchase more equipment) International Animal Rescue Foundation © gave $10,000 with regards to the 2012 video advertisement for funds for this vital equipment and training however it’s being held back to hand to “anyone that can shop a poacher OR name a syndicate”.
- Setting a task force up to locate syndicates over the border
The above are just a handful of many tasks that the government can work towards to help in preserving our endangered fauna and flora, however they refuse and continue to support the likes of the hunting trade that is fronting the poaching trade and as much as many people “may disagree” the evidence is more than evident.
M99 (Entorphine) is still being used to take the Rhinoceros down, the Rhinoceros horn treatment is still not funded by the government, freight and airports are left untouched of which the DEA know damn well this is the main exit point for ivory and horn.
Non-profit Organisations, to non-governmental organisations and opportunists are working as rapidly and to the best of their ability to preserve and conserve however “funding is needed” and whilst funding is being pushed in to over 130+ African zoo’s where is the funding for the Rhinoceros protection? It’s slowly trickling in from the humble public in small quantities that’s going astray.
Pelham Jones makes very dull point here http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/africa/south-africa/120226/rhino-war-can-hunting-save-the-rhino of which he truly believes that “hunting animals is preserving them” however this is totally untrue, and should one look at the PHASA terms and conditions and their “voluntary donations” scheme then one will understand that “tourism brings in more money than that of hunting” as more people travel to AFRICA to shoot with a camera than they do with a rifle.
Pelham Jones quotes “that when hunters come for trophy hunting, they kill old, non-breeding animals. “We have no problem with this,” he said. “Unlike with humans, there are no retirement villages for animals.” (Utter nonsense) excuse me Mr Jones can you explain to me why there are breeding farms located all over South Africa?
Yes I understand that one then has to move new stock in but how is this actually preserving our wildlife? It’s exactly the same as purchasing a new car, you trade the old one in for half the price if that, and then you purchase a new model. In this case it is the animal, so next question is exactly how much of the so called remaining pocket funds goes back into conservation? Oh yes very little, and it’s proven time again.
Why is there breeding farms located here http://goo.gl/maps/qnSX5 that have links (and strong ones as we have checked to canned hunters?) I suppose that these breeding farm’s “coincidentally next to Wild Cats World and Daniels Cheetah Project don’t purchase new young then sell the surplus to canned hunters or to zoos too? Zoo’s in the Netherlands that coincidentally purchase animals which then travel BACK to Africa and are then shot dead.
(To those that are reading we were threatened by Danish mafia (apparently) in 2 emails if we carried on harassing this area of interest that we are disgusted and sickened about.
What tourism can bring for YOU but most importantly CONSERVING FAUNA AND FLORA
Tourism is regarded as a modern-day engine of growth and is one of the largest industries globally. In 2012, G20 heads of state recognised tourism as a driver of growth and development, as well as a sector that has the potential to spur global economic recovery. Just in 2009-2010 in Uganda (not related to this tourism shot up by 300%) That’s in a war torn zone.
South Africa has earmarked tourism as a key sector with excellent potential for growth: the government has increased tourism’s contribution, both direct and indirectly, to the economy from the 2009 baseline of R189, 4-billion (7.9% of GDP) to R499-billion by 2020 (National Department of Tourism, 2012). Tourism supports one in every 12 jobs in South Africa and heavily supports conservation (but we need more)
South Africa’s spectacular scenery, friendly people, world-class infrastructure make it one of the most desired destinations in the world. The sector was given a massive boost by the successful hosting of the World Cup in 2010, when the country received a record-breaking 8.1-million foreign visitors. Despite tough global economic conditions, tourism grew in 2011, with 8.3-million international tourists. The regional African tourist market is South Africa’s important tourist markets, contributing more than 73% of total tourist arrivals and more than R50-billion in revenue in 2011.
Domestic tourism is also an important source of revenue and employment, contributing 52% of total tourism consumption. Cruise and rural tourism are focusing within growth areas.
A labour-intensive sector, with a supply chain that links across sectors, tourism is a priority sector in the government’s planning and policy frameworks – it is one of the six job drivers of the New Growth Path framework.
The National Tourism Sector Strategy, launched in 2011, aims to ensure the sector realises its full potential in terms of job creation, social inclusion, services exports and foreign exchange earnings, fostering a better understanding between peoples and cultures, and green transformation, and conservation.
South Africa is a popular destination for business travellers, who spend on average three times more than their leisure counterparts while crossing over significantly into leisure travel themselves, through tours before or after their business activities and through return trips in subsequent years.
With its first-world infrastructure, balmy climate and breath-taking scenery – not to mention acres of golf courses – South Africa is an ideal location for international congresses and conventions.
The country has well over 1 000 world-class conference and exhibition venues, ranging from intimate bush hideaways to large-scale, hi-tech convention centres. All of these offer a wealth of leisure activities, side-tours and events: from walking with elephants to first-hand experiences of African culture to luxury shopping and relaxation.
The country has set up the National Conventions Bureau to help it secure more international conferences, an excellent source of foreign tourists and revenue. The conference industry is in 37th place in the International Congress and Convention Association’s top-100 list of leading destinations in the world, released in 2012.
South Africa is home to diverse cultures, ranging from the Zulus who resisted European conquest to the nomadic San of the Karoo desert. Each culture has evolved its own distinctive art forms, music and traditional rituals, while the descendants of colonial settlers have evolved variations of their European roots.
South Africa’s history has been one of confrontation, but is now also known as one of reconciliation. World-class sites have been established to commemorate the country’s past and celebrate its new-found unity, while the number and quality of cultural villages, community and township tours has grown dramatically.
World Heritage
South Africa is home to eight World Heritage sites, places of “outstanding value to humanity”.
Four of South Africa’s eight Unesco World Heritage sites are cultural sites, while one is a mixed cultural/natural site. These are: Robben Island, the Cradle of Humankind, the Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape, the Richtersveld Cultural and Botanical Landscape, and the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park.
South Africa’s diverse climates range from tropical in the south-east to desert in the central region. The scenery runs the gamut from spectacular mountain ranges to vast grass plains, from coastline to meandering rivers to desert dunes. The country’s wildlife is far more varied than just the celebrated “Big Five”, and is supported by an extraordinary biological diversity.
Three of South Africa’s eight Unesco World Heritage sites are natural sites, while one is a mixed cultural/natural site. These are the Cape Floral Region, the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, the Vredefort Dome, and the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park.
South Africa is leading the way in one of the boldest cross-border initiatives currently unfolding in southern Africa, the development of transfrontier parks.
There are 19 national parks, including the world-famous 20 000km2 Kruger National Park. The country’s terrestrial protected areas stand at around 6.9%, according to a World Bank report published in 2012. Marine protected areas make up around 11%. The country’s private game lodges range in standard from middle to very upmarket, with ultra-luxury lodges catering almost exclusively to foreign tourists.
Being at the southern tip of a large continent, South Africa offers 3 000 kilometres of coastline along with breath-taking mountains – often side by side. The country’s diverse terrain, together with a climate suited to outdoor activities, make it an ideal hunting ground for adrenaline seekers.
South Africa offers world-class climbing, surfing, diving, hiking, horseback safaris, mountain biking, river rafting – and just about any other extreme activity you can name, all supported by dedicated operators.
World-class venues and supporting infrastructure, top international events, and South Africans’ passion for sport combine to make the country a huge draw card for sports fans.
More than 10% of foreign tourists come to South Africa to watch or participate in sport events, with spectators accounting for 60% to 80% of these arrivals.
There are numerous world-class sporting events on South Africa’s calendar every year, such as the Cape Argus Cycle Race and the 89km Comrades marathon. The country has proved that it can successfully pull off the really big events, which have included the 1995 Rugby World Cup, the 2003 Cricket World Cup, and the biggest of them all, the 2010 Fifa World Cup.
PLEASE VISIT SOUTH AFRICA – SHOOT WITH YOUR CAMERA – PLEASE GIVE TO CONSERVATION
In 2012 we made a direct demand to President Jacob Zuma that should he not clean the poaching trade up then we would launch imminent and immediate boycotts of the South African tourism and trade industry. Please view the links
http://www.waterconservation.co.za/2012/01/20/threat-of-boycott-to-save-the-rhino/
http://mg.co.za/article/2012-01-13-rhino-lovers-issue-ultimatum
http://vnmade.com/?p=15092
It was a wrong and uneducated move by me the founder/CEO of the International Animal Rescue Foundation of which I didn’t see the full potential of what tourism could bring into South Africa which has masses of “potential if the tourism trade acts with us and others”.
Tourism is big business in South Africa and in the European Union, Africa is plastered on every tourism outlet everywhere one travels, by working with the tourism industry, showing the trade that walks through the door of what is happening in the nation they wish to visit then “more sums of monetary gain” can be achieved and pushed directly into conservation to protect our Rhinoceros and Elephant, Lions to Pangolins and more.
International Animal Rescue Foundation © has been working intensively to help preserve the famous big five in Africa along with many other conservationists and individuals, we placed conservation teams on the ground with our own European Anti-Poaching Units that are kept low key as we believe that corruption in Africa involving the animal parts trade doesn’t just involve government, police, rangers, to farmers.
As explained we also believe that there are individuals working within Anti-Poaching Units that are tipping poaching gangs off with planned movements of Anti-Poaching personnel. We refuse to allow any African Anti-Poaching teams or Africans to work with us not because of discrimination but because we are highly concerned at the corruption of instate individuals and we do not wish to take chances. This we feel very unfair as it could introduce good working relations, and rapport.
There are also other major factors that are not being taken into consideration with regards to poaching and every time we mention these important factors to government and smaller non-profits and non-governmental agencies they are simply brushed aside. We are not going to allow those problems to be simply hammered down because of fear of upsetting people in other nations, or their own governments.
We explained to our team back in 2009 that we need to look at poaching in Africa within a more (broader setting), who else could be involved? Why have the numbers of poached Rhinoceros drastically increased from 7 in 2000, to 122 in 2009 than 2011 seeing just over 448 poached?
Elephant poaching statistics went skyrocketing from 2005-2006 being the start of the main Elephant poaching frenzy then decreasing in 2007 to a maximum number of 15,000 with 2008 being the lowest ever year recorded in Africa alone for Elephant poaching with numbers of poached Elephants under 10,000.
Then 2009 see’s under 37,000 thousand poached Elephants with the year 2010 practically shooting of the graphs with poaching statistics standing at just under 58,000 poached dead, 2011 and 2012 see’s the largest now moving into hundreds of thousands standing at 25,000+ with formal records still to come back to the IUCN and CITES.
The statistics of “poaching incidents” for both Rhinoceros and Elephants are almost identical, and yes we are fully aware that the Rhinoceros hasn’t been poached into the thousands as with the Elephant species but what we are trying to explain is the “years of increasing hits” on wildlife.
Let’s pull some facts and questions here and lay them on the table;
- Between the years of 2002 and 2009 the poaching “hits or incidents” and not (numbers of poached) on both the Rhinoceros and the Elephant have increased at the same time moving from a steady low then high to decreased poaching rates then sliding of the scale. Why did Africa see these rates at such fluctuating levels?
- There are more poaching incidents next to “war torn” or “poverty hit nations” (we know the KNP (Kruger National Park) holds the largest number of Rhinoceros and we are also aware that Kruger and Mozambique meet that are not secure or manned properly at the border posts with some poachers traveling through the Giriyondo gate via the getaway or just moving animal parts discreetly through the frontiers.
- There are more poaching incidents of Rhinoceros in the Kruger “which people believe is (only) because there is more numbers of Rhinoceros in the Kruger however this side of Africa (KNP) also borders extremely poor nations” where civil unrest and refugee camps are becoming increasingly larger.
- There are more Mozambique’s, Somalia’s, and Ethiopians arrested in “poaching incidents” than there are Asian poaching gangs with regards to the Rhinoceros and Elephant.
- Moving back to the poaching of Elephants the numbers stand at this in (percentage) for 2011. 1) The percentage of poached Elephants for 2011 in central Africa stood at 90% 2) The percentage of poached Elephants for 2011 in East Africa stood at 59% 3) The percentage of poached Elephants for 2011 in southern Africa stood at 51% 4) The percentage of poached Elephants for 2011 in Western Africa stood at 84%
ONLY YOU AND WE CAN STOP THIS - STOP IGNORING THE DAMAGE - START TAKING ACTION - WE NEED MORE ACTION IN THE FIELDS NOW - WE ARE LOSING THIS BLOODY WAR - PLEASE HELP US - PLEASE HELP THE AFRICAN BIODIVERSITY NOW!.
Identifying other areas of interest I have listed below.
- There has been 16 years of civil war in Mozambique that ended in 1992. Stated in 1975 after independence from Portugal it displaced millions, ruined homes and infrastructure, agriculture, and living, pushing people into poverty and crime with most people living on $1 a day to support themselves and family. Although in Mozambique the Civil war has since ended (to a degree) the country still sees for 2012 based on UNHCR statistics some 145,000 refugees, 245,000 asylum seekers, 55,000 internally displaced persons, with only “four thousand returnees”. The country also has a 20%+ unemployment rate.
- In 2002 a severe drought hit many central and southern parts of the Mozambique, including previously flood-stricken areas. Poverty remained widespread, with more than 50% of Mozambicans living on less than $1 a day. At this same time of year poaching increased of the Rhinoceros from 6 in 2001 to 25 in 2002 than 22 in 2003 with a decrease in poaching between the years of 2004-2007 with only 2006 seeing a fluctuation, the years of 2002 to 2005 is a typical “drought session” is this an indicating factor that we should all be looking for in the future to prepare oneself for possible poaching “incidents?
- In 2012 it was reported that Individuals in mixed-migration movements towards South Africa often use camps in Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe as temporary stopovers, putting a strain on scarce humanitarian resources and creating tensions locally. This has led many governments in the region to restrict access to the asylum system by requiring travel documents at entry points and applying the “first safe country” principle, whereby entry is refused to asylum-seekers who have travelled through a safe country prior to their arrival.
- 2012 The UNHCR has now called on the Mozambique government to STOP asylum seekers from being deported of which will see more pressure placed on refugee camps, more crime, poverty and anti-social unrest. (Could this be another reason why poaching is increasing as of asylum into a poor nation?) Why would anyone decide on seeking asylum in Mozambique in such (small numbers that are not even totalling that of what Britain see’s and being under 200,000)
- In 1993 President Robert Mugabe born 21 February 1924 threatened to expel white landowners who objected to the 1992 Land Acquisition Act permitting the government to force them to give up their land for redistribution to black Zimbabweans.
- In 2000 President Robert Mugabe begins ordering white farmers to give up their land. Some 4,000 farmers lose their land and Zimbabwe’s agricultural output decreases sharply.
- In 2004 it accusations by Human Rights Watch state that starvation is being used as a tool for the regime’s support among Zimbabweans. Farm output has decreased sharply since Mugabe began his policy of land grabs.
- 4,500 white commercial farmers to surrender their lands without compensation to black settlers that had NO agricultural or botanical experience at all plunging the economy into doom with hypermarket shelves left bare and empty.
- In 2000 Up to 13 million people, close to half of them in Zimbabwe, starved over the six months as a result of drought and political mismanagement across six countries in the region. Between 2000 and 2008 203 Rhinoceros where poached (there is now 700 Rhinoceros left in Zimbabwe alone) Was the land reform partly responsible for poaching fluctuations too in South Africa coupled with droughts of 2000 in Mozambique?
- From 1999-2000 Zimbabweans unemployment rate stood at 52% and as drought took hold due to rapid climate change and lack of agricultural consumer goods as of inexperienced agriculturists this had a knock on effect with increased unemployment increasing, from 2001 unemployment shot up to 57% from 2005 unemployment stood at 73.4% then rising yet again in 2007 at a staggering 88% unemployed with 2009 at 95% for the years of 2011 to 2012 the unemployment rate is of the scale with most of those unemployed between the ages of 18-35 years of age. (Coincidentally those that are arrested for poaching are also in between this age group and are from Mozambique, or Zimbabwe. Between the years of 2007-2011 poaching skyrocketed (could this be another reason why poaching took off coupled with the animal parts trade in Traditional Chinese Medicine too?
- Zimbabwe has the “highest rate” of unemployment in the whole of Africa standing at 95% with Mozambique at 21% (are more poachers deriving from Zimbabwe where Asian syndicate gangs are taking advantage?) Namibia stands at 51.2% unemployed, Kenya and Swaziland stands at exactly 40% unemployed, South Africa 24.9% Ghana 11%
- As reported on May 8th 2012 Angola entered its pre-electoral phase, with civil unrest very likely to rise effecting Botswana although Botswana is a relatively peaceful nation compared to others it’s not of a major concern to ourselves with regards to poachers slipping over the borders or possible syndicates seeing these areas as poaching havens to pay poachers to do their dirty work whilst they stay relatively safe in neighbouring nations bordering South Africa.
South Africa borders four other major African nations as explained above, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Botswana with Swaziland closest to Mozambique and Lesotho 30 degrees east. Leaving Botswana, Swaziland, Lesotho, and Namibia out of the equation the top ranking nations that have the most problems with petty crime, unemployment, social dysfunction, organised crime, and drought to very low income then these nations can be and are from what we are seeing being targeted by highly sophisticated Asian syndicate gangs.
The opportunist is also targeting our wildlife within South Africa and who can blame them when you see figures such as this above from mainly Mozambique and Zimbabwe regarding unemployment, civil unrest and drought.
The same more or less is on-going in Indonesia and Malaysia with regards to illegal logging of which poor families that are none the wiser are completely oblivious to what damage they are causing to our sensitive biodiversity.
Bringing these two together with the poor and the sophisticated heavily armed and trained poachers could this be a reason why the Rhinoceros and the Elephant is now being plunged into nearing extinction at such a rapid rate? And are the syndicates residing in Zimbabwe where they know there basically untouchable thus sending in trained poachers to take down South African wildlife. We all know that from time to time the poor man will take his fair share, however the poor can easily be manipulated and bribed and $1000 sounds a lot better than $1 A DAY!
Shoot out 26th November 2012 - with the other two poachers moving back across the border into Mozambique http://www.timeslive.co.za/scitech/2012/11/26/two-men-arrested-for-rhino-poaching
On the 7 March 2012 more Mozambicans were arrested for Rhinoceros poaching - Mozambican nationals, Timothy Ngcobe, 44, David Lazerus, 29, Carlito Masundu, 25, Santos Smit, 28, Chicco Khoza, 35, Sam Mashaba, 36, and Sello Zitha, 35 were later arrested over the weekend. - http://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/more-rhino-poachers-be-arrested-says-kruger
9th February 2013 – Shootout erupts with remaining poachers fleeing back over the border into Mozambique - http://blog.getaway.co.za/travel-news/suspected-poachers-killed-arrested-kruger/
24th January 2013 – The DEA reports on more arrests with “poachers fleeing over the border into Mozambique” feeling over the border http://www.politicsweb.co.za/politicsweb/view/politicsweb/en/page71654?oid=352926&sn=Detail&pid=71654
It was stated on the 6th March 2011 by the Department of Environmental Affairs
“South Africa and Mozambique have signed a historic agreement to drop fences between the two countries for biodiversity reasons in the Greater Limpopo Trans-frontier Park. Evidently, this has been exploited by criminal elements.
Working together with her Mozambican counterpart, Minister Molewa will address this concern. This bilateral with Mozambique will address among others how we should jointly strengthen and upgrade the security situation to arrest the scourge of rhino poaching. We also would want to share with our Mozambican counterparts our initiatives that allow collaboration between various security agencies to deal with poaching as a priority crime”. http://www.environment.gov.za/?q=content/rhino_poaching_cause_concern
What minister Molewa shouldn’t off done was drop the fence, the Minister has along with her Mozambique counterpart increased poaching figures dramatically, and yet still claims that she is cracking down on poaching. This is bloody absurd and the so called “criminal elements” are the Mozambicans, Zimbabwean’s themselves or are they?
One cannot just blame or point the finger though at Mozambique or Zimbabwe, we also have refugee camps that are in dilapidated and in repulsive conditions with little food, electricity black outs, social dysfunction, drought, lack of sanitation “if any at all”, to people living way below the bread line. What would you do if you had been forced out of your nation with three children in tow and had to live months if not years in cramped, stinking, and heat swamped conditions? These areas also need addressing and rapidly.
The Rhinoceros and the Elephant we are fully aware is being targeted for TCM and TIM as there is no use for these animal parts in other nations. However we MUST locate these syndicates and vaporise them for good. International Animal Rescue Foundation © believes that these syndicates are over the border and this is a prime interest area for us.
We must also remember that Rhinoceros and Elephant poaching is not just “Asian related”. The poor that are attacking our precious biodiversity are also being targeted by syndicates in a no win situation. We need to clean these areas up, and that is exactly what we are going to do based on accurate informer intelligence and co-operation from over border agencies.
Together working in unity we will crush these bastards that are slaughtering our natural and most beautiful biodiversity fauna and flora.
Please stay tuned for part II of Five detailing the Rhinoceros and Elephant crisis.
Thank you for reading.
Chief Executive Officer
Dr J C Dimetri & Directive team of staff International Animal Rescue Foundation
If you would like to know more about the the International Anti-Poaching Foundation please visit
http://www.wildvolunteer.com/volunteer-international-anti-poaching-foundation/
http://www.iapf.org/en/
Please donate to the I.A.P.F. here -> http://www.iapf.org/en/donate#paypal (Please READ what your donation can achieve) Please speak to Damien for more information the Chief Executive Officer and ex-Australian special forces solider -BE THE BEST I.A.P.F
Environmentalism chapter 21 - Alternative stress medicine
Mother Nature (sometimes known as Mother Earth) is a common personification of nature that focuses on the life-giving and nurturing aspects of nature by embodying it in the form of the mother. We the Homo sapiens were the third dwellers on the planet with Mother Nature being the first occupant that has thrived through many living organisms of which the small cellular living algae was the first living creature “or” plant to evolve upon earth but not formally “established” to this very day as scientific factual evidence.
Botanical species came first in the way of living organisms, then the species of mammals, and non-mammals then of course the human being the last to evolve with no actual scientific proof of how humans actually really evolved. It is stated but never has been actually proven that some 2.3 million years ago humans “could” of evolved from Chimpanzees however with Chimpanzees now set in stone with no further evidence of “evolution change” then this we cannot specify whether humans evolved from “chimps” or not although they share some 97/8% of our DNA structure.
The first fossils of macroscopic land plants have been found in the Middle Silurian of Ireland. They are about 425 million years old. They consist of small bifurcations some centimetres in size. Only in the very last part of the Silurian fossils of land-plants become more common and also more complete. The best known plant from that time is called Cooksonia. It is named after Ms Isabel Cookson, who occupied herself with intensive collecting and describing plant fossils.
The little plant looked very simple with a stem which bifurcated a couple of times topped with small spheres in which the spores were formed. Thus sporangia being formed that had no leave’s, no flowers, no seeds and roots. They most likely had horizontal growing stems, connected with the soil by root hairs that took the function of roots. But this is not sure for fossils proving this has yet to be fully established and maybe never will unless more remains are unearthed. During many millions of years it was mainly this kind of plants that grew on humid places on the land.
So what I am trying to explain is that our botanical species that being the first ever earth dweller we must take as the most important evolution of living known species to date. Plants have always been a natural source of non-potent to powerful forms of medicine, yet still we are killing our botanical species of by the day in the vast swathes of forests that reside in the America’s, and mainly Asia.
We live a very hectic and intense lifestyle and yet still remain on synthetic pharmaceuticals or fake animal parts that being users in Asia mainly for the relief of an array of illness and symptoms such as the common cold, migraine, anxiety, aphrodisiacs, or influenza (antibiotics - DO NOT cure influenza), viral infections, diabetes to blood disorders, hypertension to oedema and tachycardia and many more illness to complaints.
Cooksonia - Located in Ireland over 400 million years ago is said to be the first recorded plant on earth along with mosses and lichens
STRESS though is a number on factor within our life and is not just harming our own health, but others around us too along with harming the environment through negligence chaotic out of control thinking. I have listed below a number of plants that you may be familiar with or may not that can and have been proven time again to help relieve just stress plus other ailments however STRESS or anxiety is the number one subject within this botanical document that I wish to narrate on.
Stress is defined as an organism’s total response to an environmental condition or stimulus, also known as a stressor. Stress typically describes a negative condition that can have an impact on an organism’s mental and physical well-being. There are many “signals” to stress or anxiety attacks to feeling (anxious)
How does stress (interfere with our bodies complex organs?)
Brain
The brain plays a critical role in the body’s perception of and response to stress. However, pinpointing exactly which regions of the brain are responsible for particular aspects of a stress response is difficult and often unclear. Understanding that the brain works in more of a network-like fashion carrying information about a stressful situation across regions of the brain (from cortical sensory areas to more basal structures and vice versa) can help explain how stress and its negative consequences are heavily rooted in neural communication dysfunction. In spite of this, several important brain structures implicated in playing key roles in stress response pathways are described below.
Human brain (hypothalamus=red, amygdala=green, hippocampus/fornix=blue, pons=gold, pituitary gland=pink)
Hypothalamus
The hypothalamus is a small portion of the brain located below the thalamus and above the brainstem. One of its most important functions is to help link together the body’s nervous and endocrine systems. This structure has many bidirectional neural inputs and outputs from and to various other brain regions. These connections help regulate the hypothalamus’ ability to secrete hormones into the body’s blood stream, having far-reaching and long-lasting effects on physiological processes such as metabolism. During a stress response, the hypothalamus secretes various hormones, namely corticotropin-releasing hormone, which stimulates the body’s pituitary gland and initiates a heavily regulated stress response pathway.
Amygdala
The amygdala is a small, “almond”-shaped structure located bilaterally, deep within the medial temporal lobes of the brain and is a part of the brain’s limbic system, with projections to and from the hypothalamus, hippocampus, and locus coeruleus, among other areas. Thought to play a role in the processing of emotions, the amygdala has been implicated in modulating stress response mechanisms, particularly when a feeling of anxiety or fear is involved.
Hippocampus
The hippocampus is a structure located bilaterally, deep within the medial temporal lobes of the brain, just lateral to each amygdala, and is a part of the brain’s limbic system. The hippocampus is thought to play an important role in memory formation. There are numerous connections to the hippocampus from the cerebral cortex, hypothalamus, and amygdala, among other regions. During stress, the hippocampus is particularly important, in that cognitive processes such as prior memories can have a great influence on enhancing, suppressing, or even independently generating a stress response. The hippocampus is also an area in the brain that is susceptible to damage brought upon by chronic stress.
Locus coeruleus
The locus coeruleus is an area located in the pons of the brainstem that is the principal site of the synthesis of the neurotransmitter norepinephrine, which plays an important role in the sympathetic nervous system’s fight-or-flight response to stress. This area receives input from the hypothalamus, amygdala, and raphe nucleus among other regions and projects widely across the brain as well as to the spinal cord.
Raphe nucleus
The raphe nucleus is an area located in the pons of the brainstem that is the principal site of the synthesis of the neurotransmitter serotonin, which plays an important role in mood regulation, particularly when stress is associated with depression and anxiety. Projections extend from this region to widespread areas across the brain, namely the hypothalamus, and are thought to modulate an organism’s circadian rhythm and sensation of pain among other processes.
Spinal cord
The spinal cord plays a critical role in transferring stress response neural impulses from the brain to the rest of the body. In addition to the neuroendocrine blood hormone signaling system initiated by the hypothalamus, the spinal cord communicates with the rest of the body by innervating the peripheral nervous system. Certain nerves that belong to the sympathetic branch of the central nervous system exit the spinal cord and stimulate peripheral nerves, which in turn engage the body’s major organs and muscles in a fight-or-flight manner.
Pituitary gland
The pituitary gland is a small organ that is located at the base of the brain just under the hypothalamus. This gland releases various hormones that play significant roles in regulating homeostasis. During a stress response, the pituitary gland releases hormones into the blood stream, namely adrenocorticotropic hormone, which modulates a heavily regulated stress response system.
Adrenal gland
The adrenal gland is a major organ of the endocrine system that is located directly on top of the kidneys and is chiefly responsible for the synthesis of stress hormones that are released into the blood stream during a stress response. Cortisol is the major stress hormone released by the adrenal gland.
In addition to the locus coeruleus existing as a source of the neurotransmitter norepinephrine within the central nervous system, the adrenal gland can also release norepinephrine during a stress response into the body’s blood stream, at which point norepinephrine acts as a hormone in the endocrine system.
The immune system also plays a role in stress and the early stages of wound healing. It is responsible for preparing tissue for repair and promoting recruitment of certain cells to the wound area. Consistent with the fact that stress alters the production of cytokines, Graham et al. found that chronic stress associated with care giving for a person with Alzheimer’s Disease leads to delayed wound healing. Results indicated that biopsy wounds healed 25% more slowly in the chronically stressed group, or those caring for a person with Alzheimer’s disease.
It’s no surprise that constant stress can make people sick, which researchers have been studying now for some many years.
A study focused on 119 men and women taking care of spouses with dementia. The health of the caregivers was compared with that of 106 people of similar ages not living under the stress of constant care giving.
Blood tests showed that a chemical called Interleukin-6 sharply increased in the blood of the stressed caregivers compared with blood of the others in the test. Previous studies have associated IL-6 with several diseases, including heart disease, arthritis, osteoporosis, type-2 diabetes and certain cancers.
The study also found the increase in IL-6 can linger in caregivers for as long as three years after a caregiver had ceased that role because of the spouse’s death. Of the test group, 78 spouses died during the survey.
People under stress tend to respond by doing things that can increase their levels of IL-6.For example, they may smoke or overeat; smoking raises IL-6 levels, and the chemical is secreted by fat cells. Stressed people also may not get enough exercise or sleep, she added. Exercise reduces IL-6, she said, and normal sleep helps regulate levels of the chemical.
There are many animal pharmaceutical tested synthetic meications that can relieve stress from Amitriptyline, Chlorpromazine, Clonazepam, Clonazepan, Clonidine, Codeine, Valium, Cloziril, and many more all anti-psychotic to (neurological pain relievers such as Amitriptyline as explained) used to treat Neuralgia that is extremely unpleasant and effects one of the most sensitive nerves in the body the “ Trigeminal Nerve” that runs the entire length of your mouth, hence why when you feel tooth ache and it’s on the right hand side you can also feel pain on the left and within one’s ear as the Trigeminal nerve is connected to all nerve endings in the face that shoot pain receptors in many directions making your pain more intense as the infected “tooth” to the “virus or decay” is pressing on this nerve, hence why dentists to neurologists prescribe (nerve relievers to help relax the nerve thus = less pain).
Moving away from the pharmaceutical talk and more on the “natural stress relievers” I have listed as explained above, below for you handpicked stress relievers of which are “botanical aids”. You can purchase these in many local homeopathy natural medicine clinics or have them made up in front of you via tincture and to whatever strength.
Stress headache;
The cayenne pepper—also known as the Guinea spice is a great stress headache reliever “not a cure” and please do note that I use the word constantly “reliever” and not curer. Cayenne or better known in the bionomical language as Capsicum frutescens has been used in many alternative medicine therapies for the (relief) of migraine to stress induced headache that’s caused by mainly the blood vessels in the brain constriction and not allowing the receptors to flow through adequately. Clonidine would normally work here via opening the arteries in the brain as it acts as a vascular dilator. Capsicum frutescens also does the same job though and can be made into a spray or tablet to liquid form although many homoeopathists will tend to opt for the spray as the liquid from the cayenne will travel directly to the point intended this reliving pain over period of time.
Research suggests that capsaicin can also help relieve cluster headaches. In one study, people with cluster headaches rubbed a capsaicin preparation inside and outside their noses on the same side of the head as the headache pain. Within five days, 75 percent reported less pain and fewer headaches. They also reported burning nostrils and runny noses, but these side effects subsided within a week.
Capsaicin (pictured above)
Back and neck tension;
This is a common form of stress that will affect 7-10 people every week in one way or the other. Pain can range from moderate to severe giving the feeling that your entire body is knotted causing excruciating back, muscle and tendon stress pain.
65 million people in America alone suffer from chronic back pain. Conventional treatment of such injuries usually revolves around strong pain killers, anti-inflammatory drugs, and very often surgery. Unfortunately, it is too common that these treatments do not yield the recovery hoped for.
OK I have two very interesting and powerful alternative medicines here that have been proven to “relieve” and still many people don’t realise the wonders of this botanical alternative medicine[s].
lobelia inflate
Lobelia inflata is a species of Lobelia native to eastern North America, from south eastern Canada south through the eastern United States to Alabama and west to Kansas, Lobelia inflate is not your normal seasonal annum plant but in fact a type (1) perianal. How does it work?
Lobelia is a powerful antispasmodic, indicated by severe spasm. It doesn’t seem to work so well as a preventive, and so would not be an herb I would recommend for regular use, but rather help to resolve spasm when the muscles are seized up and just won’t let go.
To this end, it can be very effective, many people have used it to address grand mal seizures, and said it has worked better than anything they’ve normally used as an alternative to even synthetic pharmaceutical treatment. Lobelia, in large doses, can have an emetic effect – PLEASE NOTE Lobelia can in LARGE dosages induce vomiting, but the tincture taken in small doses is unlikely to produce this result.
I must stress this too and please don’t ignore my professional advice (please). Lobelia like any plant can cause gastrointestinal upsets thus inducing poisoning however (only in large extreme doses), some homoeopathists and herbalists will disagree with me to others, however I am giving you the advice from what I was taught at the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) to use Lobelia please administering 1-10 drops of lobelia to the effected start low, and work your way up if needed.
Lobelia inflate (pictured above)
kava kava better known as Piper methysticum
The roots of the plant are used to produce a drink with sedative and anaesthetic properties. Kava is consumed throughout the Pacific Ocean cultures of Polynesia, including Hawaii, Vanuatu, Melanesia and some parts of Micronesia. Kava is sedating and is primarily consumed to relax without disrupting mental clarity. Its active ingredients are called kavalactones. A Cochrane Collaboration systematic review of its evidence concluded it was likely to be more effective than placebo at treating short-term social anxiety. Safety concerns have been raised over liver toxicity, largely due to the use of stems and leaves by supplement makers, as opposed to solely the root of the plant as dictated by traditional uses.
Piper methysticum (pictured above)
Kava Kava though is if used moderately and correctly will not cause liver toxicity such as illicit narcotics or liqueur.
Kava Kava is a very effective remedy for relaxing tension, and it works both on the mind and the muscles. Kava is very often used when people are holding their emotional or mental tension physically, but it can also be useful when the physical tension of an injury is causing a lot of mental anxiety and unrest. While I think Kava poses no problems when taken frequently, it’s an herb I’d restrict to use as needed to deal with the anxiety attending injury, and not the mainstay of treatment. Also, I do think kava works rather nice in larger doses, anywhere from 30 to 90 drops (1 to 3 “squirts” of tincture). Please consult homoeopathists and do not try to prepare yourself unless you’re fully qualified in botanical medicine.
Emotional stress and depressive stress;
Ashwagandha & St Johns Wort
Withania somnifera, also known as ashwagandha, Indian ginseng, poison gooseberry, or winter cherry, is a plant in the Solanaceae or nightshade family. Several other species in the genus Withania are morphologically similar. Yes Nightshades “can be toxic” however only the main species of the (deadly nightshade) Atropa belladonna a completely different species and genus.
Withania somnifera, is a perennial herb found throughout western India. It is also known as the Indian ginseng because of its revitalizing actions. Ashwagandha is a rejuvenating tonic in Ayurveda, and practitioners use the roots to treat general fatigue, nervous exhaustion, insomnia and stress. In their 2000 book “The Herbal Drugstore,” Dr. Linda B. White and medicinal plant expert Dr Steven Foster recommend ashwagandha to enhance your body’s mental and physical performance and its ability to cope with stress. You can use ashwagandha teas, tinctures and capsules, but consult a qualified health care professional for dosage instructions. Do not use ashwagandha if you are pregnant, have stomach ulcers, autoimmune disease, or if you are having surgery with anaesthesia.
Withania somnifera (pictured above)
You can purchase Ashwagandha here - http://www.google.com/shopping/product/7563134337631719525?q=Ashwagandha&hl=en&rlz=1C1CHMO_enGB520GB520&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&bvm=bv.42553238,d.cGE&biw=1517&bih=664&sa=X&ei=4sIdUde_KpDxigLZwIGgBg&ved=0CG4Q8wIwAA
St Johns Wort – Hypericum perfoatum or H. vulgaris is and has been used for some many years across the planet as an emotional stress and depression reliever lifting moods and helping your bodies to battle immune stress and emotions.
Now available on prescription due to cost in herbalist formulation of this amazing plant it can be located in Germany, France, England, and Spain via your local physician. Please note that in some parts of the United Kingdom it’s not available due to funding and what I could locate as a discriminatory post code lottery.
St. John’s wort is most often taken in liquid or pill form. The dried herb may also be used as a tea.
The most common dose used in studies has been 300 mg, three times a day. Preparations in the U.S. have varied amounts of active ingredient in them. So be careful to note how much you’re getting in your tablets.
Please NOTE;
You should be alert for any of the following effects if you are taking St. John’s wort:
- allergic reactions
- fatigue and restlessness with long-term use
- increased blood pressure
- increased sensitivity to the sun — especially if you are fair-skinned and taking large doses
- stomach upsets
St Johns Wort (pictured above)
Nervous tension/stress/ emotional stress;
Valeriana wallichii known as Tagara
Valeriana wallichii, is a rhizome herb of the genus Valeriana and the family Valerianaceae also called Indian Valerian or Tagar-Ganthoda, not to be confused with Ganthoda or the Long Pepper. It is a herb useful in Ayurvedic medicine used as an analeptic, antispasmodic, carminative, sedative, stimulant, stomachic, and nervine.
A perennial herb rich in volatile oils Ayurvedic practitioners use it to treat emotional stress, nervous tension, insomnia, muscle spasms, headaches and anxiety. The active ingredients are called valepotriates, and they have potent antispasmodic and anti-anxiety action. In her 2009 book, “The Holistic Herbal Directory,” herbalist Penelope Ody says that tagara can also be applied as a cream topically to treat stress-related skin conditions like eczema. Do not combine tagara with other sedatives or antidepressants.
Valeriana wallichii (pictured above)
Please read more here http://www.a2xanxiety.com/reports/anxiety.html?stress?weirdherbscombo?www.livestrong.com
Although I have named only a small handful of the most stressful complaints that can be reduced through using natural herbs there are thousands of botanical species that can be purchased online or at your local herbalist homoeopathist.
Thank you for reading
Dr J C Dimetri V.M.D, B.E.S, Ma, PhD , MEnvSc
Please note in the first video below the speaker quotes “there are no side effects” this is untrue and there are indeed side effects like with synthetic medications. Please always consult your practitioner, herbalists, or homeopathic therapists,
Please note International Animal Rescue Foundation shows BOTH SIDES of every story and wish to explain in great detail our own findings and what knowledge that we are already aware of;
Environmentalism Chapter 19 - Plant smuggling
On a regular daily basis we often here within the news animal parts that are smuggled along with narcotics and fire arms too. Smuggling is big business and if it’s freely obtainable such as species of animals, and money can be made relatively quickly then it’s a job well done for the smuggler.
Regrettably animal parts smuggling we are all now aware is almost finically nearing that of narcotics and fire arms raking up some millions of dollars just for counterfeit pharmaceuticals, to clothing within the fur trade of which a single Tiger pelt can fetch up to $100,000 or more.
What we don’t view documented much on is illegal bulb/plant smuggling, and I’m not talking about the ones that light your rooms. Bulb, root stock, seed’s to even whole entire plots of land are being dug up and illegally then smuggled across the borders that is now starting to rage out of control.
Back in 1993 I worked with the Romanian border police for two months to gauge experience on this as botany is one of my specialised subjects which I hold a Bachelor’s degree on, not to mention other subjects I have studied. The trade in plant and bulb smuggling has always been big business in more or less the same way as cattle rustling to animal parts smuggling. One of the main reasons why it’s not really heard of though within news and media is because there are billions of species of plant life upon our planet to date compared to animals which are dwindling in numbers rapidly. However this does not under any circumstances mean it’s not causing environmentalists and agriculturists to horticulturists a rather nasty headache.
The smuggling of plants, bulbs, root stock to trees and seeds is fairly un-documented on within online forums to news and media so please allow me to explain how bad the problems are with regards to endangered botanical species that are being wiped out to bringing with them across international borders plant stock and seeds that are actually infested with pests and diseases that can if they take hold within a nation that has no real agricultural to botanical problems or professional agricultural and botanical management cause widespread billion dollar damage to the environment to even human health placed at risk from crop destruction through human negligence and greed.
Plant smuggling as I am going to refer to it can be dated as far back as the 1990’s but didn’t really take off until the 1950’s – 1960’s within America on large scale that saw many pests and diseases brought in to the United States of America. Smuggling of plant stock in Europe is and always has been big business in Europe dating back to the late 1890’s to present.
One very important documented seizure in the United States that I can only lay a date of around the 1950’s I have recorded below, and hadn’t it been for eagle eyed customs officers ceasing the containment then America could of faced a catastrophic agricultural and botanical nightmare causing billions upon billions of lost crop and revenue due to pest infections from foreign seed, root stock, and bulb, not to mention mass retail breakdown from cereal crop damage that the public mostly rely with regards to consumption.
The news article reads;
It was an ordinary looking package in the hands of an honest-appearing man who stepped from the steamer Charlotte M. Hall onto the Baltimore dock not so long ago.
The parcel had passed the customs officials, and had, apparently, a clear road to its destination anywhere in the United States. Yet it contained destructive agents that bade fair to wreck hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of property, and that might have left a trail of poverty and ruined homes throughout a period of many years.
Fortunately the U. S. government has eyes, concealed in unexpected places. This package aroused the suspicion of an inspector of the Plant Quarantine and Control Administration of the U. S. Department of Agriculture. He got possession of it, questioned the owner, opened the parcel, and saved the nation from a loss than can scarcely be calculated.
The passenger who landed that day from the Charlotte M. Hall was a Mississippi planter, returning from a business trip to Brazil. He was a progressive farmer, and his motive—the improvement of his cotton crop —was legitimate enough. But the package contained 59 separate sets of cotton seed, every set infested with living larvae and adults of the dread pink bollworm, the most destructive enemy of cotton in the world. Already it has destroyed the cotton industry of the Hawaiian Islands, and annually inflicts tremendous damage upon the cotton planters of Egypt, Brazil, and Mexico— in fact every great cotton growing country in the world save the United States.
Experts say that if this innocent appearing personal package had not been intercepted through the vigilance of a plant inspector, it would have carried to the heart of Mississippi enough living pink bollworms to have started an invasion of the entire state which might easily have gotten beyond control before discovery.
This incident is only one of the many thousands involving similar interceptions made annually by the inspectors of the Plant Quarantine and Control Board. Their job is to prevent plant and fruit smuggling, innocently intended, or otherwise; and their personnel, while comparatively small numerically speaking, is of the highest calibre. Inspectors are stationed at all principal ports.
Down along the Mexican border the Federal officers have their share and more of adventures, humorous and dangerous. Even some of the old-timers hardly dare put their hands in their pockets while working in certain hard-boiled communities, for fear of being shot at from behind. The license tags of their trucks carry the letters, U. S. D. A., meaning of course, United States Department of Agriculture. But thirsty souls, and there are many along the border, are prone to take a different interpretation—United States Dry-Agent! And lovers of the corn and rye like to take the law in their hands—when in doubt.
And now for some of the tricks of the smugglers! The following side splitting incident took place at the port of New York a few years ago. It seems that a woman arrived from Jamaica, and in her possession was discovered a basket containing some plants. They did not meet the current rigid requirements so a plant inspector explained that her plants could not be brought in. The good woman explained that she really wasn’t greatly interested in the plants themselves, but that she was anxious to have the soil for her prize cat to play in—he did so love to frolic about in Jamaica soil.
A tear or so appeared in the official’s eye— for he was a kindly soul. However, it did not remain there long. After being hard-hearted enough to do his duty and advise the dowager that she must return home sans the soil, he gave it the thorough Sherlock Holmes. Hardly had the good woman departed when his astonished, but no longer humanitarian eye, noted two bottles of Jamaica gin buried therein.
Joseph of Biblical fame had a coat of many colours. But the inspectors around Brownsville, Texas, and the notorious Tia Juana district, are still chuckling over the Mexican of many pockets. Some years ago this man came waddling across the border at such a slow rate that he aroused suspicion. To begin with, he was plump, but his avoirdupois seemed to be not altogether of the flesh. And it was not, as examination of his portly person revealed. Inside his coat was an ingeniously devised vest containing many pockets filled with alligator pears. Now, these delicacies are likely to contain an unwanted kind of pest. This “inventor” extraordinary was tried, found guilty, and given a stiff fine for his ambitious efforts to pull a fast one on your Uncle Samuel.
A somewhat similar incident, but of a far more serious nature, took place on the border near El Paso recently. A very dignified gentleman of middle age who claimed to be some sort of a scientist presented his trunk for Federal inspection. Nothing contraband seemed to be on hand until one of the inspectors nonchalantly plunged a hand into a bulky looking pile of the man’s coats and trousers. Encountering numerous hard objects, the inspector made a thorough investigation and found no less than 56 contraband orchid plants. That the offender’s intentions were anything but innocent was revealed by the fact that every one of the plants had been sewed painstakingly into the garments with an obvious intent to deceive. Imagine Mr Scientist’s embarrassment when he saw his well worked plans go awry, even to the point of earning a substantial fine.
Then there was the case of the American woman who crossed the Mexican border into the United States wearing an extremely full skirt of a type common to certain well known religious sects. Devout looking was this lady, yet there was a certain something about her demeanour that aroused suspicion, so a lady inspector was instructed to give her a thorough inspection. This brought out the interesting fact that the good woman had tied a huge bag, filled with contraband fruit, around her waist. Which may explain why she chose such full skirts on that eventful day?
But for sheer ingenuity, consider a package lately received by postal inspectors. At first glance it consisted of a number of heavy magazines. But their weight was so out of proportion to their size that the inspector opened the “magazines”. Whereupon he found many bunches of contraband nursery stock, alongside of which a couple of potatoes had been packed in order to afford moisture to the stock.
Other clever ruses of the smugglers are: false bottomed trunks and barrels, besides contraband fruits and plants which have been hidden in partially baked loaves of bread.
End of news article —-
Problems have gotten far worse though since this time and we cannot just blame the smuggler as it is indeed as quoted above the innocent member of the public that has travelled to local or internal continents, spied the eyes in such a beautiful species of plant of seed crop then removed that and brought it into their home nation on returning from their vacation.
Customs are now seizing daily many plant species that are non-endangered to critically endangered, to fruits vegetables and seeds all of which can and will present a massive biohazard. Its takes only one to two pests to escape from the contraband or illegally smuggled plants to enter agricultural land, or botanical crops and within one to two weeks billions in damages are caused, human life is placed in danger from hunger or famine as of infested non-edible crops, and the environment suffers more due to herbicides, insecticides, and pesticides leached in to the soil, streams and seas from chemical land run off.
Main seizures to date and current trends are that of mainly bulbs and, orchids, and seeds that can fetch on the black market millions of euros to dollars. On July 24, 2001 (ENS) - Six men were charged with crimes related to the illegal importation of internationally protected plants called cycads the men were arrested by special agents of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that Friday.
Cycads, which look like palms or tree ferns, are a group of plants whose ancestors date back more than 200 million years. Some cycad species are endangered or threatened in the wild from habitat loss and over-collection from botanical enthusiasts to general members of the public that are looking at sparking the garden up with lush green tropical growth without realising the mass damage they are causing to the environment and potentially other crops.
Cycads are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), a treaty through which the United States and more than 150 other countries regulate global trade in imperilled animals and plants, these palm like tropical species of plant are the most desired simply because of their appearance.
The idiotic and selfish individuals that where arrested are Peter Heibloem, 47, of Queensland, Australia, and Ernest Bouwer, 56, of Sandton, South Africa, were arrested that Friday and charged with 15 counts of conspiracy, smuggling, and making false statements in an indictment unsealed that Friday in the U.S. District Court in San Francisco.
According to the indictment, Heibloem, Bouwer, and three others charged - John Baker of Gauteng, South Africa, Ian Turner of Harare, Zimbabwe, and Rolf Kyburz, of Queensland, Australia - sent approximately $542,000 worth of protected cycads to the United States from South Africa, Australia, and Zimbabwe, had ANY pests and diseases escaped into the atmosphere that could of caused potential mass crop damage thus endangering human and animal life to even killing through crop famine then the men could have been looking at a potential death sentence or lengthy stay behind bars.
Also charged in the indictment and arrested on that Friday, July 20, is Donald Joseph Wiener, 64, of Mexico. He is alleged to have knowingly purchased approximately $200,000 worth of these plants from Heibloem.
Rolf Bauer, 44, of Johannesburg, South Africa, and Jan Van Vuuren, 54, of Centurion, South Africa, also arrested on that same Friday, are charged with conspiracy, smuggling, and making false statements in a separate 29 count indictment unsealed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.
According to the indictment, these two men sent more than $300,000 worth of protected cycads to the United States from South Africa. They allegedly used invalid CITES permits for the commercial shipments and falsely labelled many of the plants to cover up the lack of a valid permit.
The Service investigation also resulted in charges against three individuals accused of trafficking in protected orchids. Antonius Juniarto of Surabaya, Indonesia, and Iwan Kolopaking of Jakarta,
http://boughtonscoffeehouse.wordpress.com/2011/09/15/rare-orchid-named-after-a-coffee/
Indonesia, have been indicted in the Northern District of California on 21 counts of conspiracy, smuggling, and false statements related to the shipment of CITES Appendix I orchids into the United States from Indonesia.
Both remain at large and to this day 2013 have yet to be brought to justice. According to the indictment, the two men sent multiple packages of orchids through the mail with customs declarations falsely identifying the contents as toys. A separate indictment in the Northern District of California charges Terence Leung of Hong Kong with four counts of smuggling related to shipments of CITES Appendix II orchids from Hong Kong into the United States. Leung also remains at large to this date of 2013. If you know of these men, seen or are living please contact International Animal Rescue Foundation’s Conservation Investigation Crime Unit (CICU) at externalaffairs@international-animalrescue-foundation.org.uk immediately, alternatively you can contact your local sheriff.
The maximum penalty for each of the charges against these men is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. An indictment contains allegations against an individual, and all defendants must be presumed innocent of the charges against them unless they are convicted.
The smuggling of plants is BIG business and also very dangerous to the environment that is not being documented on enough throughout animal and environmental sectors and now has to be taken seriously and indeed much awareness has to ploughed throughout the community to help nail the smugglers but also to educate the public on the dangers of brining contraband through the ports.
Rare plants have also been a target for smugglers, with one high-profile bust in June 2011 catching two Dutch citizens trying to take 57 rare inverted tulip bulbs out of Turkey, along with more than 5,000 flower seeds and roots from 160 endemic species. Though the Dutch are often associated with tulips, the flowers actually have their origin in Turkey and other western Mediterranean countries — the inverted tulip grows only in a specific region of Erzurum, Turkey. Taking endemic species outside of the country without official permission is illegal in Turkey.
Illegal attempts to spirit endemic species out of the country appear to be on the rise in Turkey, where officials have recently busted a number of would-be smugglers with large cargos of butterflies and other insects, as well as rare tulips and other plants. A group of people trying to leave the country by car through Bulgaria were apprehended in 2011 with thousands of bugs hidden away in boxes and tubes, the Anatolia news agency reported. Biology professors who examined the cache “identified 6,014 bugs from 48 different species, including ladybugs, cockroaches, and various types of stag beetles, grasshoppers, flies, and bees” from the Black Sea region and the northern part of Central Anatolia. The haul was reportedly worth 500,000 Turkish Liras, or about $300,000.
Agricultural damage and food shortage;
When plants and plant products are imported or smuggled to the EU and other nations, there is a risk that quarantine pests come with them. Quarantine pests are serious plant pests like insects, mites, nematodes, fungi, bacteria, virus and similar organisms that have no or limited presence in the EU and that may cause large financial consequences if they spread here.
EU and international countries have common rules on the import of plants. These rules apply to both private individuals and to companies. However, there are certain exceptions for private individuals. You can locate more information here https://www.ippc.int/index.php?id=nppoAUS please type into the search engine what nation your wish to view that will show a list of current agricultural and botanical problems to date.
Indian medicinal plants are in great demand in the international market. Varieties like the saptarangi plants (Salacia Reticulate) and guvada (Mappia Foetida) medicinal plants are abundantly available in the forests of Khanapur, Bheemgad, Talewadi, Aamgaon Holda regions of Belgaum district. Medicinal plants are found in abundance at Kuveshi, Mayare, Castle Rock and Anamod forest regions near Diggi in Joida taluk.
Spices like Dalchini Moggu (cinnamon buds) and its leaves are also smuggled out. The Forest officers had seized a lorry transporting guvada leaves about three months ago near Jagalpet. The department has to its credit a few such cases. The medicine prepared from guvada leaves is useful in treating cancer and liver conditions and is in great demand in China and Japan, according to a forest officer.
Innocent people residing in the forests of the border areas are roped in for smuggling. Dearth of staff in the Forest department is a major setback in tackling illegal activities. Since most of the staff is aged around 50, they are unable to conduct surprise raids. A team of enthusiastic youth is required in the department to tackle the menace, says the forest officer.
More awareness;
The Wildlife Enforcement Group is calling for more awareness of illegal plant trading, as smugglers earn tens of thousands of dollars selling endangered New Zealand orchids overseas.
Two men from Czech Republic have been charged under the Trade in Endangered Species Act after allegedly trying to smuggle a number of threatened and protected orchid species taken from national parks out of New Zealand.
The Wildlife Enforcement Group’s investigator, Peter Younger, says there’s a huge demand because many of New Zealand’s orchid species are unique. He says the illegal trade in plants doesn’t attract the same attention as other endangered species.
The Wildlife Enforcement Group has officers from Customs, the Department of Conservation and Ministry of Agriculture. Younger says illegal trade in plants gets overlooked by enforcement agencies compared to more glamorous endangered species like elephants or pandas. Younger says more resources are needed to combat growing orchid smuggling.
A spokesperson for the Customs Service, Rochelle Turnbull, says the orchids are very attractive to international traders as many self-pollinate and are very rare. The accused smugglers appeared in Manukau District Court on Monday. They were remanded without plea.
For information on Australian biosecurity please view here http://www.dfat.gov.au/facts/quarantine.html
Plants that are most commonly smuggled are;
- Endangered tulips
- Narcissi
- Bluebells
- Snow drops
- Hyacinths
- Snakes head lily
- Lille’s (general)
- Spices and herbs
- Rhizomes
- Seeds
- Root stock
- Wild species (mostly illegal to excavate in most EU and International nations)
Some of the most invasive pests and diseases that can come with illegally imported stock / contraband
- Fire fly
- Green fly
- Black fly
- Fruit fly larvae
- Brown citrus aphid
- Citrus leaf minor
- Leaf minors (general)
- Oriental fruit flies
- Asian citrus Psyllid
- Small hive beetle
- Bromeliad weevil
- Cactus moth
- Mexican fruit fly
- Tropical soda apple – please read here http://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/node/426
Damage to crops and other botanical species can be vast in scale and also life threatening;
Primary Industries Minister David Carter explained in June 2012 the new Biosecurity Recovery Framework will run alongside existing support for farmers who suffer from droughts and floods.
“The government recognises that biosecurity incursions can have economic, environmental and social impacts that can hit production businesses hard and take time to recover from,”
“The new framework will make recovery measures available to people seriously impacted by a disease or pest incursion.”
In 1978, the horror movie, “The Swarm,” hit the nation’s theatres, featuring vast hordes of killer bees that wreaked havoc in south Texas. Chock a block with big name stars — Henry Fonda, Olivia de Havilland, Michael Caine, Richard Widmark, Fred MacMurray, Richard Chamberlain, Ben Johnson, Lee Grant, Patty Duke, Slim Pickens — the $21 million production (a lot of money in that era) was a colossal box office bomb, lasting only a couple of weeks in theatres. Although it was subsequently labelled one of the worst disaster movies ever, four decades later it enjoys something of cult status among horror movie buffs.
“It was a cheesy movie,” says Blake Layton, Mississippi State University Extension entomology professor, “but it was also somewhat prophetic in that we’ve seen Africanized honeybees, which were dubbed ‘killer bees,’ move into the southern U.S. and become established.”
While not nearly so dramatic on a human scale as in the old movie, many non-native pests, from fire ants to slithery, slimy worm-like creatures, have come into the U.S. and made themselves at home, often causing widespread economic damage and other disruptions to life and commerce, he said at a recent meeting of the Starkville, Miss., Ag Club.
“So, in reality, we can say ‘the swarm’ is still coming.”
Africanized honeybees, which are a sub-species of the common European honeybees, came into Texas in 1990 and have spread from there, Layton says.
“Their movement has been more westward than east, although they’re in south Louisiana, only two parishes away from Mississippi. They are much more aggressive than our native honeybees. When they do move into Mississippi, it will change the way we deal with honeybees.
“Even our ‘native’ honeybees aren’t native; they were brought here by settlers from Europe. The Indians called them ‘white man’s flies.’”
There are more than 1,700 significant insect pest species in the U.S., Layton says, and half or more have been introduced in one way or another.
“The boll weevil is a prime example of how a non-native pest can move in and wreak economic havoc,” he says. “It cost Mississippi farmers millions of dollars before it was finally eradicated. We’ve not had a boll weevil in the state in more than two years.”
Imported fire ants have spread across most of the lower Southeast and across south Texas and into parts of Oklahoma.
“Thus far, we’ve not been able to stop them,” Layton says, “and there’s nothing on the horizon that promises to halt their spread.”
Another species, Argentine ants, “have been here for a long time, but haven’t spread as fast as fire ants. South of Jackson, Miss., they’re quite abundant. They don’t sting or build visible mounds, and they’ll run off fire ants. The difference is that they will come inside houses and other buildings.”
Bio Insect Terrorism;
Following the 9/11 attacks the U.S. government assigned hundreds of agricultural scientists responsible for stopping invasive species at the border to anti-terrorism duties. The result has been that dozens of foreign insects and plant diseases managed to slip undetected into the United States
Experts now say that the problem has reached the point where the quality of the U.S. food supply is under threat. The economic damage is not in dispute: scientists say that the foreign pest explosion cost billions of dollars in crop damage and eradication efforts from California vineyards to Florida citrus groves.
Horrifying Biosecurity facts;
- Nineteen Mediterranean fruit fly infestations took hold in California, and the European grapevine moth triggered spraying and quarantines in California’s wine country.
- The Asian citrus psyllid, which can carry a disease that has decimated Florida orange groves, crossed the border from Mexico, threatening California’s $1.8 billion citrus industry.
- New Zealand’s light brown apple moth was detected in California, prompting the government in 2008 to bombard the Monterey Bay area with 1,600 pounds of pesticides. The spraying caused respiratory problems and killed birds. Officials spent $110 million to eradicate the moth, but the effort failed.
- The sweet orange scab, a fungal disease that infects citrus, appeared in Florida, Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, leading the states to impose quarantines.
- Chili thrips, rice cutworms and the plant disease gladiolus rust also got into Florida, which experienced a 27 per cent increase in new pests and pathogens between 2003 and 2007.
- The erythrina gall wasp decimated Hawaii’s wiliwili trees, which bear seeds used to make leis.
- Forests from Minnesota to Washington State were also affected by beetles such as the emerald ash borer, many of which arrived in Chinese shipping pallets.
The number of pest cases intercepted at U.S. ports of entry fell from more than 81,200 in 2002 to fewer than 58,500 in 2006, before climbing back up in 2007, after complaints from the farm industry. The situation for 2012 is now completely out of control and it’s becoming worse with the illegal smuggling of plant, bulb, seed, and other non-native pests and diseases.
December 2012 - Investigators from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry discovered the Asian tiger mosquitoes (Aedes albopictus) inside two glasshouses at a quarantine station on Melbourne’s outskirts.
The department says the mosquitoes can carry dengue fever. Spokesman Wayne Terpstra says they represent a potential risk to human health. “They are a known vector for what they call arboviruses, such as dengue fever,” he said. “So they do pose a health risk for humans if they were to establish.” The department says that no Asian tiger mosquitoes have been found outside the glasshouses.
The plants will be destroyed and the quarantine stations sprayed with insecticide. Officials say further investigations are underway to confirm all mosquitoes have been exterminated.
http://www.msmbb.org.my/apjmbb/html181/181ap.pdf
Should the plant/seed/bulb and other green stock smuggling not halt then we are/could be looking at a potentially dangerous situation here that would cause widespread famine, hunger, to cereal crop prices shooting out of the window because of stock having to be imported.
Animal parts smuggling is just as big on the black market than it is with plants, narcotics and fire arms with plant smuggling now being named as the new “animal parts trade” and it’s being primarily fuelled by the current trend hitting of internationally with regards to alternative traditional Chinese medicine and traditional Indian medicine. We are playing with fire and the general public are not taking this seriously.
Customs officers are doing all they can to seize the most potentially dangerous bio hazard stocks, but like I have explained it only takes one or more non-native insect species to enter the biosphere then we could be looking at dangerous consequences for all.
In November 2012 it was again reported;
A large tract of paddy crops has been damaged due to invasion of Leda (swarming caterpillar) insect which has ruined the economy of the thousands of farmers in the district here.
“Help from the administration, however, is yet to reach the villagers, more than three weeks after the first swarm of insects arrived here to ruin this year’s paddy. The insects are black in colour and measuring less than an inch in length. Most of the crops have been destroyed in the area by the insects. The farmers, who are hardly able to fight against the pests, now hope to reap less than one-eighth of their usual harvest. The first batch of pests arrived three weeks before,” said district Krusaka Sabha secretary Gayadhar Dhal.
About 8,000 hectares of paddy have been affected due to insect attack, alleged Dhal. However, the district agriculture officer said that only 487 hectares of paddy fields in the district were affected.
“After arriving, the pests first settle on the inner surface of the young leaves of the paddy plant. Usually, two insects share a single leaf. Each insect lay at least 50 eggs before being shaken off the leaf .The eggs are hatched within a week and the new-born insects stay back, drawing sustenance from the young, green leaves. When they leave, the leaf is dead and its colour is rendered pale white,” described an official.
A large patch under paddy crop in Bari, Dharmasala, Binjharpur and Badachana area turned white from their usual leafy green. The rich farmers tried to prevent the onslaught by spraying insecticides on the plants, but this only helped widening the rich-poor gulf. The pests, fleeing from the insecticides-applied areas, took position in the neighbouring fields, where the farmers could not afford to buy the costly chemicals and apply them, said the farmer leader.
The smaller farmers, therefore, lost all their saplings. One of them is Rakesh Samal, a resident of Bari. He has five acres of land and had invested Rs 5,000 this year for paddy cultivation. Last year, the land yielded sufficient profits for him. But this year, he is a worried man as he has lost all hopes of getting a good harvest. The condition of bigger farmers like Gatikrushna Rout of the same village is only slightly better. His family owns eight acres of land. Last year, each acre gave him 80 quintals of paddy. However, this year, after spending several hundred rupees on insecticides, he hopes to get, on an average, only 40 quintals from an acre, said Rout.
The villagers are sore at the lack of response from the administration. Several pleas have been made at the block development office but no official has turned up till date, the farmers complained.
The district agriculture officials have also been paying only lip-service towards their problems, alleged many farmers by not providing pesticides to the affected farmers.
When contacted, the district agriculture officer told this paper, “Twelve mobile groups of the agricultural office have been providing medicines to the farmers to save their paddy from the insects. A senior official from the Agricultural department visited some of the insect-affected paddy fields on Saturday and would give his report on the situation soon.” He added that, for the time being, the department has been freely distributing pesticides to the farmers to tackle the menace.
As angry as I am writing this it does not get any better, SOIL is also being smuggled not to mention tea leaves, tea plants, and now TOBACCO PLANTS to grow in European homes due to the crackdown on illegally imported tobacco that is costing the Inland Revenue department millions in lost revenue. The smugglers then go to real professional lengths and purchase the machinery from Asia or the Americas to then “process and make” their dangerous and potentially killer cigarettes. August 2012 http://www.customs.gov.sg/NR/rdonlyres/6185D945-DC37-4EA6-B5B7-3EC35CC8C60E/24314/PressReleaseonsmuggledsoilwebcopy.pdf soil smuggled “and this would have been used for one thing only (narcotics). This soil could off caused an entire nation to lose billions from foreign crop pests placing human and animal life in massive danger.
PLEASE DO NOT BRING PLANTS, SEEDS, FRUIT, OR OTHER PROHIBITED CONTRABAND INTO THE NATIONS THAT YOU ARE VISITING, PLEASE BE AWARE OF THE BIOHAZERDS IF YOU ARE UNSURE PLEASE CONTACT US ON;
info@international-animalrescue-foundation.org.uk
Dr J C Dimetri V.M.D, B.E.S, Ma, PhD , MEnvSc
Chief Executive Officer
The video above may be a little confusing with regards to the language barrier. What is actually ongoing is the illegal importation of Khat, Khat is used as a medicinal hallucinogenic that reaches many nations all over the world in non-plant form in a powder like substance. Customs just allowed this illegal import to enter from Ethiopia, that was in PLANT form carrying some masses of plant bio hazards. The potential for many pests and diseases to leak from this plant importation is colossal and what damage it has done to nation will never be known. What damage this is doing to other nations though is VERY well known as many people travel to distant or local nations with this drug that’s similar to Ecstasy with the drug in PLANT form that they the chew on to obtain the desired effects.
By illegally importing other plants and bulbs you could face mass criminal charges. These pests below the Soda Apple caused massive crop infestation in the USA wiping out billions in lost crops.
Try and smuggle into Australia then THINK AGAIN, Australia has one of the tightest border controls in the world.
Or you could be caught by “armed narcotic gangs” the choice is your’s but whatever you do please keep your botanical species in your own nations and DON’T bring them into others or you could be facing stiff penalties to even life imprisonment;
Environmentalism Chapter 18 - Ocean Pollution
How clean do you believe the oceans are? Well I would be lying if I actually said they are indeed crystal clean and even the deep crystal blue waters of the pacific, Indian and Mediterranean oceans that are teaming with thousands of aquatic life are polluted with many toxins and organisms that you cannot even see that are harmful to you, other aquatic marine life and to animals to botanical species on land from which the oceans often invade from coastal flooding and Tsunamis to ocean oil spills.
Just because the flags are up to on the beaches indicating that water toxicology tests have proven it’s safe to swim, these tests are only basic and are not necessarily all the time carried out by toxicologists to marine biologists.
One doesn’t have to be a conservationist to even a scientist to work out that the more earth’s population grows the more sewage and waste from our homes are produced and it’s now concerning many conservationists including ourselves International Animal Rescue Foundation © that have seen a vast impact of marine life wiped out just from what we call “liquid toxin” pollution.
Toxins from sewage plants are just the least of the oceans worries too, with super fuel tankers crossing sensitive areas of sensitive ocean biodiversity, along with floating drilling platforms and nuclear power plants emitting radioactive water to human sewage and debris waste, which is now reaching critical concern levels which one must act to prevent a large scale catastrophe such as the 2010 BP PLC Deep Sea Horizon leak that saw billions of dollar;s of damages caused to land, and thousands of fish, to avian life washed up dead on the oceans. BP PLC now has to pay in compensation $7.8bn to resolve economic and medical claims from more than 100,000 businesses and individuals hurt by the nation’s worst offshore oil spill. The settlement has no cap and the company could end up paying more or less.
In the early 1950’s to 1960’s ocean cleanliness was fairly top grade with pollution being low key to a degree, although still present and high in nations of which were mainly third world nations, and large industrial continents from America to Asia, pollution levels where not that high to what we are seeing today. As a conservationist too and I have to be truthful I wouldn’t allow my children to swim in half of “shoreline” oceans to date because I am more than aware of what lurks beneath and on top.
Taking a look at China the total sewage discharge per billion tons has not really changed at all, and from census we could find they all measure up to exactly the same with only the year of 1996 missing.
China’s total sewage per billion tons of discharge I have recorded below, I have picked China as this nation is the top polluter with India and America second although America is trying to halve it’s pollution its a slow laborious process.
- 1990 350 billion tons of sewage discharged into the ocean
- 1991 320 billion tons of sewage discharged in to the ocean
- 1992 360 billion tons of sewage discharged in to the ocean
- 1993 340 billion tons of sewage discharged in to the ocean
- 1994 370 billion tons of sewage discharged in to the ocean
- 1995 368 billion tons of sewage discharged in to the ocean
- 1996 ——————-NO RECORD———————————
- 1997 415 billion tons of sewage discharged in to the ocean
- 1998 400 billion tons of sewage discharged in to the ocean
- 1999 404 billion tons of sewage discharged in to the ocean
- 2000 403 billion tons of sewage discharged in to the ocean
- 2001 409 billion tons of sewage discharged in to the ocean
In 2001, more than 173 000 km2 of the Chinese coastal waters were of a quality less than Class I of the Sea Water Quality Standard of China (SWQS, GB3097-1997) (17–26). Very heavily polluted areas, worse than Class IV of SWQS, cover about 32 000 km2, and are mainly close to medium and large cities and estuaries with high population densities.
Very heavy pollution areas increased by 4000 km2 compared to the year 2000. Contamination from land runoff is the most significant contributor to coastal environmental pollution at present. The dominating pollutants are inorganic nitrogen, phosphate, oil hydrocarbons, organic matter, and heavy metals.
Although the volume of runoff from industrial effluent into coastal waters has been decreasing slightly since 1999, municipal sewage and other runoff from land show an increasing trend. In 2000, red tide events occurred 28 times involving an area of 10 000 km2, and 77 times in 2001 affecting 15 000 km2. If pollution from inorganic nitrogen is classified as slight, moderate, or very heavy, the 2001 figures for coastal ocean areas are about 25 000 km2, 14 490 km2, and 32 490 km2,respectively.
Red tide events are not though just occurring in China anymore, in 2012 Australia and Hungry saw red tide events that the media marked down as “a phenomena” just to keep the public satisfied that the waters where indeed OK (that’s misleading and also very dangerous) reporting of which the truth should have been told which I have added below.
“There are no really historical records of the volume and type of material that was spilled in the oceans before the establishment of an anti-dumping law. However, it is estimated that in 1968, 38 million tons of excavated material, 4.5 million tons of industrial waste, 4.5 million sewage sludge, 100 million tons of petroleum-based product (plastic), 2 to 4 tonnes of chemical waste, more than 1 million tons of heavy metals were released into the ocean. The U.S. archive shows that between 1946 and 1970 over 55,000 containers of radioactive waste were disposed in 3 sites of dumping of the Pacific Ocean. In addition, 34,000 tons of radioactive wastes were disposed in 3 sites of dumping of the U.S. east coast between 1951 and 1962. No law on dumping radioactive waste has been put into force before 1972.” - Source : Epa : united states environnemental agency
The total amount of industrial sewage from 11 provinces along the coast of China was 10.02 billion tonnes (t) in 1999, of which 3.67 billion t were directly discharged into the sea. Sewage quantities into Chinese seas were 0.56 billion t in Bohai, 0.71 billion t in the Yellow Sea, 1.48 billion t in ECS, and 0.92 billion t in the South China Sea. The ECS received 40.3% of total industrial effluent and as such was the largest recipient of industrial effluent in China.
Factual data taken from (Report of the state of the Environment for China 1990)
Reports for 2012 have quoted the following for the state of China and basic pollution performance which is listed below;
- Underground water in 57 per cent of monitoring sites across Chinese cities have been found polluted or extremely polluted, the Economic Information Daily, a newspaper run by Xinhua News Agency, reported on Monday, quoting figures from the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP). (please note this is for underground sources)
- 2012 - In the first half of last year, of the seven main water systems in China, only the Yangtze and Pearl rivers had good water quality, and the Haihe River in north China was heavily polluted, with the others all moderately polluted, according to the MEP. This is what caused most “red tides” to occur that I shall explain more briefly on.
- China has quoted “China recently unveiled the 2011-2015 guidelines on fighting water pollution in which it stated the goal that 60 per cent of the country’s major rivers and lakes should be clean enough to be sources of drinking water supply by the end of 2015. This International Animal Rescue Foundation finds very difficult to understand as of the colossal rise in air, land and sea pollutants that have risen from 2010-2012 making China the number one top polluter with India the second and the United States of America the third which we do find annoying considering America is within the one of the world renowned nations for high class technology, that can easily bring these levels down, the Obama administration though has failed drearily so far.
- China also likes to “hide their problems” on a classified report [unnamed] in 2012 the Chinese government demanded that the United States ceases all publication of air, land and sea pollutants which is more than worrying. Please view the statement “Last month, Chinese officials issued a general warning to foreign embassies, (but really aimed at the U.S.) to stop publishing reports about their country’s air, and sea quality.
- According to the Environmental Performance Index, a bi-annual report put out by Yale University and Columbia University that ranks countries based on a number of environmental factors, India ranked last out of 132 countries. Yet, China wasn’t far off, coming in at 128. Its overall index rank, which, along with air quality, included factors such as water, agriculture, and climate change, was 116. (India came in at 125).
- Government statistics from 2009 reveal that nearly 20 per cent of the length of China’s monitored rivers and lakes had pollution worse than Grade 5, making the water officially unfit for even irrigating crops, Reuters reported.
Why doesn’t China like a certain Twitter account reporting on this? Please view below
“Part of the reason the Chinese government is so irked at the U.S. reporting pollution data is that their pollution standards are more stringent which means pollution levels considered unhealthy in the U.S. are often classified as good by China”. (Do you really wish to visit China?)
Moving to Australia which to be honest is a fairly densely populated island being the second largest in the world with Greenland being the first at 840,000 square miles (2,175,590 km2).
The main problems that effect Australia’s coasts are poor water and sediment quality, land pollution is the main problem here within Australia that effects ecology, health and basic overall enjoyment of the Australian oceans to date. Action must be taken now to prevent land-based sources of sediment, nutrient and pesticide pollution from further damaging in-shore reefs, aquatic life and tourism enjoyment.
Oil spills and vessel discharges cause around 12% of coastal problems with relation to the entire island of Australia, and according to a study by the US National Research Council, 36% of oil comes down drains and rivers as waste and run-off from cities and industry so in reality most of the oceans problems with regards to coastal pollution are due to land based problems that need addressing or we are going to see a global ocean soon with nothing a living aquatic species within it.
However in many parts of the world, sewage flows untreated, or under-treated into the ocean. For example, 80% of urban sewage discharged into the Mediterranean Sea is untreated. Although this is less common in Australia, treated sewage is discharged into coastal and marine environments and, when sewage infrastructure fails, raw sewage can flow untreated into our marine environments.
Australia’s waters are not as clean as one thinks they are even if the flags are up and the waters are crystal clear and this is because of governmental legislation that is seeing sea waste dumped in the oceans rather than landfills “on average” Australia currently regulates the deliberate loading, dumping and incineration of waste at sea under the Environment Protection (Sea Dumping) Act 1981 and the Environment Protection (Sea Dumping) Amendment Act 1986. The waters surrounding Australia’s coastline are increasingly threatened by pollution from wastes dumped at sea. To reduce this threat, there are Australian Government laws that control dumping at sea, however these are not always being followed.
Permits from the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities are required for all sea dumping operations. Currently, about 30 permits are issued in Australia per year, mainly for the dumping of uncontaminated dredge spoil. Applications can be obtained from the Department or the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (if the dumping is to take place within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park). In our eyes there should be “NO” dumping at sea even if the waste is incinerated or non-toxic. We are trying to work to protect our aquatic biodiversity and although this incinerated waste breaks down by far much more quickly, it is still aiding to the pollution of our marine biodiversity.
International Animal Rescue Foundation © can fully understand the reasons “why” dumping at sea is undertaken, however to keep one’s land clear and green by dumping at sea is not solving the problem of “WASTE” and by simply following the three R’s (reduce, reuse, and recycle) there would be minimal dumping. Dumping incinerated waste of the coast line has it’s perks but we’ve noticed that the permit prices to carry out such waste removal have skyrocketed, and this can only mean one thing which is “the government are now concerned at the toxic levels of waste, harm to the great barrier reef’s and PH levels that are increasing alarmingly.
http://www.environment.gov.au/coasts/pollution/dumping/index.html#compliance
Within India though where nearly 250 million people live within 50 km of India’s 8,000 km coastline, eighty-seven cities and towns located in these coastal areas together dump 5.5 billion litres of waste water into the sea every day. Less than a tenth of this water is treated, making the scale of pollution of our coastal ecosystems daunting and horrifyingly concerning with regards to protected aquatic species, and living reef beds.
Most of India’s 8,000-km-long coastal regions are low-lying and densely populated, with nearly 250 million people living within 50 km of the coast, many of them in the 130 cities and towns that together form the engine of India’s economy, including Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Goa, Surat, and Thiruvananthapuram. Between 20-60% of the population in these individual settlement zones live in slums where they pursue their livelihood, and this section is automatically located in areas most vulnerable to natural disasters areas that are already subject to periodic flooding.
At the same time, they are surrounded by a web of infrastructure that is becoming denser and more valuable every year transport and freight networks, road and rail corridors, industrial zones and parks, maritime and port facilities, petroleum industries and refineries, import-based industrial and commercial domains all located in coastal areas and competing for land and water with villages that have long depended on coastal resources for survival. That survival has always been relatively easy since coastal regions are home to a rich and varied biodiversity, they have had abundant rain-fed and groundwater resources, and they depended commercially on old trading centres. As the settlement mix changed, and as land use did too, India’s coastal talukas, tehsils and blocks either merged with a creeping mantle of urbanisation or warred with it. Either way, complex coastal ecosystems suffered.
Can you name this reptilian? it took me 5-6 attempts after removing with my eyes the debris pollution.
Municipal waste water constitutes the largest single source of coastal marine pollution. The Central Pollution Control Board estimates that 87 cities and towns located in India’s coastal areas in nine states together emit more than 5.5 billion litres of waste water per day, which is almost 80% of their total water supply (the estimate in million litres per day, or MLD, which is the measure that water resource and pollution control authorities use, is 5,560.99 MLD). This is a staggering volume of fluid, equivalent to a third of the total quantity of waste water generated by 644 Class I cities and Class II towns in the entire country.
It is also 2.5 times the volume of waste water (about 2.2 billion litres/day) that the same 87 cities generated two decades ago. Of the 5.5 billion litres/day — less than a tenth (521.51 MLD) — is treated to any level before being released into coastal waters. The three states of Maharashtra (45%), West Bengal (26%) and Tamil Nadu (9%) account for the bulk of waste water flushed into our coastal seas, while about 3.22 billion litres/day of waste water flow into the Arabian Sea and about 2.33 billion litres/day flow into the Bay of Bengal.
Toxins have risen within the sea from the 1960’s to date which is primarily due to “over population” and until this is properly conveyed across the globe to all humans then we will see more pollutants enter the ocean as of demand for agricultural and factory processed products to fossil fuels, and chemical radioactive energy.
Toxins that are located in today’s oceans are listed below.
- Plastic pollution
- Agricultural pollution such as phosphorus, nitrogen, mercury, lead, and carbon plus more.
- Oil, petroleum, methane, paint, radioactive poisons
- Human excrement
- Chemical weapons (Yes they are present in today’s oceans)
- Debris pollution
- Fishing pollution
- Thermal pollution, and eutrophication
These eight pollutants are found most commonly within the oceans to date and are causing massive biodiversity damage plus are harming ourselves that eat fish stock to.
Food chain;
Plankton, which is the tiny animals at the bottom of the food chain in the oceans, absorbs the chemicals as they feed. They do not break down easily, so the chemicals accumulate in these organisms, becoming more concentrated in their bodies than the surrounding water or soil. Plankton is eaten by small animals, and the contaminants become even more concentrated. It goes on as smaller animals are in turn eaten by larger animals, each link up the food chain becoming more heavily contaminated than the last.
Seals, for example can have contamination levels millions of times higher than the water in which they live. Polar bears, which feed on seals, can have contamination levels up to 3 billion times higher than their environment.
Fishermen themselves see this contamination first hand. Fish with horrible tumors are becoming the normal catch of the day, so to speak. How do you want your mercury today? Broiled, fried, poached or grilled. ‘Would you like fries with your gamma fish?’
Food chain contamination;
Humans become contaminated directly from chemical household products, eating heavily processed food laced with chemical preservatives or eating contaminated seafood and animal fats. Even those “Highly Touted” health foods such as Krill, Plankton, Seaweed, and Sea Salt have varying degrees of contamination. The FDA discovered that the famous “Coral Calcium” was heavily contaminated with lead, as well as other heavy metals, and only had an absorption rate of 8 - 10%.
Contrary to what you have been told, the evidence is mounting that many man-made chemicals can and will cause serious health problems. These problems include cancer, damage to the immune system, behavioural problems, and reduced fertility, just to name a few.
The bottom line is that you should stay away from anything that is produced from the ocean. Isn’t it bad enough that we get these contaminants first-hand on land, without absorbing even more chemicals and dangerous pollutants from food from the ocean?
Thermal pollution, and eutrophication;
Thermal pollution: Electrical generating plants along the ocean coastlines use the marine waters for cooling purposes which leads to heated water expelled into the marine environment. Few studies have been done on the effects of thermal pollution on the marine environment. Thermal pollution seems to only affect the communities immediately adjacent to the discharge. Thermal discharge is most noted in the tropical areas, where organisms are near their thermal maximum. For example, mangrove trees in a thermal heated bay no longer reproduce and no new seedlings can be found in the lagoon.
Eutrophication: The release of excess nutrients into coastal waters. Fertilizers used on land are washed into the ocean via rivers and streams. High nutrient concentrations cause phytoplankton blooms such as, red tides, various yellow and green foams, slimes, and slicks. Although algal blooms are natural, a higher frequency of their occurrence in the past twenty years indicates an unhealthy ecosystem. The toxicity of recent blooms is increasing, which can have a direct effect on the organisms that feed on them. Also, phytoplankton naturally contains DMS (dimethyl sulfide) which is released from dead phytoplankton into the atmosphere and can be changed to sulfuric acid to eventually contribute to acid rain.
Radioactive waste (plutonium and fries anyone?)
Radioactive waste: The world’s oceans have been a sink for radioactive waste from the production of nuclear weapons and electric power since 1944. Radioactive waste enters the ocean from nuclear weapon testing, the releasing or dumping of wastes from nuclear fuel cycle systems, and nuclear accidents. Dumping of high-level radioactive waste is no longer permitted in the ocean, but dumping of low-level wastes is still permitted. Low-level waste contains fewer radioactivities per gram than high-level waste. High-level wastes usually have longer half-lives. For example, one common high-level waste that is produced by spent nuclear fuel has a half-life of 24,100 years! It has been suggested that contained nuclear waste should be disposed in the deep sea, so little is known about the deep sea environment or the consequences of containment leakage and failure, that the effects could be devastating.
Recently though we have been viewing red seas or rivers that the media have named as “natural phenomena” it’s not a natural phenomenon at all what it is, is high pollution levels and if your living in an area where this has happened on my advice I really wouldn’t bother eating any “fish or crustaceans” from these areas at all.
Red tides (I) & (II)
Pollution (I)
Red tides or the red sea as it is better known is a mixture of some million cubic meters of corrosive sludge, there really is not much known about how it forms other than a change of climate patterns and algae formations to the dumping of toxic chemicals in the waters that have then accumulated through climatic interference into the a red type sea.
One such incident occurred in 2010 in near Ajka, Hungary that saw a dam filled with toxic chemicals burst its banks then flowing onto neighboring land. The tide once receded appeared to some as if the bottoms of the trees had been painted red. In fact it was the sludge of toxic chemicals that had formed and stuck to the trees causing not just botanical and agricultural damage but also much damage to the surrounding lands from which people in the area cannot plant on no more.
The toxic chemicals that were being held by the dam in Ajka held a mixture of bauxite ore that was the chemical properties that made up aluminium oxide or alumina, iron oxide was also present hence the reason why the “stain to the water was evident” as this is the colour of iron oxide, however it also contained a more dangerous chemical better known as alkaline sodium hydroxide used to dissolve aluminium oxide. These metals are used in everyday factory processing and to know that they have breached the clean water supplied to us and also entered into the marine world then this is highly concerning, and it’s happening more frequently around the world that many people are still unaware of. Other chemical that are entering are gypsum plaster, and as explained chemical fertilisers and these can all cause cancer.
When the red tide appears its fairly “unsafe in the water to humans” I use the word unsafe as it’s very toxic to aquatic life and stays embedded in the sea or river bead that can kill if ingested. However should there be flooding, tsunami, to high tide and it reaches land such as Hungary once it dries then it release a “toxic powder in to the air”. Everyone within the vicinity then has to be re-homed due to the dangers that it can cause to human health.
We must as a responsible human race now take responsibility for our oceans, rivers and lakes, if not then we are not just killing the species within, but those that wish to consume fish and shell fish are exposing themselves to highly dangerous chemicals that can and will kill.
Red Tides (Natural) (II)
Red tide is a common name for a phenomenon known as an algal bloom (large concentrations of aquatic microorganisms) when it is caused by a few species of dinoflagellates and the bloom takes on a red or brown color. Red tides are events in which estuarine, marine, or fresh water algae accumulate rapidly in the water column, resulting in coloration of the surface water. It is usually found in coastal areas.
(Please though don’t always listen to the press and media as they mostly obtain their scientific data incorrectly)
Dr J C Dimetri V.M.D, B.E.S, Ma, PhD, MEnvSc
info@international-animalrescue-foundation.org.uk
PLEASE DONATE BELOW - URGENT RHINOCEROS APPEAL POACHING NOW AT 2-3 A DAY FEBRUARY 2013 = 57 DEAD
http://fnd.us/c/aQjXe
WHY ARE THEY DYING? THE DEATHS ARE STILL ONGOING BAFFLING US ALL
Hungary 2010 TOTAL WIPE-OUT (Toxic red sludge)
Environmentalism - Chapter 17 Wonders of Mother Nature
Mother Nature has created such diverse species of mammalians, reptilians, aquatics, to arthropods (arachnids) and botanical species that are so complex and versatile we still as Homo sapiens do not fully know on understanding everything about such fascinating species of mammals to avian species and insects and fungi to even viruses that are all living around us, on us to within us.
I have picked out a number of species from the quoted above that I have documented on instead of writing up on the everyday issues of animal and environmental welfare, climate destruction to botany and governmental politics to just remind you of what surrounds us to date to no longer living on planet earth.
Keeping mostly out of politics in this draft and focusing on an array of viruses, plants mammals and fish to spiders and birds I would like this document to be used as a form of education but more importantly why we as homo sapiens should respect Mother Nature and what Mother has provided and shown to ourselves to learn rather than eat and destroy for our own greedy back pockets. I have documented on a handful of species of which I shall carry on beefing this particular document up with more facts and more species extant and extinct.
Some pictures to documentation will make you cringe but most I can assure you, you will enjoy and the more we learn the more we become aware of why we should respect what lives around and within, from the most potent and deadliest plant on earth, to bacteria that lives’ within our large and small intestines, and skin to the most fastest land, sea and air mammal or the most deadliest to largest and smallest species on earth. Enjoy - I shall continue updating this weekly.
Most toxic plant[s] on the planet;
Every plant no matter what species is poisonous in one way or the other from a simple English Daffodil that can cause acute dermatitis or gastroenteritis to skin burns, however there are some that you most likely have in your back yard and before I go any further on this, please “don’t dig them up and kill them” learn from them and respect their presence.
Ricinus communis – Castor oil plant.
The Ricinus communis I must say has to be one second of the most toxic and extremely harmful plants on the planet to date. Belonging to the monotypic genus it is better known as a “spurge” and with large palm shaped leaves similar to that of the Fatsia japonica.
The leaves are very large and within the rain forest can grow to around triple the size of your hand. Growing mainly in America, Asia and the European Union the Castor oil plant produces “beans” which are not true beans and (most certainly not edible).
Now you REALLY NEED to read this and please pay attention, the castor oil plant and the “false castor oil plant” are completely different, the false castor oil and the castor oil plant look similar however the false castor oil plant has non-glossed leaves yet the castor oil has dull looking green leaves of which both are mostly ever green.
Keeping to the “Castor oil plant” the seeds (beans) contain between 40% and 60% oil that is rich in triglycerides however it’s also rich in Ricin an extremely toxic substance that can and will kill, the seeds (beans) have to actually be processed to cause any real harm.
Ricin is present in low levels throughout the plant, but it’s largely concentrated in the seed coating. Seed poisonings are rare and usually involve children and pets, but they can be deadly. As few as three seeds, which are green with brown markings, could kill a child who swallows them easily.
Symptoms of castor bean poisoning include nausea, abdominal cramps, vomiting, internal bleeding, and kidney and circulation failure. Many people suffer from an allergic reaction to the dust from the seeds and may experience coughing, muscle aches and difficulty breathing. Exposure to the dust is most common in areas where the beans are processed for commercial use. In ancient times, the castor bean was used in ointments, and allegedly, Cleopatra applied the oil to the whites of her eyes to brighten them. Ricin is better explained within this link – http://www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/ricin/facts.asp
Castor oil is a mild-tasting vegetable oil that is used in many food additives, flavourings and in candy production. It’s also available to the consumer as a laxative and to induce labour (though no scientific evidence shows it’s successful in inducing labour although I really do advise as a botanist to please SEEK MEDICAL ADVICE and leave the plant’s seeds well alone) please don’t destroy the plant if you have children or pets, instead educate them on the plant and for more information you can email myself at info@international-animalrescue-foundation.org.uk or join our botanical group here on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/353161988048334/?fref=ts
There are many other plants that are toxic such as the deadly night shade Atropa belladonna to the common Yew Taxus Baccta, or the Monks Hood Lilly Aconitum selections or Foxglove better known as the Digitalis (used widely in cardiac pharmaceuticals which are very effective and potent).
Fastest aquatic species on the planet;
Well there seems to be much speculation on this however it’s time to blow the speculation out of the water. At a total speed recorded in all oceans that it swims the fastest swimming fish on earth is in fact the Sailfish better known as Istiophorus albicans bust must not be confused with the sword fish or marlin.
Easily reaching speeds of 0-69mph this fish is one hell of swimmer using its lateral line and sheer muscular power in its rear the billfish as it’s more commonly known can swim the one hundred meter Olympics in 4.8 seconds. The Istiophorus albicans is prized as a game fish due to its agility and sheer power in giving fishers (hunters) a challenge for their money.
Its sail is mostly kept folded down when swimming of which is seen to leap high out of the water and back in again when excited. The Bill can change its body colour when excited or under threat to. Some fishes that can reach speeds “near to the 69-70mph mark are the Marlin, Marlin’s common name is thought to derive from its resemblance to a sailor’s marlinspike. Marlin are incredibly fast swimmers, reaching speeds of about 68 mph. Predators include the white shark and shortfin mako. Other fishes are Bluefin tuna that are found throughout the Atlantic and Pacific oceans in subtropical and temperate waters.
They form schools while young; large schools are easily observed at night. The Bluefin is one of the largest tuna species. Killer whales and pilot whales feed on them most often.
The Bluefin is highly valued as a food for human consumption sold both fresh and frozen. Quality fish are especially favoured in Japan, where they are sold at the high price in fish markets. The Bluefin tuna is also a popular game fish, especially in the USA the Bluefin can reach a top speed of 0-46mph we rather see them NOT hunted though as of dwindling ocean stocks and the torture that they go through when line fishing.
Animal that consumes the most food;
I found this to be a difficult one to explain as one would believe that the based on the size of the “prey” or “fruit, nuts to other” in (size) or the “number of humans” would be the most with regards to consumption. Such as the male Lion Panthera leo that consumes by far more than that of the female when not in gestation or milking and easily finishing of a springbok or wildebeest however this simply goes on the (size of the animal[s]).
The Blue Whale Balaenoptera musculus has to be the largest of all consumers and the largest of all living species on the face of the planet weighing in at a whopping one hundred and ninety seven tons with some species found to be weighing in at over 200 TONS. How much can it consume though? Well let’s take a look.
A simple adult can consume over 60 million krill a day based on “what ocean they are in” and maturity however the normal estimated feed its around 45-60 million krill, its most chosen food. This weighs in at a total feed size of exactly 3600 kg (8000 lb) of krill in a day “that’s one hell of a lot of fish” when you think that the average weight of a human is 194.7 pounds, so you can quite easily see the difference here. Humans though do consume by far more in the way of (food) however I am explaining the “individual species” and not the “entire species consumption of over 8.9 billion humans on planet earth to date”.
The Blue Whale at (adult) stage has to consume this much in species prey to keep its 1.5 million kilocalories up or it shall become underweight which then can effect behaviour thus beaching itself although there is little known on this particular behaviour and what the real reason is they beach.
Balaenoptera musculus can take in as much energy at 1.5 million kilocalories as it gives out or (expends) however with this feed amount they can conserve energy extremely easily by swimming slowly and storing krill in its mouth thus slow feeding similar to a IV therapy (slow release intravenous drip) quite amazing.
Other animals that are known to consume by far more than the average are Humming Birds Archilochus alexandri, that consume more than their body weight of insects and nectar a day along with Shrews Sorex araneus that consume three times their body weight in food a day.
How many “species of good virus live within the human body”;
I loved this question like the rest that have been asked by many members of the public that email us every day however this has to be the most intriguing to fascinating but one that I simply cannot answer in full as to actually count how many individual same species of good and bad viruses in the human body it would take an extremely unhealthy human and healthy human plus a good year to evaluate.
In total leaving the bad bacteria out there is a total species count that are “good bacteria” living within our bodies of seven good species although there are “more” these are primarily the most important players and I have listed them below.
LIVING AND THRIVING ORGANISMS
Throat – Species – Neisseria lactamicia = 4,154 species
Behind your ears - Species – Propionibacterium acnes = 2,359 species
Nostrils – Species – Staphylococcus epidermidis = 2,264 species
Tongue – Species – Streptococcus salivarius = 7,947 species
Inner elbows – Species – Corynebacterium simulans = 2,012 species
Vaginal opening – Species – Lactobacillus acidophilus = 2,062 species
Large intestine – Species – Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron = 33,627 species
Total species count of good virus microbe species = 55,425 (and that’s just good bacteria)
All species above are major players however like explained this is simply the “major players” as listed in a 2013 science biology journal. Within our bodies human cells are outnumbered ten to one by bacteria. Some eight million genes function in this invisible universe more than three hundred times the number in our own cells. Though some of our microbial tenants pose threats, we literally can’t live without most of them. They help digest our food, grade our immune system, and ward of deadly germs.
Belly Button?
Yes, microorganisms live on your skin, even though you can’t see them. After it takes a tour of your belly button, the swab gets wiped on a specially prepared dish, where the bacteria can grow. Then the researchers figure out what’s growing on you.
So far, the most common colonies are from Staphylococcus epidermidis and Micrococcus luteus. Have they found any rare, truly bizarre bacteria? Why, yes — in Dunn’s own belly button. It’s a bacterium called Enterococcus mundti and it was only recently discovered by scientists. “(It’s) found on me, soybeans, and silk moths. Go figure,” Dunn said.
It’s a tricky thing using those special plates — called agar plates — to grow bacteria. Some bacteria grow like crazy on the plates, so we know the most about those kinds, Dunn said.
Plenty of bacteria remain undiscovered. And we don’t know much about many of the bacteria that live on our bodies because we can’t grow them.
Dunn and his team are extracting bacterial genetic information from the belly buttons, and by literally reading it, they know which species of bacteria live on the skin. “When it is done, we will undoubtedly find some very rare species, some of them probably new to science,” Dunn said.
Are you picking your nose?
There are many far-fetched ways to die in this world. Picking your nose is one of them. Yes, it’s true. You really can die from picking your nose. Simply put, there is a bone in the nose called the ethmoid bone.
This bone separates the nose from the brain. Though you would more than likely need a really long fingernail, or other long object to get up there, it is indeed possible to do so and it “does happen”. As a matter of fact, if you accidentally poked through this bone, brain fluid could be leaked-causing meningitis, which definitely is a killer.
So you see, picking one’s nose seems harmless. And in most cases, it is. Sitting at that stoplight, in the private comfort of your vehicle, does not give you anonymity.
But for some reason, it’s the most popular place for people to dive into their nasal cavities. In these instances where you feel compelled to see what’s up there, it’s best to wait until getting to a restroom.
Make sure that before touching any “open” areas of the face (ie. eyes, nose, and mouth) -that you wash your hands thoroughly, as this is how viruses are most frequently spread.
Most deadly predator on earth;
Let’s face up to some actual real evidence here leaving out the “facts” first. The Homo sapiens are the most deadliest predator that can kill anything, destroy through negligence and harm without even touching, yes “we are the most deadliest from (evidence)” however this is about FACTS and the most deadliest predator as much as you think we are YOUR VERY WRONG.
The most deadly predator actually lies within every nation on earth, Lion? Bush Elephant? Cape buffalo? Well they are dangerous and very unpredictable but they are nowhere near as dangerous as this “microbe”.
Clostridium Botulinum is the most toxic animal on the face of the planet and it is a killer and has killed many thousands of people and still kills today.
Clostridium botulinum is a Gram-positive, rod-shaped bacterium that produces several toxins. The best known are its neurotoxins, subdivided in types A-G, that cause the flaccid muscular paralysis seen in botulism. They are also the main paralytic agent in botox. C. botulinum is an anaerobic spore-former, which produces oval, subterminal endospores and is commonly found in soil.
One teaspoon of this bacterium, properly distributed, could kill every single human being in the United States. About 9 lbs (4 kgs) could kill every human in the world. Like the venom of botulinum it is a neurotoxin, stopping communication between the brain and the muscles, resulting in paralysis of the diaphragm, then asphyxia = immediate and extremely painful death.
Botulinum is found in the soil of every continent and ecosystem on Earth, from the Sahara Desert to Antarctica. It is found in soil brought up from the ocean floor. It requires absolutely perfect conditions in order to become active and thus dangerous. You would not be able to contract the toxin by eating dirt, since your digestive juices are too acidic to allow the bacterium to grow and produce the toxin.
But the spores are extraordinarily difficult to kill, able to survive in boiling water for 10 minutes if you were to can food without boiling it (cold canning), airborne spores may enter the oxygen-free environment of the food and grow very quickly. Upon eating the food, the toxins would be present in your body immediately, and eating only a nibble of a green bean is more than sufficient to kill you within a day. No animal is known to have immunity to botulinum. A mere 1 nanogram per kilogram dose will kill any living organism on the planet.
An elephant weighing 5,454 kgs (12,000 lbs) (4 tons) would die in less than 3 days after consuming 5,454 ngs of botulinum toxin. This is equal to 0.005454 milligrams. Still believe that we are the most dangerous organisms on earth? Should some bright spark decide on processing botulinum and then placing that in a simple weapon that explodes then (the entire continent that it explodes in are doomed) and humans would die an extremely painful and horrifying death. There are certain individuals that have this deadly bacteria stored of which we are not advertising, it’s locked in secure chambers, deep underground, and the doors of the chambers require 5 alternative passwords and five people that are changed every day to access this most destructive and most deadliest bacteria.
From investigations on botulinum we are more than aware of whom has this bacteria in certain “forms” and what the bacteria is placed in, it’s also known the locations, and why certain individuals are very nervous when it comes to civil disobedience in countries such as the U.A.E
However with regard to animals the cape buffalo is by far the most dangerous game animal on Earth. It is sufficiently thick-skinned to require an elephant rifle, and is the animal most responsible for the introduction of double-barreled rifles. A double-barreled rifle offers the hunter an immediate follow-up shot to finish a wounded animal, and cape buffaloes can be counted on to withstand the first shot, even if they are struck in the heart, and still charge. The .585 Nyati caliber was invented for use against this animal. Nyati is Swahili for Cape buffalo.
You may think touring Africa’s grasslands in a safari jeep is safe, and were it not for the Cape buffalo, you would be fairly correct. They may charge without any provocation at all, and they overturn jeeps, trucks, and vans by ramming them headfirst. A 2,000 lb male can run 40 miles an hour for more than 100 meters. Some professional hunting guides refuse to hunt them, for fear the paying hunter will miss. The Cape buffalo gores and tramples to death over 200 people every year, more kills, possibly, than any other African animal. Please NOTE that International Animal Rescue Foundation is against ALL HUNTING.
What species has the best eyesight?
Again there is much speculation over this with one saying the Eagle, the other stating the wild cat, FACT the animal that has the strongest and most powerful eyesight is Great horned owl, Bubo virginianus better known as the Tiger Owl.
The Great horned owl’s spectacular binocular vision, allows them to pinpoint prey and see in low light. The eyes of a Great Horned Owl are nearly as large as those of a human being and are immobile within their circular bone sockets. As a result, instead of turning its eyes, an owl must turn its whole head, the neck capable of rotating a full 270 degrees, in order to see in various directions without moving its entire body.
Owls hunt mainly by watching from a snag, pole or other high perch, sometimes completely concealed by the dusky night and/or partially hidden by foliage. From such vantage points, owls dive down to the ground, often with wings folded, to ambush their prey. If you placed a newspaper on a chair, a Great Horned Owl could make out every word on that paper from 50 yards away.
However – Interesting point here as the Great horned owl is not the only animal with the best eye sight, the Mantis Shrimp, can see in a broad spectrum of light that includes infrared and ultraviolet of which has the most powerful eyesight within the aquatic world.
Largest prehistoric animal;
Again this the closest that one could come to as there are still exploration teams working on sites around the world and also items that are “foot prints” and also prehistoric 40 million year old items under examination that one still has yet to clearly identify.
The largest though that is recorded is by far the sea monster Basilosaurus, King Lizard and this was one hell of a mammal (type) species that is located in many museums around the world from 40-60 million year old fossil remains.
The King Lizard lived around 40 to 34 million years ago in the Late Eocene. First discovered in Louisiana, America it was thought that this “species” (type) was a form of reptilian of which one is still unsure on.
Basilosaurus was highly elongated. It accomplished this through an unparalleled elongation of its vertebrae, and has been described as being the closest a whale ever came to a snake. The skeletal anatomy of the tail suggests that a small fluke was probably present, which would have only aided vertical motion. Most reconstructions show a small, speculative dorsal fin similar to a rorqual whale’s, but other reconstructions show a dorsal ridge. The whale also possessed small, 0.6 meter (2 ft) hind limbs, which clearly could not aid locomotion on a 15–22 meter (50–72 foot) animal.
In 1845, “Dr.” Albert Koch heard stories of giant bones in Alabama, and went down to cobble together a full skeleton. He eventually created a huge 114-foot (35 m) skeleton of a “sea serpent” he called “Hydrarchos”, which he displayed in New York City, and later Europe. It was eventually shown to have come from 5 different individuals, some of which were not Basilosaurus. The remains were eventually destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire.
Strongest animal;
One would believe that the Elephant or Rhinoceros was the strongest animal, wrong again. The world’s strongest animal is Archegozetes longisetosus.
The African elephant is by far the strongest living animal but it can only lift 25% of its bodyweight. The tropical species Archegozetes longisetosus is one of the strongest animals in the world, relative to its mass (100 μg). It lifts up to 1182 times its own weight. It’s an equivalent of a human lifting 212000 pounds.
On the other hand, Rhinoceros beetle can carry 850 times its own weight. To put that into perspective that would be like one of us lifting a 65 ton armoured tank.
We should also consider the strength of the jaws. The saltwater crocodile is a fearsome chomper who can inflict a bone-crunching bite that is around 3-4 times stronger than a lion. To give you a rough idea, the force of this bite would be a bit like having a car fall on top of you.
For a more scientific look in to this amazing creature let’s take a look.
The holding and pulling forces generated by claws of the microarthropod Archegozetes longisetosus (Chelicerata, Acari, Oribatida) on three substrates with different roughness (R(a)=0.05 microm, 1 microm, 30 microm).
Holding forces were measured perpendicular to the substrate using a strain gage force transducer; pulling forces were measured parallel to the substrate using an analytical scale. We found a significant positive correlation of surface roughness and the forces generated.
Mites produced holding forces on horizontal rough surfaces (R(a)=30 microm) of up to 1180 times their weight; on vertical rough surfaces (R(a)=30 microm) they can pull with 530 times their weight, effectively involving only two pairs of legs.
The relative forces are five times higher than theoretically expected for organisms of this size (<1 mm, 100 microg) and higher than any relative forces reported for insect claws. Muscles involved in claw action produced stresses up to 1170 kN m(-2), a value that is only excelled by decapod crustacean claw closer muscles. Ours is the first study of performance by chelicerate apoteles and claws and also the first to measure forces generated by any microarthropod.
Slowest animal in the world;
There are 3 animals known to be the slowest animals in the world. Sloths move only when necessary and even then very slowly. On the ground the maximum speed of the three-toed sloth is 2 m or 6.5 feet per minute or 0.15 mile per hour.
A garden snail’s speed is 0.03 mph (yes a snail is an animal and not an insect). Due to its slowness, the snail has traditionally been seen as a symbol of laziness. In Judeo-Christian culture, it has often been viewed as a manifestation of the deadly sin of sloth. A giant tortoise’s speed is 0.17.
International Animal Rescue Foundations – pick of the month is Scarabaeus
Never underestimate the powers of Mother Nature’s insects as they sure do teach us many facts of life helping us to understand previous living and exploration times to bettering technology.
Animal of the month is; Scarabaeus (Arthropoda)
Dung Beetles - Scarabaeus viettei (one of a type)
Dung Beetles are actually very unique and don’t just muck in with dung as one may believe they do.
The Scarabaeus viettei (one of a type of species from the Scarabaeidae super family) has been noted has been noted as using “polarized light” of which they use the “milky way” to navigate.
A recent study in 2003 showed that Beetle’s use polarized light from the moon to help them move in a straight line (now that’s pretty amazing) but the researchers where surprised to find that insects could actually stay on course even on a moonless night (how bizarre).
To see what else was going on researchers then timed the beetles crawling from the centre of a cylindrical drum to the edge. The drum was open topped so the insects could use the night sky to orientate themselves on a moonless night, the insects took twice as long as they did under a full moon with a cap on that hid the night sky from their view of which they needed six times longer implying that the stars where involved.
Researchers then moved to a planetarium. By switching stars on and of researchers identified the guiding light as the Milky Way. It had been assumed that the insects could not navigate in this way because their eyes cannot make out individual stars. But using the Milky Way does away with such resolution. How strange but factual to know that even the smallest of living species on our planet use such powerful yet small senses that we humans cannot.
Humans can use more or less the same type of star guidance, however we are simply talking about a Beetle that’s by far a lot smaller than the average 5ft 9” human. Just goes to show how important our species of flora and fauna are too us along with combating an array of technological problems.
Was this study carried out by ancient Romans or Egyptians that used the North Star and formations to guide them home? Who knows, what we do know is that we still have a lot to learn from our tiny creatures.
Dr J C Dimetri V.M.D, B.E.S, Ma, PhD , MEnvSc
INTERNATIONAL ANIMAL RESCUE FOUNDATION
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The video below is an old documentary however there are still NO security measures in place to stop people from purchasing small vile’s of seriously dangerous biological agents or in a more simple terminology “GERMS” that have killed millions of people in the past that terrorists and unit cells now wish to obtain and ARE obtaining.
Another highly dangerous biological weapon is the Spanish Flu (Influenza) 1918 http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/pandemics/2012/12/spanish_flu_mystery_why_don_t_scientists_understand_the_1918_flu_even_after.html
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Environmentalism Chapter 16 SPECIAL REPORT - Gorilla Murders
Our international populations of Gorilla species are rapidly becoming more endangered due to increasing human insurgent warfare in Africa where populations of critically endangered species of Gorilla mostly resides.
The Gorilla better known generically as Gorilla gorilla/Sp Western gorilla (Gorilla gorilla spp), eastern gorilla (Gorilla beringei spp) is a member of the Hominidae family both of which are classed as “critically endangered” with little awareness within the media and press of their current status and possible extinction wipe-out within the Congo region of Africa where they predominantly reside. There are a total of “four generically identified species” Western lowland gorilla (G. g. gorilla),Cross River gorilla (G. g. diehli), and Mountain gorilla (G. b. beringei) Eastern lowland or Grauer’s gorilla (G. b. graueri).
Hominidae refers to the taxonomic family of primates, including four extant genera chimpanzees and bonobos that share 98.7% of our Deoxyribonucleic acid more commonly referred to as DNA, The term “hominid” is also used in the more restricted sense as hominins or “humans and relatives of humans closer than chimpanzees, however all Hominidae species other than that of the Homiosapian is extinct. The Homiosapian refers to someone who is a cross between a homie and a homosapian (human being). Ancestors of the Hominidae family had already speciated from those of the Hylobatidae family, perhaps 15 million to 20 million years ago.
Most if not all Gorilla species are found in central, eastern and northern Africa, of which may sound incredibly dense to one with regards to populations however this is not the case and both species of the Western gorilla (Gorilla gorilla spp), eastern gorilla (Gorilla beringei spp) are in colossal danger from paramilitary extremists mainly M23, and the primate pet trade to bush meat trade to zoological trade in Northern Nigeria of which is still under investigation via imports and exports of Gorilla species.
Gorilla families live more or less the same way as ourselves in groups although a little larger and non-destructive which there family sizes consist of mainly ten to fifty individuals, there are a smaller population located in the high-Altitude rainforests of Montane deep within Borneo at this location http://goo.gl/maps/j81lM
Wildlife researchers said back in 2008 that they’ve discovered 125,000 western lowland gorillas deep in the forests of the Republic of Congo, calling it a major increase in the animal’s estimated population.
The Wildlife Conservation Society, based at New York’s Bronx Zoo, and the Republic of Congo said their census counted the newly discovered gorillas in two areas of the northern part of the country covering 18,000 square miles.
Previous estimates, dating to the 1980s, put the number of western lowland gorillas at less than 100,000. But the animal’s numbers were believed to have fallen by at least 50 per cent since then due to hunting and disease, researchers said. The newly discovered gorilla population now puts their estimated numbers at between 175,000 to 225,000, however this has dramatically changed since the M23 brigade and the civil war took off that’s spanned almost the entire nation of Uganda and the Congo region decreasing numbers vastly.
The population from the nearest census that we could find now stands at this;
- The western lowland gorilla is the most widespread, possibly numbering 100,000.
- The Cross River gorilla is currently the world’s rarest great ape, with a population of only around 250-300 restricted to a small area of highland forest on the border of Cameroon and Nigeria.
- Eastern lowland gorilla population is stated to be at a mere 17,000 individuals.
- The total population of mountain gorillas is around 786 individuals, split into two separate groups.
The main threats stand so far at the following;
- Civil war and unrest in the Virunga National Park in Democratic Republic of the Congo located at this geographical point - http://goo.gl/maps/brULh
- Habitat loss as of their natural omnivorous feeding habitat is being destroyed, Gorillas are mainly herbivorous (vegetarian) and spend almost half of the day feeding on stems, bamboo shoots, and a variety of fruits, supplemented with bark and invertebrates.
- Endangerment and – Breeding, Females become sexually mature at 7-8 years old, but do not start to breed until several years later. Males mature later than females, with few breeding before the age of 15 years, so with the wars currently raging this area of which one can view a small transcript here then life cycle reproduction is being massively reduced. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_HxA-SiJWU
- Illegal wildlife animal parts trade that’s now numbered at the same price as that of narcotics and TCM/TIM Traditional Chinese Medicine / Traditional Indian Medicine.
- Bush meat is a big player in Africa although not heard of much in Borneo, sadly Gorillas are being poached for their meat that is incredibly unhygienic for humans to consume and can cause many infectious diseases. Like the TCM/TIM trade consuming meat in the African bush meat trade is speculated to increase many physiological senses which is untrue.
- Gorillas are predominantly very large and can be very aggressive especially males, however they are sought after for the exotic pet trade.
- Since the early 1990s, outbreaks of Ebola hemorrhagic fever have caused large-scale die-offs of great apes. The 1994 outbreak in Minkébé (northern Gabon) wiped out the entire population of what used to be the second largest protected population of gorillas and chimpanzees in the world. Between 2002 and 2003 the virus claimed many human lives in the north of the Republic of Congo and at two study sites in and around Odzala National Park, 95 per cent of the 600 identified gorillas died likely as a result of Ebola. There seems to be a pattern in the way the outbreaks have occurred across the region, making it likely that they were not isolated events but part of a wave that may still be spreading across the region.
- Borneo – Yes again we seem to be mentioning these same two issues and that’s palm oil and the pulp and paper trade. Orang-utans that are not “related” but share almost the same characteristics and genetics of around 99.4% are being wiped out at around 5,000 a year for palm oil/pulp and paper trade, well sadly so are the Montane ranged Gorillas plus the critically endangered Pygmy Elephant that now stands at well under 1,500 due to the recent poisoning by palm oil plantation managers within the last month of December 2012 and this month January 2013.
Located mainly in the Dzanga Sangha Protected Area complex in the Central African Republic, neighboring Nouabale-Ndoki National Park in the Republic of Congo, and Lobeke National Park in Cameroon Gorillas are also facing another threat which I mentioned earlier and now needs extreme awareness on a global international scale, so if you are reading this please share to your friends and also your family because “awareness” raises support and “support” will help other conservation teams move in to help protect these critically endangered species if governmental help can be gained to protect environmentalists.
International Animal Rescue Foundation © has been undertaking a lot of conservation and botanical work in Africa within the past three years. Most work has been on understating the country and setting a foot foundation within the nation thus then working on areas of conversational interest to preserve and conserve our flora and fauna.
Although keeping within mainly South Africa, Zimbabwe, Cameroon, Uganda, Chad, Angola and the island of Madagascar we need to push further in to Africa and now move in to states of Nigeria and Sudan along with Niger and Morocco this is to further more expertise of the animal parts trade, community relations, and to conserve aquatic and reptilian and botanical species plus now seeking the seriousness of poaching and the zoological trade too that see’s many zoo’s in central and northern Africa to coastal regions of Madagascar, Morocco, and Angola to Nigeria that are illegally importing and exporting primates of which includes the Mountain and Silver back Gorillas based on intelligence and interviews with individuals that have lived and worked within these regions.
The impacts of the Gorilla we as an International “conservation team” know little about in terms of (practical work) although we possess masses of extensive theory experience from studying and field work we now see as a conservation team the Gorillas and other flora and fauna within this area of Africa to be in serious threat or nearing extinction unless evasive and immediate action is undertaken along with building rapport and relations with “African” conservation team players that we never normally would do within the nation of Africa.
Impossible is not a term within our vocabulary and although we are more than aware of the copious civil and militant extremist unrest within the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda we have to face these threats taking the bull by the horns, working alongside others to preserve and conserve our Gorilla populations but not ignoring the populated Borneo region too.
Projects that are being undertaken at this moment that are of the most important within this wildlife sector are listed below;
- Strengthening protected areas that harbor western lowland gorillas and other threatened species in the Republic of Congo.
- Supporting the gorilla tracking program in the Dzanga Sangha Protected Area complex.
- Promoting sustainable development of the Dzanga Sangha Protected Area complex, including through developing ecotourism and a multiple-use reserve, where human activities and forest exploitation are controlled.
Projects that we are going to implement are;
- Building ranger and anti-poaching personnel up within Africa and Borneo to preserve the critically endangered species of Gorilla populations
- Public education and awareness of bush meat and the exotic pet trade
- Informer networks of syndicate crime
- Awareness of the Ebola disease and pushing for vaccines of gorillas to keep safe the populations
- Global Positioning System (GPS) tagging and tracking / air and land surveillance
- Preserving areas of populations in parks and the wild through education and international awareness (pushing for celebrity awareness)
- Monitoring the situations within Borneo of which we have yet to still travel back too, this could take up to 1-2 years however with the organisation now wanting to go to charity “status” the monies raised that have to be over £5000 UKP will help us dearly to place into motion the theory experience in gaining knowledge to practical of these species and other conservation teams and the RSPO to preserve the Gorilla’s natural habitat.
Current threats in Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, and Democratic republic of Congo are serious and with vast corruption plus civil war still on-going now since the beginning of 1990 this unfortunately see’s the Gorilla facing some serious population decline.
The Virunga National Park where large populations of Gorilla’s are is under threat and “ honor killings of the Gorilla are being carried out” not for poaching, or bush meat but by the M23 rebels that are only murdering single or whole families of the Gorilla species to create a “fear factor” which is better explained in the forty five minute video below.
Apologies for “quality” however the original video as seen below was removed from viewing in the European Union by National Geographic although we could still view the video others viewing the page would not so we have picked up on the same production that’s been recorded.
Historical Human Rights information on current crisis;
M23 rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo are responsible for widespread war crimes, including summary executions, rapes, and forced recruitment. Thirty-three of those executed were young men and boys who tried to escape the rebels’ ranks.
Rwandan officials may be complicit in war crimes through their continued military assistance to M23 forces, Human Rights Watch said. The Rwandan army has deployed its troops to eastern Congo to directly support the M23 rebels in military operations.
Human Rights Watch based its findings on interviews with 190 Congolese and Rwandan victims, family members, witnesses, local authorities, and current or former M23 fighters between May and September.
“The M23 rebels are committing a horrific trail of new atrocities in eastern Congo,” said Anneke Van Woudenberg, senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch. “M23 commanders should be held accountable for these crimes, and the Rwandan officials supporting these abusive commanders could face justice for aiding and abetting the crimes.”
The M23 armed group consists of soldiers who participated in a mutiny from the Congolese national army in April and May 2012. The group’s senior commanders have a well-known history of serious abuses against civilians. In June the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, Navi Pillay, identified five of the M23’s leaders as “among the worst perpetrators of human rights violations in the DRC, or in the world.” They include Gen. Bosco Ntaganda, who is wanted on two arrest warrants by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ituri district, and Col. Sultani Makenga, who is implicated in the recruitment of children and several massacres in eastern Congo.
Based on its research, Human Rights Watch documented the forced recruitment of at least 137 young men and boys in Rutshuru territory, eastern Congo, by M23 rebels since July. Most were abducted from their homes, in the market, or while walking to their farms. At least seven were under age 15.
Witnesses told Human Rights Watch that at least 33 new recruits and other M23 fighters were summarily executed when they attempted to flee. Some were tied up and shot in front of other recruits as an example of the punishment they could receive.
One young recruit told Human Rights Watch, “When we were with the M23, they said [we had a choice] and could stay with them or we could die. Lots of people tried to escape. Some were found and then that was immediately their death.”
Since June, M23 fighters have deliberately killed at least 15 civilians in areas under their control, some because they were perceived to be against the rebels, Human Rights Watch said. The fighters also raped at least 46 women and girls. The youngest rape victim was eight years old. M23 fighters shot dead a 25-year-old woman who was three months pregnant because she resisted being raped. Two other women died from the wounds inflicted on them when they were raped by M23 fighters.
M23 rebels have committed abuses against civilians with horrific brutality, Human Rights Watch said. Just after midnight on July 7, 2012, M23 fighters attacked a family in the village of Chengerero. A 32-year-old woman told Human Rights Watch that the M23 fighters broke down their door, beat her 15-year-old son to death, and abducted her husband. Before leaving, the M23 fighters gang-raped her, poured fuel between her legs, and set the fuel on fire. A neighbor came to the woman’s aid after the M23 fighters left. The whereabouts of the woman’s husband remain unknown.
Local leaders, customary chiefs, journalists, human rights activists and others who spoke out against the M23’s abuses – or are known to have denounced the rebel commanders’ previous abuses – have been targeted. Many received death threats and have fled to Congolese government-controlled areas.
M23 leaders deny that they or their forces have committed any crimes. In an interview with Human Rights Watch on August 8, Col. Makenga, one of the M23’s leaders, denied allegations of forced recruitment and summary executions, claiming those who joined their ranks did so voluntarily. “We recruit our brothers, not by force, but because they want to help their big brothers…. That’s their decision,” he said. “They are our little brothers, so we can’t kill them.” He described the repeated reports of forced recruitment by his forces as Congolese government propaganda.
Rwandan military officials have also continued to recruit by force or under false pretenses young men and boys, including under the age of 15, in Rwanda to augment the M23’s ranks. Recruitment of children under age 15 is a war crime and contravenes Rwandan law.
On June 4, Human Rights Watch reported that between 200 and 300 Rwandans were recruited in Rwanda in April and May and taken across the border to fight alongside M23 forces. Human Rights Watch has since gathered further evidence of forced recruitment in Rwanda in June, July, and August with several hundred more recruited. Based on interviews with witnesses and victims, Human Rights Watch estimates that at least 600 young men and boys have been forcibly or otherwise unlawfully recruited in Rwanda to join the M23, and possibly many more. These recruits outnumber those recruited for the M23 in Congo.
Congolese and Rwandans, including local authorities, who live near the Rwanda-Congo border told Human Rights Watch that they saw frequent troop movements of Rwandan soldiers in and out of Congo in June, July, and August in apparent support of M23 rebels. They said that Rwandan army soldiers frequently used the footpath near Njerima hill in Rwanda, close to Karisimbi volcano, to cross the border.
In addition to deploying reinforcements and recruits to support military operations, Rwandan military officials have been providing important military support to the M23 rebels, including weapons, ammunition, and training, Human Rights Watch said. This makes Rwanda a party to the conflict.
“The Rwandan government’s repeated denials that its military officials provide support for the abusive M23 rebels beggars belief,” Van Woudenberg said. “The United Nations Security Council
should sanction M23 leaders, as well as Rwandan officials who are helping them, for serious rights abuses.”
The armed conflict in eastern Congo is bound by international humanitarian law, or the laws of war, including Common Article 3 and Protocol II to the 1949 Geneva Conventions, which prohibit summary executions, rape, forced recruitment, and other abuses. Serious laws-of-war violations committed deliberately or recklessly are war crimes. Commanders may be criminally responsible for war crimes by their forces if they knew or should have known about such crimes and failed to prevent them or punish those responsible.
A United Nations Group of Experts that monitors the arms embargo and sanctions violations in Congo independently presented compelling evidence of Rwandan support to the M23 rebels. Its findings were published in a 48-page addendum to the Group’s interim report in June 2012. The Rwandan government has denied these allegations. The UN sanctions committee should immediately seek additional information on M23 leaders and Rwandan military officers named by the Group of Experts with a view to adopting targeted sanctions against them, Human Rights Watch said.
In July and August, five donor governments – the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden – announced the suspension or delay of assistance to Rwanda in light of the evidence presented by the Group of Experts. Although Rwandan military support for the M23, and M23 abuses have continued unabated, on September 4 the United Kingdom Department for International Development announced it would disburse around half the assistance it had withheld.
The renewed hostilities by the M23, the Congolese army, and various other armed groups have resulted in the displacement of over 220,000 civilians who have fled their homes to seek safety elsewhere in Congo or across the border in Uganda and Rwanda.
“Congolese civilians have endured the brunt of wartime abuses,” Van Woudenberg said. “The UN and its member states should urgently step up their efforts to protect civilians, and donor governments providing aid or military assistance to Rwanda should urgently review their programs to ensure they are not fueling serious human rights abuses.”
Background on the M23 and Its Leadership
The soldiers who took part in a mutiny from the Congolese army between late March and May and formed the M23 group were previously members of the National Congress for the Defense of the
People (CNDP), a former Rwanda-backed rebel group that integrated into the Congolese army in January 2009.
General Ntaganda led the mutiny following Congolese government attempts to weaken his control and increased calls for his arrest and surrender to the ICC, in accordance with Congo’s legal obligations to cooperate with the court. He was joined by an estimated 300 to 600 troops in Masisi territory, North Kivu province. Ntaganda’s forces were defeated by the Congolese army, which pushed the rebels out of Masisi in early May. Around the same time, Col. Makenga, a former colleague of Ntaganda in the CNDP, announced he was beginning a separate mutiny in Rutshuru territory. In the days that followed, Ntaganda and his forces joined Makenga.
The new armed group called itself the M23. The soldiers claimed their mutiny was to protest the Congolese government’s failure to fully implement the March 23, 2009, peace agreement (hence the name M23), which had integrated them into the Congolese army.
Some of the M23’s senior commanders have well-known histories of serious abuses, committed over the past decade in eastern Congo as they moved from one armed group to another, including ethnic massacres, recruitment of children, mass rape, killings, abductions, and torture. Before the mutinies, at least five of the current M23 leaders were on a UN blacklist of people with whom they would not collaborate due to their human rights records.
Ntaganda has been wanted by the ICC since 2006 for recruiting and using child soldiers in Ituri district in northeastern Congo in 2002 and 2003. In July, the court issued a second warrant against him for war crimes and crimes against humanity, namely murder, persecution based on ethnic grounds, rape, sexual slavery, and pillaging, also in connection with his activities in Ituri. On September 4, the ICC renewed its request to the Congolese government to arrest Ntaganda immediately and transfer him to The Hague. Human Rights Watch has documented numerous war crimes and crimes against humanity by troops under Ntaganda’s command since he moved from Ituri to North Kivu in 2006.
According to research by UN human rights investigators and Human Rights Watch, Col. Makenga is responsible for recruiting children and for several massacres in eastern Congo; Col. Innocent Zimurinda is responsible for ethnic massacres at Kiwanja, Shalio, and Buramba, as well as rape, torture, and child recruitment; Col. Baudouin Ngaruye is responsible for a massacre at Shalio, child recruitment, rape, and other attacks on civilians; and Col. Innocent Kayna is responsible for ethnic massacres in Ituri and child recruitment.
Ntaganda and Zimurinda are also both on a UN Security Council sanctions list. Under the UN sanctions, all UN member states, including Rwanda, are obligated to “take the necessary measures to prevent the entry into or transit through their territories of all persons” on the sanctions list. Both Ntaganda and Zimurinda have traveled to Rwanda since April, former M23 fighters who accompanied Ntaganda and people present during meetings Zimurinda attended in Rwanda told Human Rights Watch.
Publicly, the M23 maintains that Ntaganda is not part of its movement. However, several dozen former and current M23 fighters and others close to the M23’s leadership told Human Rights Watch that Ntaganda has played a key command and leadership role among the M23 rebels, operating from the Runyoni area, and that he participated regularly in meetings with the M23’s high command and Rwandan army officers.
The same people also told Human Rights Watch that there were tensions between Ntaganda and Makenga due to past differences over Ntaganda’s 2009 putsch against the CNDP’s then-leader Laurent Nkunda. But these differences, they said, have been put aside to focus on the rebellion against the Congolese army. As one M23 fighter explained to Human Rights Watch, “Many of us have bad memories of Ntaganda…but we need to prioritize the war against the FARDC [the Congolese army] first. The war against Ntaganda will come later.”
Since July, Ntaganda appears to have been keeping a lower profile and, according to M23 defectors interviewed by Human Rights Watch, is closely protected by dozens of bodyguards.
Killings and Rape by M23 Forces
Human Rights Watch investigations found that M23 fighters deliberately killed at least 15 civilians, wounded 14 others, and raped at least 46 women and girls in areas under their control in June, July, and August. At least 13 of the rape victims were children. Some were attacked because they resisted forced recruitment or refused to contribute food rations to the M23. Others were targeted because they were perceived to be against the M23, or had fled to government-controlled areas and tried to return home in search of food.
In June, for example, M23 fighters killed a 50-year-old Hutu man, Nsabimana Rwabinumwe, who had fled when the M23 arrived in his village but came back to look for food at his farm. A friend who buried him told Human Rights Watch, “They [M23 fighters] used a hoe and beat him on the back of the head. …When you leave the areas controlled by the government and then come back, they punish you. …They killed [my friend] because he had been in the government area.”
In early August, an elderly couple who lived near Runyoni left their home to flee to government-controlled areas when a group of M23 fighters stopped them. The M23 fighters grabbed the woman and tore off her clothes. Her husband tried to protect her, but some of the fighters started beating the 60-year-old man with their rifles, while others gang-raped his wife. The man lost consciousness when he saw his wife being raped. He was later taken to a hospital, where he told relatives, “I want to die. I have no desire to live after what I have seen. It is only animals who could have done this.” Two weeks later he died of his wounds.
A 15-year-old girl from Muchanga told Human Rights Watch that she had gone to their farm with her mother and younger sister on July 10 when an M23 fighter approached them and demanded money. They gave him the money they had with them which they were saving to pay school fees, and then the fighter told them to get down on the ground. “He started by letting my mother and little sister go and telling them to run quickly. I was left alone with the fighter. He took me 500 meters from the farm and then he raped me.”
On August 24, two M23 fighters raped a 12-year-old girl. They broke into her home, threatened her mother and aunt, and told the young girl to go outside. Some meters from the house, near the family’s latrine, they gang-raped her. “[She] was in a lot of pain, she cried out loudly, but these criminals had no heart or pity for anyone,” a witness told Human Rights Watch. “They continued to rape her until they were satisfied.”
In addition to the 15 civilians deliberately killed by the M23, at least another 25 civilians were killed in July during combat between the M23 and their supporters against Congolese army soldiers and UN peacekeepers. At least 36 other civilians were wounded. In a number of cases neither the M23 nor the Congolese army made sufficient efforts to avoid civilian deaths or to permit civilians to flee the combat zone safely.
Rwandan Support to the M23
In July, several hundred Rwandan army soldiers, possibly more, were deployed to eastern Congo to assist the M23 take the strategic border post town of Bunagana, Rumangabo military base, the towns of Rutshuru, Kiwanja, and Rugari, and surrounding areas. Local residents and M23 defectors reported earlier Rwandan army deployments in which Rwandan soldiers came for short periods to support the M23 in key battles, withdrew, and then returned when needed. A UN peacekeeping officer in North Kivu corroborated regular surges of support for M23. He told Human Rights Watch, “Whenever [the M23] make a big push, they have additional strength.”
Local residents and escaped M23 fighters told Human Rights Watch that on July 5 and 6, during an attack on Bunagana, several hundred Rwandan army soldiers from Gen. Emmanuel Ruvusha’s division based in Gisenyi (northwestern Rwanda) were deployed to the area to reinforce the M23. Defectors told Human Rights Watch they recognized the division’s officers. M23 rebels coordinated their offensive with the Rwandan forces against the Congolese army, who were supported by UN peacekeepers.
UN peacekeepers present during the attack told Human Rights Watch that the forces that attacked Bunagana were well-equipped and spoke English, and that their behavior was markedly different from that of Congolese soldiers, leading them to conclude that the attacking forces included Rwandan soldiers.
Many Rwandan army soldiers deployed to support the M23 passed directly from Rwanda into Congo, using various footpaths, including near Njerima and Kanyanje. Others reportedly passed through Ugandan territory to enter Congo, including via a path on the Ugandan side of Sabyinyo volcano. M23 defectors and local residents told Human Rights Watch that Rwandan soldiers used Ugandan territory and Ugandan vehicles to enter Congo.
Congolese and Rwandans, including local authorities who live near the Rwanda-Congo border, also told Human Rights Watch that they saw significant numbers of Rwandan soldiers crossing from Rwanda into Congo in June, July, and August. They had also seen Rwandan soldiers later returning to Rwanda from Congo.
In early July, just before the M23 rebels attacked Bunagana with support from Rwandan troops, a Congolese farmer from Hehu hill, near Kibumba, was visiting a friend in Kasizi, Rwanda, when he was taken by Rwandan soldiers and forced to carry boxes of ammunition.
He told Human Rights Watch that he had counted seven army trucks filled with Rwandan soldiers, weapons, and ammunition. “The soldiers took me, my friend, and other civilians… and forced us to carry boxes of ammunition to Njerima [near the Congo border]. I was forced to do three trips and then I managed to get away. The soldiers were well-armed and wearing military uniforms… I asked one of the soldiers walking next to me where we were going. He replied that they were going to fight in Congo.”
In late July, people in Congo near Kasizi again reported seeing large numbers of Rwandan army soldiers passing into Congo from Rwanda. On August 3, two Rwandans, including a local village chief, told Human Rights Watch that they saw a large group of Rwandan army soldiers crossing from Rwanda into Congo, on a footpath near Karisimbi volcano.
Some people noticed Rwandan soldiers coming out of Congo. A journalist who traveled from Ruhengeri to Kinigi in early August told Human Rights Watch he saw two groups of at least 100 soldiers walking from the direction of the Congolese border toward the main road between Ruhengeri and Kinigi in Rwanda. He described the soldiers as “visibly tired and dirty” and said “some were limping, their boots were muddy, and they were clearly very tired.”
Rwandan forces in Congo appear to have coordinated their actions with the M23, often playing commanding roles, local residents and M23 defectors told Human Rights Watch. One former M23 combatant told Human Rights Watch he saw a Rwandan General, Emmanuel Ruvusha, on Tshanzu hill, one of the M23’s main bases, during the fighting in Bunagana, apparently commanding and overseeing military operations.
Another defector who commanded a unit of M23 fighters said he received his orders from Rwandan army officers during the attack on Bunagana. Other M23 defectors were also able to identify Rwandan officers by name that had been at M23 positions in Congo. They claimed that these officers had directed, or helped to direct, military operations, provided weapons, or supervised the training of new recruits.
Many of the M23 defectors and escaped recruits from both Congo and Rwanda interviewed by Human Rights Watch said that their training had been conducted by Rwandan army soldiers at training camps in Bukima, Tshanzu, and Rumangabo, in Rutshuru territory, Congo.
A Rwandan M23 defector who used to be an officer in the CNDP told Human Rights Watch he recognized the Rwandan army officers training the new M23 recruits because he himself had been trained by them in Rwanda while he was with the CNDP. “I knew them well because I had taken their courses in Rwanda,” he said. “I recognized them.”
Human Rights Watch tried to contact the Rwandan military spokesperson for a response to the above allegations without success.
In an interview with Belgian newspaper Le Soir on August 29, the Rwandan defense minister, James Kabarebe, denied that the Rwandan army supported the M23. “Everyone knows that Rwanda does not have a single soldier amongst the M23 and does not give it any support.” When asked if uncontrolled Rwandan soldiers could be acting in support of the M23, he said that the Rwandan
army was “solid, well-organized, well-commanded, well-disciplined” and that there could not be any “uncontrolled elements” within it.
Forced Recruitment in Congo by the M23
Since early July, M23 rebels have stepped up recruitment activities in Rutshuru territory, eastern Congo, after the group took control of the areas around Bunagana and later Rutshuru, Kiwanja, Rumangabo, and Rugari. M23 commanders held meetings in villages and towns under their military control to convince the population to support their activities by providing recruits and food rations. When few joined voluntarily, M23 combatants quickly began to take young men and boys by force.
Human Rights Watch research found that at least 137 young men and boys were forcibly recruited in Rutshuru territory between early July and late August, including at least 20 children under 18, seven of whom were under age 15.
These are in addition to the 149 young men and boys recruited in Masisi territory in April, as reported by Human Rights Watch on May 16. The total number of young men and boys forcibly recruited by the M23 in Congo, known to Human Rights Watch, stands at 286; of whom at least 68 were children under 18, 24 of them under 15.
New recruits were taken to military training centers set up by the M23 in Bukima, Tshanzu, Runyoni, and Rumangabo. Recruits who managed to escape told Human Rights Watch that they were given military uniforms and taught how to use a rifle and other basic military tactics. The recruits also told Human Rights Watch that Rwandan army officers frequently led the training.
The forced recruitment created a climate of fear, leading many young men and boys to flee to government-controlled areas or across the border to Uganda or Rwanda.
On July 16 and 17, M23 fighters forcibly recruited at least 60 young men and boys from the Rugari and Kisigari areas. They told the recruits that they needed help transporting their belongings, collecting firewood and drawing water, and said they would be released afterward. Instead the young men and boys were taken to military training centers at Bukima and Tshanzu and briefly given military training.
One 20-year-old man who was forcibly recruited in the Kisigari area along with three other young men on July 21 later managed to escape. He told Human Rights Watch that he and the others were
taken to a training camp at Bukima. “There, we spent an entire night in a hole with water up to our hips, like a pool,” he said. “The M23 soldiers told us that that was the start of the military training, to teach us how to get used to the cold.”
A 19-year-old Congolese youth was abducted on July 23 in Bugina on his way home from his fields. Witnesses said three M23 fighters forced him to carry their belongings, then inducted him into their rebel group. His family saw him in Rutshuru on July 25 in military uniform with a rifle, fighting alongside the M23 against the Congolese army.
One man who had gone to visit a relative in Tshanzu who had joined the M23 told Human Rights Watch that during his visit he saw a group of 70 to 80 new recruits undergoing training. The man recognized four of the recruits as children from his home village who were still in primary school and were around 13 or 14. The man told Human Rights Watch that many others of roughly the same age were among the recruits.
Any recruitment by armed groups of children under 18 is prohibited by the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflicts, ratified by Congo and Rwanda. Under the ICC treaty, the recruitment of children under 15 is a war crime.
Rwandan Recruitment for the M23
Rwandan military authorities continued recruiting for the M23 in Rwanda between June and August, as they had in previous months, either by force or under false pretenses. Information collected by Human Rights Watch indicates that an estimated 600 were recruited in these circumstances in Rwanda. These recruits outnumber those recruited by the M23 in Congo. They included young Rwandan men and boys with no previous military experience and Congolese Tutsi refugees living in refugee or transit camps in Rwanda. Others targeted for recruitment included demobilized soldiers from the Rwandan army, the CNDP, and demobilized fighters from the FDLR who had returned to Rwanda. The FDLR are a largely Rwandan Hutu militia group operating in Congo, some of whose members participated in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.
According to recruits interviewed by Human Rights Watch who were able to escape and reports from other sources, Rwandan authorities recruited dozens of young men and boys from camps for Congolese refugees in Kibuye and Byumba, as well as the Nkamira Transit Center. Many were forcibly taken from the camps at night by men in civilian clothes who drove them to the Rwandan military camp at Kinigi. There they were given uniforms, weapons, ammunition, and other materials to transport, and were escorted by Rwandan army soldiers to Congo. Others joined voluntarily, after being told that supporting the M23 would help their families return to Congo.
A Tutsi student, 22, who studied near Kitchanga, in Congo, told Human Rights Watch that he had fled to the Nkamira Transit Center in Rwanda in May to escape forced recruitment in Congo. Two weeks later, he was taken by force from the transit camp along with 13 other young men. He said men in civilian clothes assembled them and forced them into a vehicle with tinted windows.They were taken to Ruhengeri, given salt to carry and forced to march to the Congolese border, escorted by Rwandan army soldiers.
At the border, the group was met by M23 fighters, who escorted them to Runyoni, where they were given military training within days of arriving. “They [the M23] would beat us,” the student said. “They told us we had to eliminate our ‘sense of being a civilian.’ They said we were going to take North Kivu.”
In another case at Nkamira Transit Center, an 18-year-old Rwandan youth went to visit his sister at the camp on June 6. He said that the same night, he was picked up by civilian-clothed men who rounded up 28 young men in the camp and brought them in three vehicles to the Rwandan military camp in Kinigi. The young men were each given fuel canisters to carry and were escorted on foot toward the M23 military position in Runyoni, Congo, accompanied by Rwandan army soldiers.
Rwandan military authorities also mobilized local authorities to help with the recruitment. In Rwerere, Rwanda, near the Kasizi village border crossing with Congo, Rwandan military authorities called local leaders to a meeting on June 27 and told them that each leader with responsibility for 10 houses (known as the nyumbakumi) should find five recruits to send to Congo to support the M23. Two people who were at the meeting and were later interviewed by Human Rights Watch said they were instructed to “give priority to young demobilized soldiers” and to tell the youth that they should go to Congo “to secure Rwanda because the Congolese government was supporting the FDLR.”
According to the same local leaders, on July 4 over 300 new recruits mobilized by the local authorities were taken to Kabumba, close to the border with Congo. They were then escorted by Rwandan army soldiers across the Congolese border to Runyoni to join the M23.
Another nyumbakumi from the area in Rwanda bordering Congo near Kasizi told Human Rights Watch that in a meeting on August 24, Rwandan civilian and military authorities again called on local leaders to recruit youth to join the M23. They told them that “all of the Kivus should come back to Rwanda because it is ours” and that they should collect money from their populations to pay the youth and encourage them to join.
An M23 combatant who spoke to Human Rights Watch was candid about the recruitment in Rwanda. “We have a small number of soldiers, and Rwanda has many,” he said. “We recruit everywhere in Rwanda. We look especially for those with families in Congo, former CNDP fighters, or demobilized soldiers. The street children are also very susceptible to recruitment.”
Rwandan military and civilian officials who recruit children under the age of 15 for the M23 are responsible for war crimes. Recruitment of children under the age of 18 for military service is also prohibited under Rwandan law.
Summary Executions and Mistreatment of Recruits
The M23 has treated its new recruits harshly. Beatings and cruel or degrading treatment were regular occurrences. Human Rights Watch research found that at least 33 M23 rebels and recruits who attempted to escape and were captured were summarily executed.
A Rwandan man, 18, who escaped after being forcibly recruited in Rwanda told Human Rights Watch that he witnessed the execution of a 16-year-old boy from his M23 unit who had tried to flee in June. The boy was captured and beaten to death by M23 fighters in front of other recruits. An M23 commander who ordered his killing then allegedly told the other recruits, “He wanted to abandon us,” as an explanation for why the boy had been killed.
A Congolese Hutu man, 28, who was forcibly recruited in Karuba, Masisi, in early May, told Human Rights Watch that because he resisted becoming a fighter, the M23 detained him in a makeshift prison in a hole in the ground at the M23 military camp in Runyoni, along with 25 other Hutu recruits who were being punished for disobedience. A Rwandan recruit told Human Rights Watch: “We were mistreated at the [Runyoni] camp. …They often beat people so badly that they couldn’t recover and got sick. …I wanted to flee.”
Within days of being recruited, many young men and boys were sent into battle. With little or no military training or experience, the new recruits are frequently among the first killed. A 17-year-old Rwandan boy who was recruited in June in Ruhengeri, Rwanda, told Human Rights Watch, “There are lots of children with [General] Ntaganda now, and they send us to the front lines so we’re the first to die. It’s as if they take us to kill us.”
One man from Rugari, Congo, told Human Rights Watch that his 15-year-old nephew was forcibly recruited in mid-July by the M23 while walking to his fields. Days later, the boy was killed in a battle on a hill near Rugari. After the battle, the M23 rebels forced a group of civilians, including the boy’s uncle, to bury the dead. “I saw my [nephew] there, dead, with a bullet in his chest,” the uncle said. The uncle participated in the burial of at least 60 bodies that day. Many appeared to be children.
Intimidation and Threats Against Human Rights Activists, Journalists, Local Leaders
Local leaders, customary chiefs, journalists, human rights activists and others who spoke out against the M23’s abuses or are known to have denounced the rebel commanders’ previous abuses have been targeted. Many received death threats and have fled to government-controlled areas.
The M23 took over community radio stations in Rutshuru territory shortly after they took control of villages and towns in July, threatening radio operators and journalists and forcing them to hand over equipment. One radio operator interviewed by Human Rights Watch said he was threatened by a senior M23 official, who told him that if he refused to let the M23 use his radio, they would kill him.
In late July, the M23 established local security committees in Kiwanja, Rutshuru, and Rubare. M23 leaders assert the committees are to serve as liaisons with local communities about security matters. However, a member of one of the committees told a civil society activist from the area that the main aims of the committees include recruiting youth to join the M23 and reporting to the M23 hierarchy those who oppose the movement.
Local customary chiefs who have not shown their loyalty to the M23 have also been targeted and some have fled to government-controlled areas.
The Rumangabo locality chief, Manishimwe Rwahinage, was detained by the M23 on July 17. M23 leaders told Human Rights Watch he had been taken into custody for collaborating with the FDLR and they were “trying to change him.” He was released on August 11, after civilians from his locality paid US$150. On September 5, Rwahinage was shot and killed in Rumangabo, not far from an M23 military post. M23 leaders said that the FDLR may have been responsible, while those close to Rwahinage believe he was killed by M23 fighters. Further investigation is required to determine responsibility for his death.
Human rights activists in Goma said they received threatening phone calls and text messages from people suspected of being M23 members. On July 26, one activist received the following message: “We are now at the gates of Goma. Speak one more time [and] we will cut your mouth. Spread this message to your other colleagues, sons of dogs. We will end your life.”
Forced Labor, Looting, and Extortion by the M23
M23 combatants have forced civilians to work for them, in some cases under threat of death.
On July 26, M23 fighters forced a primary school teacher, 32, from Gisiza locality to transport boxes of ammunition from Kabaya to the Rumangabo military camp. When the teacher tried to return home, he was shot in the back and injured by M23 fighters.
A local chief from the village of Kigarama, near Rugari, who had fled to Kanyaruchinya, told Human Rights Watch that on August 3 he went back to his farm to look for food. The next day M23 forces arrived and forced him to bring his pig to their camp, where it was slaughtered to feed fighters. For the next six days, the chief was forced to dig trenches, milk cows, and collect beans. He was also forced to find young women to bring to the M23 camp; he brought three, ages 15, 20, and 25. Their fate is not known.
Numerous other civilians told Human Rights Watch that they were forced to hand over their harvests, money, and other goods to M23 fighters. A man from Rugari told Human Rights Watch that M23 commanders held a meeting in mid-July at which every family was ordered to provide the M23 five kilograms of beans within a week. The M23 also carried out door-to-door looting raids, attacking those who resisted. On August 24, M23 fighters went to the homes of five traders in Rugari, attacked them with machetes and knives, and forced them to hand over money.
As of early September, the M23 controlled three main supply routes through Rutshuru to Rwindi, Bunagana, and Goma, and was imposing heavy “taxes” on all vehicles passing through their territory.
Pressure on Former CNDP Members by Rwandan Military Officials
Senior Rwandan military officials have sought to influence former CNDP members and their families, in both Congo and Rwanda, to support or join the M23. Several former CNDP military officers and political leaders told Human Rights Watch that they were under intense pressure from Rwandan officials to join the M23. The tactics included death threats and intimidation.
Senator Edouard Mwangachuchu, the president of the CNDP political party, who had publicly denounced the M23 mutiny, told Human Rights Watch that in early May, he received a phone call from the Rwandan defense minister, Gen. James Kabarebe, instructing him to support the M23 and demanding that the CNDP political party withdraw from its political alliance with the Congolese ruling coalition of President Joseph Kabila. The senator said that when he refused, Kaberebe told him to “shut up,” and said “a lightning bolt will strike you.” A few days later, other CNDP political party members declared they had ousted Mwangachuchu as party president and pulled the CNDP out of Kabila’s political coalition.
The Rwandan government, in its official response to the UN Group of Experts, said that the phone calls between Rwandan officials and Congolese individuals had “deliberately been taken out of context” and that those made by Kabarebe were “aimed at avoiding a return to violence and [to] promote political dialogue.”
Congolese Tutsi civilians, including businessmen and civilian leaders, also said they were under intense pressure to support the M23. Some have done so voluntarily, but others have refused and faced threats or intimidation. “It’s as if they [the Rwandans] have a knife to our throats,” one Congolese Tutsi businessman said.
Abuses by Other Armed Groups in Eastern Congo
Since the start of the M23 rebellion, the FDLR and other Congolese armed groups, including the Raia Mutomboki militia, have also increased their military activities, expanding their areas of control and killing hundreds of civilians in other parts of North Kivu and South Kivu, according to the UN and local human rights activists. These militias appear to have taken advantage of rising ethnic tensions and the security vacuum created by the Congolese army’s focus on the M23 rebels.
Rangers seeking and shutting down another plant via the illegal trade in Charcoal that’s funding the war. Every plantation that they locate the rangers are then punished by the rebels that then attack the Gorillas and later massacre them
Some of the militias, such as the Mai Mai Sheka – whose leader, Ntabo Ntaberi Sheka, is sought on a Congolese arrest warrant for crimes against humanity for mass rape – have also received support from Rwandan military officials or M23 leaders to conduct military operations against the Congolese army or the FDLR, according to UN officials and the UN Group of Experts.
Some of the most intense fighting has been between the Congolese armed group Raia Mutomboki (meaning “outraged citizens” in Swahili) and the FDLR. Residents and local human rights activists in Masisi, Walikale, Kalehe, and Shabunda territories of North and South Kivu provinces say that hundreds of civilians have been attacked during the fighting this year as each side accused the local population of supporting its enemies.On August 29, Pillay, the UN high commissioner for human rights, condemned the killings and massacres perpetrated by both groups. “The sheer viciousness of
these murders is beyond comprehension,” she said in a statement. “In some cases, the attacks against civilians may constitute crimes against humanity.”
The M23 has sought to ally with some of the armed groups active in eastern Congo, providing them with either periodic or sustained support, including weapons and ammunition, and on occasion organizing coordinated attacks.
For example, in early September, Mai Mai Sheka combatants attacked and took control of Pinga, a town bordering Masisi and Walikale territories, with the support of the M23, according to UN officials.
M23 leaders and Rwandan officials who provided weapons, ammunition, and other support to Congolese armed groups, either directly or indirectly, may be complicit in violations of the laws of war committed by these groups.
Abuses by Congolese Armed Forces
During operations against the M23 rebels, Congolese armed forces have also committed abuses against civilians in Rutshuru territory and Goma, including arbitrary arrests of ethnic Tutsi assumed to be M23 supporters, in addition to the mistreatment of detainees, at least one of whom was killed.
Some of those detained by Congolese soldiers had no apparent connections to the M23, but may have been targeted because they were Rwandan or were from the Tutsi ethnic group.
Between late May and early July, for example, Congolese soldiers detained five Rwandan children, ages 12 to 17, in separate incidents in Kibumba and Goma, at the border with Rwanda. The children were taken to the military prison at the headquarters of the 802nd Regiment at Camp Katindo, in Goma. The guards told the other prisoners, mostly army soldiers, to beat the children. One boy, 17, told Human Rights Watch that the other prisoners said, “Since you are Rwandan, we’re going to beat you to death.” At night, the children were beaten and hung from the ceiling for hours “like monkeys.” They were deprived of food and were not told of any charges or questioned by magistrates.
By mid-July, one of the children, Daniel Masengesho, about 16, became very ill. “We told the prison guard that he was very sick and would die here,” one of the boys told Human Rights Watch. “The guard responded, ‘Shut up. He is a Rwandan. Let him die slowly.’” The boys repeatedly asked the guards to take him to the hospital, but they refused. On July 23, Masengesho died. The next day, the army took the four other boys by motorcycle to the Rwandan border. Congolese immigration authorities questioned them after seeing their weak state, gave them food, and brought them to the hospital in Goma for medical treatment.
Congolese authorities responded promptly, and within days arrested Maj. Tharcisse Banuesize Chiragaga, the Congolese army officer responsible for detaining the five children. On August 17, a military court convicted him and sentenced him to five years in prison for arbitrary arrest, torture, falsification of documents, and illegal detention leading to the death of one detainee.
Although Congolese officials tried to return the boys to Rwanda, Rwandan government officials have refused to accept them, saying they are unable to confirm that they were Rwandan citizens. This has also occurred with Rwandan defectors from the M23, who continue to be held in Congolese military prisons or in the custody of UN peacekeepers.
As the Congolese army soldiers retreated north from their positions in Kiwanja, Rutshuru territory, on July 25, following an M23 offensive, the soldiers took a number of detainees with them. Human Rights Watch received several reports that four people in their custody may have been killed by soldiers near the Congolese military position at “Pont Mabenga.” Congolese judicial officials should urgently investigate this incident, Human Rights Watch said.
INTERNATIONAL ANIMAL RESCUE FOUNDATION IS APPEALING TO ANYONE THAT KNOW’S OF THIS MAN’S GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION TO CONTACT US ANONYMOUSLY “PIC RIGHT” - THIS INDIVIDUAL IS WANTED AND MUST BE ARRESTED
Congolese soldiers were also responsible for widespread looting. In Rutshuru and Kiwanja on July 8 and 25, Congolese army soldiers looted homes and forced dozens of civilians to transport their belongings as they retreated in the face of M23 rebel offensives.
The Virunga national park at this moment we are still unsure of if environmentalists can move in to secure the area however what we are aware of is that many rangers left the National Park in fear of their lives. This has then prompted concerns for the Gorillas there and at the main Virunga Gorilla rehabilitation centre of which is still in danger should armed militants decide on moving back to the Goma area of which they captured pilfering, murdering and raping many women and children.
The situation flared rapidly in December 2012 which we reported on within our African affairs page here https://www.facebook.com/pages/International-Animal-Rescue-Foundation-World-Action-South-Africa/199685603444685 the reports can be seen if you scroll down to December 2012.
The M23 rebel’s commander a vicious and ruthless bloody mercenary hell bent on power and control stated on November 29th 2012“My soldiers began to retreat from Masisi yesterday. We will go via Goma and then after that we will retreat to 20 kilometres (12 miles) past Goma toward Rutshuru,” Makenga told The Associated Press. “I think that by Friday we will be able to complete this.”
M23 rebel’s may have retreated for now of which they are being supported by the Rwandan government however not all of them have left the area and have opted for wearing civilian clothing hiding within the hills. To make matters even more worrying for ourselves and other international and inland conservations “Gorilla families” have been reported as vanishing with some ten critically endangered Gorillas found dead with gunshot wounds, and this is not the first time such an emotional discovery by the remaining heavily armed rangers have located in this national park.
In 2009 the war against “rebels and rangers” took a nasty and very upsetting turn that saw the very man whom is trying to keep the rebels out of the park arrested and charged for the deaths of Gorillas that was one hundred per cent corruption related all for the bloody charcoal trade.
SHOCKING;
The report that went viral on August 2009 stated the rangers the very people that where protecting the Gorillas and their natural habitat where to blame for the killings of the Gorillas of which where discovered lying like human corpses, some with their hands on their hearts where they had been shot and others curled up like babies in the foetus position that indicated aggressive and systematic bloody brutal and barbaric abuse had taken place just as a “warning”.
Press and media had reported the rangers where working with the militants which was completely untrue, the rangers had nothing to do with the murders of which it is seen in “the rangers eyes” as a brother and sister lost, a member of their family, mother or father. Why would anyone though kill such stunning and magnificent creatures? Sadly for power and control over land that the militants want.
The killings of the gorilla’s reported here http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/rangers-v-rebels-fight-to-save-rare-gorillas-1767926.html were traced back to the corrupt circle protecting the charcoal trade, which produces 120,000 sacks of charred forest wood every month. Investigators found that rangers and their associates in the armed militias murdered the animals as a warning to their protectors not to interfere. To think that charcoal is the main reason why Gorillas that have lived on earth for some million + years are being slaughtered to hit the emotion senses of those trying to protect the animals and to back off from the jungles is quite worrying and we are 90% certain that the rebels are going to come back as they previously have done at the beginning of 2000 then 2008-09 and now deep in the hills they are back with rangers and rebels fighting for the rights of two separate issues.
The M23 rebel group is made up of hundreds of soldiers who deserted the Congolese army in April. Since then they have occupied numerous villages and towns in mineral-rich eastern Congo, culminating in the seizing of the crucial, provincial capital of Goma. Although they claim to be fighting because the Congolese government has not upheld their end of a March 23, 2009 peace deal, an in-depth report by the United Nations Group of Experts says that M23 is a Rwandan proxy fighting in order to control eastern Congo’s lucrative mines.
Where there is money there is happiness as they say and with Congo’s lucrative mines then these blood thirsty militants are not going to stop at anything or anyone. It was also reported in November the Prime Minister Rt Honourable David Cameroon has ceased all imports of aid going into the Congo as the militants where stealing the aid and either selling it at copious prices or keeping it for themselves to fuel their rage. http://edition.cnn.com/2012/11/30/world/africa/congo-uk-rwanda-rebels/index.html
It’s estimated that 210 Gorillas are living in the Virunga National Park, a Unesco World Heritage site quoted on the 27th May 2012 of which we have seen an entire family of ten individuals wiped out already. The forest (national park) the holds what the defectors of the Congolese army require to fund their mass killings and power taking that’s displaced at least 40,000 people since the beginning of April 2012 and that’s simply trees which the militants forces hack down then burn to turn into charcoal thus selling to then fund their mass genocide.
Tourism was up in the area of the park that rocketed from zero to 3,000 people a year, however that’s now fallen leaving the park ill maintained and the rangers fighting a war with funding that’s left the Gorillas in serious harms length. However as quoted above in this are the rangers see the Gorillas as their family and some rangers heavily armed to the teeth have stayed although it’s not enough.
I have highlighted the important concerns that the Gorilla’s face however habitual loss is the main concern along with Ebola that is wiping the gorilla species out rapidly.
- The park’s dense forest is rapidly being depleted of its trees to satisfy the almost insatiable demand here for charcoal, which is used for cooking and heating by the millions of people living in this troubled region. The lucrative charcoal trade is not only wreaking havoc on the park but also on its most famous inhabitants, the rare mountain gorillas.
- “The gorillas have become a hindrance for the charcoal trade,” said Emmanuel de Merode, director of Wildlife Direct, a conservation group based in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Kenya that supports the park rangers working in Virunga.
- The park has been torn apart over the years by a procession of armed groups—from ragtag rebel militias to foreign armies—fighting over its natural riches which are now placing the 700 mountain rare Gorialla species in serious danger.
WORRYING;
Report recently released stated -
The charcoal is mostly made inside the forest by small-scale producers, Virunga rangers say. After a tree is cut down, the large branches are used to build a makeshift dome, which is covered with mud and set on fire. The mud makes the wood burn more strongly and form charcoal, a process that takes a couple of days.
The producers are organized into local associations, which de Merode and other sources working in the area claim are controlled by Congolese military officials. The officials exact a tax on both the charcoal’s production and its transportation, the sources claim.
A strong military presence is clearly visible in and around Virunga National Park, with soldiers manning frequent roadblocks and mingling with villagers. The soldiers have reportedly not received paychecks in years, and rangers say some may turn to the charcoal trade and other illegal activities to support themselves and their families.
“The military is put in the park because of the armed bandits that operate there, but they’re not paid, so they start making charcoal instead,” said Virunga ranger Paulin Ngobobo, in his office in Goma. Ngobobo has been in charge of Virunga’s southern sector, where the gorillas live, for just over a year.
“We’ll get a report from a military commander saying we cannot patrol the park for a certain time because of military maneuvers, but what they’re actually doing is cutting down trees and poaching,” he said. A military official in Kinshasa, who did not want to be identified, admitted that military personnel in eastern Congo operate in large part independently from the government.
Other political observers say they believe the involvement in the charcoal trade by military officials stationed in eastern Congo is probably done without Kinshasa’s approval.
RANGERS ATTACKED;
Report recently released stated -
Confronting the people in the trade is a dangerous business, as Ngobobo has repeatedly learned. Earlier this year, while lecturing villagers about the threats of the charcoal industry to Virunga, Ngobobo was arrested by military officials, stripped of his shirt, and flogged in front of the crowd, he said. In addition to such alleged reprisals, Ngobobo also faces challenges in convincing local villagers to shun the charcoal business.
“Everyone is making money off this trade,” he said. “The population is very poor. It’s impossible for them to see the value of the park. They see it as another obstacle.” Ngobobo also has to battle what he says are some corrupt officials within the park service, who are allegedly involved in the charcoal trade as well.
It’s a problem Ngobobo refers to as “internal poaching.” “Most of the park officials risk their lives to protect the park, [but] there are some people in the park service who are in collaboration with the military and the poachers,” he said. Shortly after Ngobobo posted an article on WildlifeDirect’s blog on the illegal charcoal trade, he was arrested and placed in the custody of a military tribunal in Goma for two days on charges of negligence.
According to court documents, Ngobobo has been accused of neglect in the death of a Chinese tourist who fell into a nearby volcano. He is also charged with furnishing false information about the charcoal trade and obstructing the investigation into the gorilla killings. Ngobobo says the charges are politically motivated, brought against him by officials involved in the charcoal trade who want to see him removed.
In a telephone interview with National Geographic News, Ngobobo’s former supervisor, Honore Mashagiru, dismissed those allegations. “People say things, but where the proof is?” he said. “It’s not true. It’s not true.” Mashagiru said Ngobobo has become the target of the charcoal traders because “he has not communicated well with the community about the issue.” Ngobobo is still facing court charges and must report daily to the tribunal.
Meanwhile, Norbert Mushenzi, a park service director who has been in charge of the northern sector of Virunga, has been assigned to Ngobobo’s post to protect the gorillas. In recent days, Mushenzi, who also has a history of speaking out against the charcoal traders, and his rangers have detained about 50 women whom they caught making charcoal in the park.
The Gorillas natural habitat is being destroyed due to “war” and “poverty caused by war” of which the militants and the poor are destroying large habitual areas of forest then burning this, these areas are where the Gorillas reside and should the rangers try to protect these areas which in turn is “fuelling the war” as charcoal is financing illegal arms deals from China and the United States then the Gorillas are killed on the order of the narcissistic deranged General Bosco Ntaganda nicknamed the “terminator”.
INTERNATIONAL ANIMAL RESCUE FOUNDATION IS APPEALING TO ANYONE THAT KNOWS THIS LEADER TO PLEASE GIVE HIS LOCATION AND DETAILS TO OURSELVES OR INTERPOL. BOTH MEN PICTURED ABOVE AND TOP ARE WANTED
PLEASE NOTE;
We are going to continue to report on this CONSERVATION CRIME until these two leaders are captured or taken out International Animal Rescue Foundation is offering a $34,000 reward for the exact location, wear bouts, to any information that will pinpoint these “individuals” for immediate arrest by international and European intelligence agencies.
All information will be held anonymously and reward money shall be paid to you on receipt of banking details and the arrest of these two criminals, if at the end of 6 months there is no credible intelligence then the reward money shall be increased “BY” $60,000 = $94,000 we will access and share all information to law enforcement in the United States and the European Union.
Email the CICU (Conservation Investigations Crime Unit) at;
externalaffairs@international-animalrescue-foundation.org.uk
Please note that the CICU will not contact you back unless your information is credible, should information be credible then you will be contacted via other sources of communication.
PLEASE SHARE THIS NEWS FEED WORLD WIDE WITH YOUR FRINDS, FAMILY, AND WORK STAFF.
The killings of innocent women, children flora and fauna must cease NOW!.
BEFORE YOU BELIEVE IN PROTECTING ANY OF THESE MEN PLEASE READ THE ARTICLE EXTRACT BELOW;
At a remote hospital in Rwanguba, Rutshuru, a nine-year-old girl lies in a small concrete room. She was raped while trying to flee the fighting. Others are being treated for bullet wounds. Lt Col Kazarama, confirmed “many” civilian deaths, as is often the case in the DR Congo.
Environmentalism - Chapter 14 Plastic pollution
Environmental pollution will be the future war to come - Who’s the enemy? Ourselves!.
Plastic is taking its toll on our wildlife which is killing many species of marine life and harming smaller new born aquatic species crating a life of misery and pain which effects not just costal animals but land and avian to.
Pollution is not just responsible for flora and fauna death, please don’t just take me on that word, YOUR the one that’s (going to responsible) for the birth mutations, breathing defects, cancerous cells to form, to land invasion of our own waste. It’s OK though as most of you will just flick through this and not give a damn. The quote I am rapidly become pissed of with (we only live once) is starting to grind on me, WE MAY but what about our generation of children’s children and theirs to come?.
The average family of four mother and father and two children will consume in one week bathroom/toiletry/cleaning containers/packaging, non-essential food containers (e.g. takeout food containers), drink bottles/milk jugs, essential food containers/packaging and other miscellaneous plastic trash (e.g. candy wrappers, snack bars) and this is still in a recent survey form 2012 that sees no reduction in the amount. People this is serious and needs addressing urgently. These items do not include “outside the family too” of which in the commercial working world one is using by far more from water bottles, to food packaging or plastic carrier bags.
The worst offenders are the family and the hypermarkets which still are not being eco-friendly to our environment in cutting the usage of bags or at least offering some form of “bag drop of point” that the member of the public can walk freely in to the hypermarket and purchase or freely obtain a carrier bag thus reducing “production + carbon emissions + usage = (recyclability)
On average the American “individual” not (family) uses between 300 and 700 plastic bags per year we have picked America as they are in the top three polluting nations of the planet with China coming first and India third, and regrettably the (family) will use to the nearest figure based on governmental and consumer data twenty thousand carrier bags per year per that’s a lot and still much of this is not being reused, recycled or placed in the “recycling bin” that ends up in waste dumps or within the oceans.
Shoppers worldwide are using approximately 500 billion single-use plastic bags per year. This translates to about a million bags every minute across the globe used. (Think that’s shocking?).
- If you joined them end on end they would circumnavigate the globe 4,200 times.
- 100,000 marine creatures a year die from plastic entanglement and these are the ones found.
- Approximately 1 million sea birds also die from plastic.
- A plastic bag can kill numerous animals because they take so long to disintegrate. An animal that dies from the bag will decompose and the bag will be released, another animal could harmlessly fall victim and once again eat the same bag.
- The floods in Bangladesh in 1988 & 1998 were made more severe because plastic bags clogged drains. The government has now banned plastic bags.
- In Ireland they introduced a 15c plastic bag tax and reduced their usage by 90% in one year. It is now 22 cents. (Yet this method is not really being put to practice across the globe)
- There are believed to be 46,000 pieces of plastic in every square mile of ocean.
- There are 5 ocean gyres in the world where plastic gathers due to current circulation. These gyres contain millions of pieces of plastic and our wildlife feed in these grounds.
- Every year, 6.4 million tonnes are dumped into the ocean. This is the same as 3,200 kilometres of trucks each loaded with garbage.
- At least two thirds of the world’s fish stocks are suffering from plastic ingestion. (You still eating fish?)
The upsetting fact is this more than a billion people around the world do not have access to safe drinking water. Most countries that buy bottled water have the luxury of quality tap water, yet despite this YET! And here is the point that I really would like you all “pay attention to”.
Americans consume 8.6 billion gallons of bottled watered a year. Yet there are very few water holes in third world nations of which they are families “dying for water” and children “dying from lack of (clean) water” you have the choice to reuse your water bottle and obtain the water from a tap yet you simply throw it away as (it’s dirty?) or you listen to the likes of Alex Jones (non-educated) and other non-qualified environmentalists and geologists quoting water is unsafe as it contains (fluoride) – You seriously are kidding yes?
The Bottle TRUTH;
- FACT – every year Americans use 91,733,000,000 (BOTTLE’S of water a year)
- FACT – every year the entire globe use 563,829,000,000 (BOTTLES of water a year)
- FACT – for every 12 ounces of water bottled 36 ounces are consumed
- FACT – 40% of bottled water comes from the tap and 0% has to adhered to governmental standards
- FACT – every year 17 million barrels of water are used to produce bottled water, that’s 340 million gallons of gasoline
- FACT – only 1-5 bottles are recycled
- FACT – the other 4 contribute to the three billion pounds of plastic water bottles added to land fills
The plastic TRUTH;
- 12 million barrels of oil are used to make the plastic bags consumed in the U.S. annually.
- Plastic creates 4 times the solid waste vs. paper bags; enough to fill the Empire State Building 2 1/2 times a year.
- 88.5 billion Plastic bags were consumed in the U.S. last year.
- It takes up to 1000 years for plastic bags to biodegrade in our landfills.
- The average family of four uses 1460 plastic bags a year.
- An estimated 500 billion plastic bags are sold worldwide each year.
- Less than 1% of all plastic bags are recycled in the U.S.
- Over 100,000 birds and marine life die each year due to an encounter with plastic debris, much of it plastic bags.
- Plastic is getting into the food chain. Even the finest particles of plastic represent a threat to creatures at the lowest level of the food chain in the marine environment, the filter feeders. Then, toxins in filter feeders are passed up the food chain to fish and other marine animals, which humans then consume.
- Plastic is over-running our planet. Estimates run as high as one million pieces of plastic per square kilometre (0.6 mile) floating in specific areas of the Pacific Ocean.
- When one ton of plastic bags are reused or recycled, the energy saved is equal to 11 barrels of oil.
Paper Bag Facts
- 14 million trees are cut down to make the paper bags used in a year.
- Only 20% of paper bags get recycled.
- When one ton of paper bags is reused or recycled, three cubic meters of landfill space is saved and 13-17 trees are spared! In 1997, 955,000 tons of paper bags were used in the United States.
- Paper cannot be recycled indefinitely. It can only be recycled 4-6 times. Some virgin pulp must be introduced into the process to maintain the strength and quality of the fibre, so no matter how much we recycle we will never eradicate the need for virgin fibre.
- Paper is the number one material that we throw away. For every 100 pounds of trash we throw away, 35 pounds is paper. Newspapers take up about 14 per cent of landfill space, and paper in packaging accounts for another 15 to 20 per cent.
The graph below explains the number of liters of bottled water consumed to the number to “consumed bottled water” up to 2011 and this is one of the largest plastic environmental threats to our oceans to date.
Recent research reveals that even remote areas of the oceans are affected by increasing levels of plastic waste on the seafloor. The study found that quantities of litter from human activities, mostly plastic, on the seabed of an isolated Arctic site, doubled from 2002 to 2011 which is very serious considering that there are many still (unsolved mysteries of the Arctic and few species too. We simply cannot afford to loose these specimens.
Researchers suggest that the problem requires immediate policy attention if we are to prevent levels of deep-sea litter increasing”
Around 60% of the Earth’s surface is covered by the seafloor, yet very little is known about how pollution has affected the deep ocean, in particular, remote areas such as the Arctic.
Despite a ban on solid waste disposal at sea in 1988, under Annex V of the MARPOL Convention1, research has revealed that even the most isolated environments are no longer free from litter.
Most sea litter is made up of plastic waste and more than 10% of the global production of plastics (over 265 million tonnes every year) ends up in the oceans, where it may remain for centuries and can cause potential danger to marine life through entanglement and suffocation. ‘Microplastics’, tiny particles of broken-down plastics, can also release a range of chemicals known to be harmful in high concentrations. These chemicals can be ingested by marine animals, including commercially-harvested prawns, mussels and fish, and enter the human food chain.
Researchers studied over 2,000 photos of the deep seafloor taken at the HAUSGARTEN observatory in the Fram Straight, off the west coast of Svalbard, a Norwegian island within the Arctic Circle. A camera took the pictures of the seabed whilst being pulled along a track at a depth of 2,500 metres in the years 2002, 2004, 2007, 2008 and 2011.
From the photos, the researchers could see that the amount of litter on the seabed doubled in the study period, from 3,635 to 7,710 items per square kilometre, with the majority made of plastic. To put this into some perspective, the density of litter had become greater than that reported in deep-sea canyons near Lisbon (6,600 items per square kilometre), the heavily populated and industrialised capital of Portugal.
67% of the litter affected sea life in some way, for example, through entanglement or by providing a base for organisms to grow on; with sponges and sea anemones particularly affected.
The origins of the litter are not clear, but climate change and the associated shrinking of ice levels may play a role. For example, increased access for fishing and tourist boats in the area may increase litter levels. In addition, a reduction in protective sea ice may also mean that litter drifts into the area more easily on sea currents and strong winds are able to blow waste from the land into the water. Litter levels are likely to increase in the future as global plastic production rises by 5% every year.
Although litter can provide shelter for a few species, it can also smother other species and release toxic chemicals. Litter on the ocean floor may also change the chemistry of the seafloor on a local level, for example, oxygen levels under plastic bags may fall. Furthermore, the ability of plastic litter to move long distances in the sea provides a perfect opportunity for alien species to invade remote areas, such as the Arctic, especially climate change.
The problem does not lie in the arctic though, the main problem is at home and now need to deal with this before we kill our ocean’s before even understanding them and the remaining deep sea mounts that contain an abundance of aquatic biodiversity.
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/integration/research/newsalert/pdf/313na2rss.pdf
“Plastic debris in the area popularly known as the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” has increased by 100 times in the past 40 years”
Here’s a look at some of the issues that add to the environmental impact of paper and plastic bags taken from several studies and sources listed at the bottom of this article:
Issue 1: Energy and natural resources
According to a 2007 study by Boustead Consulting & Associates, It takes almost four times as much energy to manufacture a paper bag as it does to manufacture a polyethylene bag.
Not only do both paper and compostable resin bags use far more fossil fuel in production and manufacturing, but they also use twenty times as much fresh water vs plastic bags.
Additionally, most paper comes from tree pulp, so the impact of paper bag production on forests is enormous. A 2008 article from the National Cooperative Grocers Association states that each year the United States consumes 10 billion paper grocery bags, requiring 14 million trees. Paper bag production delivers a global warming double-whammy; forests (major absorbers of greenhouse gases) have to be cut down, and then the subsequent manufacturing of bags produces greenhouse gases. However, plastic bags are not the more sustainable solution as they use more fossil fuels and raw materials energy, and consume larger amounts of crude oil and natural gas than paper bags.
Issue 2: Pollution
The majority of kraft paper is made by heating wood chips under pressure at high temperatures in a chemical solution. As evidenced by the unmistakable stench commonly associated with paper mills, the use of these toxic chemicals contributes to both air pollution, such as acid rain, and water pollution. The same goes for compostable plastic bags.
Issue 3: Recycling
Studies indicate it takes 91% less energy to recycle a pound of plastic than it takes to recycle a pound of paper. But recycling rates of either type of disposable bag are extremely low. In fact, 85-90% of paper bags are not recycled according to the Wall Street Journal, and 94.8% of plastic bags are not recycled according to a study conducted by Boustead Associates. The bottom line is recycling disposable bags still takes energy and resources - resources that could be conserved if more people simply switched to reusables.
Issue 4: Degradability
Many people choose paper over plastic because they believe it will biodegrade faster than plastic will break down in a landfill. However, there are a number of factors that determine how quickly, if at all, paper degrades – this includes temperature, pH, the type of bacteria present and the form of paper (shredded paper degrades faster.) That being said, it makes more sense to opt for a reusable bag that will last for thousands of uses over a disposable that will end up in the landfill.
FACT - In 2010 about 690,000 tons of waste HDPE plastic “bags, sacks and wraps” were generated in the United States, but only 4.3% of this total was recycled
FACT - Plastics do not biodegrade, but instead break down into small particles that persist in the ocean, absorb toxins, and enter our food chain through fish, sea birds and other marine life. (But then you knew that hence why pollution is shooting out of the roof)
FACT - Recent studies estimate that fish off the West Coast ingest over 12,000 tons of plastic a year.
FACT - The U.S. has the most pounds of trash per person per day (4.6 lbs of trash per person, 1.5 lbs of recycled materials per person)
FACT - Aluminum can be recycled forever with NO loss of quality (good thing since we use over 80,000,000,000 aluminum cans each year)
FACT - On a good point point - The greenest states are Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, Nevada, Hawaii, South Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Oregon, and Colorado
PLEASE KEEP OUR PLANET AND OCEANS CLEAN AND GREEN
Dr J C Dimetri V.M.D, B.E.S, Ma, PhD , MEnvSc
Environmentalism chapter 12 - Shark Fin
Sharks are one of a kind of Chondrichthyes that have swam the planets oceans for millions of years dating back to the prehistoric realms of the dinosaurs, living through the ice ages, colossal seismic activity that saw many millions of oceanic species wiped out. The shark though a silent stalker and predator remained unscathed.
They were not in any real danger to of traditional Chinese medicine demand or pollution and swam within the oceans with little if any predators, sadly this is hastily no longer factual and the entire species of sharks are being wiped out for a “soup” or medicine used frequently within the Asian medicine market just for tongue and texture.
The species of Shark are not mammalians they are classed as Chordates which is the only unique species of their type separating them from mammals, Chordate are deuterostome animals possessing a notochord, a hollow dorsal nerve cord, pharyngeal slits, an endostyle, and a post-anal tail for at least some period of their life cycles that then develop into the species of which the Deoxyribonucleic acid is programmed to make them into.
Being relatively blind they are agile swimmers yet superb deep sea divers that can smell through an array of senses a drop of blood in the ocean from half way around the world which scientifically is factual although they cannot exactly home in on this being some thousands of miles away there smell is unique from any other form of fish, human or other mammal predator.
The shark noses use ‘smell stereo’ to detect tiny delays no more than half a second long in the time that odours take’s to reach one nostril compared to the other one and that truly is amazing. All species including the deep sea sharks use a combination of directional cues based on scent and the flow of water - to keep them orientated and find what they are searching for.
So the theory that they are human eating man eaters which coincidentally is what the Asians believe hence why they like to consume as well parts the Panthera tigris as in their fake book of counterfeit medicine it states the shark “is a beast and man eater with much energy” that should they consume the shark it will make them a fiery hunter in bed. Its utter nonsense, scientifically untrue, and fairy land tails.
If the delay between the scent reaching one nostril and the other is between a tenth and half a second, the sharks turn their heads to the side where they first smelled the bleeding or anxiously suffering prey such as the squid one of the sharks favorite foods.
If a shark experiences no delay in scent detection or a delay that lasts too long a full second or more they are just as likely to make a left-hand turn as they are to make a right, which makes them rather interesting and a species we must all PROTECT”.
The popular notion that sharks and other animals follow scent trails based on differences in the concentration of odour molecules hitting one nostril versus the other are based on 2010 scientific analyses. It seems that theory doesn’t hold water when one considers the physics of the problem.
Most creatures come equipped with two odour sensors - nostrils or antennae, for example - and it has long been believed that they compare the concentration at each sensor and then turn towards the side receiving the strongest signal.
‘But when odours are dispersed by flowing air or water, this dispersal is incredibly chaotic.’
This recent research on sharks predatory hunting behaviour living has led to findings that has also lead to underwater robots that are better equipped to find the source of chemical leaks, like the oil spill that plagued the Gulf Coast in 2010, 2012 has already seen this research placed to use in many “deep-sea” submersibles now actually using this research to develop state of the technological maritime breakthroughs that have seen many documentaries recorded and sea bed chemical leaks from pipes that are not that easily traceable by other older technologies that can break down at the blink of an eye lid.
Previous robotic submersibles were programmed to track odours by comparing odour concentrations, and they failed to function as well or as quickly as live animals.
The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and main oil slick was easily visible and the primary sources were easy to locate, smaller sources of Odour-guided robots are an asset for these types of situations with great thanks to the sharks.
The smell organs in the noses of some sharks are able to detect one droplet of blood in one million drops of sea water. They are often attracted to chemicals found in the guts of animals and loiter near sewage outlets so this great research has helped many in the maritime industrial.
Sharks have swam the oceans as far back as we can tell for about 400-500 million years of which there was an estimated 480 species that belong to the subclass of Elasmobranchii, which is in non-scientific jargon cartilaginous fish such as rays which makes them quite different from normal species of fish such are whales that are a sub class of Eutheria distinguished from noneutherians by various features of the feet, ankles, jaws and teeth.
One of the major differences between placental and nonplacental eutherians is that placentals lack epipubic bones although fish don’t have feet, some species that moved from land to waters thousands of years ago have then later evolved in to this “subclass” which the shark species are a subclass of their own from what we know of million year old fossil investigations through archaeology.
Most sharks such as the Carcharodon carcharias, Galeocerdo cuvier, to the Sphyrna lewini are classed as “apex hunters” which basically means they are at the top of the human food chain, they are feared by ourselves even though attacks are rare and just to give you an example of shark attacks verse the bathroom toilet.
Shark attacks for 2011 where 75 global shark attacks, a number closely matching the decade average and the number for 2012 was from what I located to be 62 although that is still to be confirmed surfers and others involved in board sports took the brunt of the attacks, accounting for 60 per cent of unprovoked shark attacks, swimmers 35 percent and divers about 5 per cent.
However the bathroom toilet is quite amusingly odd in 1945, the German submarine U-1206 was sunk after the toilet malfunctioned, and a crewman’s botched repair forced them to the surface killing all on board. King Wenceslaus III of Bohemia was murdered with a spear while sitting in the garderobe (toilet) on August 4, 1306. George II of Great Britain died on the toilet on October 25, 1760 from an aortic dissection. According to Horace Walpole’s memoirs, King George “rose as usual at six, and drank his chocolate for all his actions were invariably methodic. A quarter after seven he went into a little closet. His German valet de chambre in waiting heard a noise, and running in, found the King dead on the floor.” In falling he had cut his face.
Bathing and showering appear to be particularly dangerous. Overall, about two-thirds of accidental injuries happen in the bathtub or shower — which makes sense, because each can become slippery. But many injuries involve the toilet: standing up, sitting down, or using it. (Yes, about 9% of the total injuries were from overexertion.)
Still believe that shark attacks are common and they are “aggressive out of control people eaters” ridiculously untrue please read on. Overall, mishaps near the bathtub, shower, toilet and sink caused an estimated 234,094 nonfatal injuries in the U.S. in 2008 among people at least 15 years old, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention reported online in its weekly Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. And the injury rate rises with age.
Researchers used emergency room data on accidental, nonfatal injuries and some statistical number crunching to reach their conclusions. Their report is full of statistics (which makes it good bathroom reading, if you have 15 minutes and an Internet connection) on the slips, sprains, contusions, fractures and concussions that can happen in the bathroom, to even death.
- About 81% of the injuries were caused by falls (from the bathroom toilet)
- Women were more likely to be hurt than men
- Two-thirds of all injuries occurred in the tub or shower, though only 2.2% occurred while getting into the shower or tub
- Overall, only 1% of accidental nonfatal injuries occurred in the bathroom, but for those 65 and older, 2.5% occurred in the bathroom.
The report can be located here http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6022a1.htm?s_cid=mm6022a1_w how prevailing and odd but very true, so the next time someone states to you that sharks are people eaters and aggressive please remember when you go to the bathroom that your actually “risking your life” Shark attacks though are very unheard of however the reason why they are classed as man eating killing machines is because the press adore to give them a rather bad name.
Such as “GREAT WHITE TORE MAN’S LEG OF” I suppose the headlines “MAN FELL FROM TOILET SEAT AND DIED” just don’t make GREAT reading which is why the press love to make such a mountain out of a molehill over something that could actually be a probing nip which is what a shark will do before “any such attack” takes place. http://mauinow.com/2011/06/07/study-details-hunting-behavior-of-tiger-sharks/
http://www.livescience.com/12783-shark-attacks-hit-10-year-high.html shark attacks on humans only hit a ten year high from recent accident and emergency reports gained from”2011” from all global hospitals. Extraction from the report states;
“Scientists investigated 115 alleged incidents of struggles between humans and sharks worldwide in 2010. They confirmed that 79 of these were unprovoked shark attacks on live humans”.
“Unprovoked attacks are ones that occurred with the predators in their natural habitats without human instigation. The other 36 incidents included 22 provoked attacks — such as assaults after divers grabbed sharks — including three cases of sharks biting boats, four incidents dismissed as non-shark attacks, five scavenging incidents of human corpses and two cases where there was not enough information to determine if an unprovoked shark attack had occurred”. Please read the report as it gives scientific reasoning as to why they have attacked more within the 365 day period. http://dsc.discovery.com/sharks/why-do-sharks-attack.html
What does all this have to do with sharks and the species under threat though? Good question as most of this does as of lack of awareness, the fright factor, and then of course traditional Chinese medicine the NUMBER ONE REASON.
There are MORE attacks on sharks than there are on any other species of fish, and now we need to start taking note of this as we are losing these amazing species rapidly due to counterfeit Asian pharmaceuticals and the disgustingly tasting shark fin soup.
I have always been a firm lover of wild and “predatory dangerous” animals such as mammals from the big lion to Tiger’s, reptilians from Python to Crocodile, and marine aquatic species mainly the shark. In 2010 I traveled to Shenzhena bustling rather smog filled sky scraped city that had many restaurants and street quick food fixes mainly selling animal parts to eat of which shark fin was on the menu.
Thousands of Sharks lay dead in a Singapore fishmongers. Within central China it is said by many, and even activists that the sharks are only craved for, for their fins. This is untrue and this picture was taken three days ago in Singapore’s market. The market sells the shark meat and the fins for major profit making Singapore one of the richest Asian islands in the world.
Being a firm lover of sharks and great studier of the species I wanted to see what all the fuss was about and why sharks where being wrenched out of the water like candy from a baby then de-finned and thrown back to the seabed from which they died a slow agonising death from asphyxiation. Being a vegan for thirty years I really couldn’t care at that point as the main objectives was to try this dish to see if this was indeed a great reason why it is used in Asian medicine, to try and ascertain why one of my favorite species of animals was being slaughtered,
The soup smelt repulsively strong and acidic, and when tasting it without almost vomiting, one can only explain that even with a sprinkle of chive that entire first spoon and that being the last, tasted revolting, and more like hot water with the odd lump of shredded fish cuisine within. Oh yes I forgot the tender informed me that it would make me fit and strong even though I already was in 2010 being a healthy vegan for over 30 years.
https://www.facebook.com/SingaporeFoodRecipes
DISGUSTING AND BLOODY CRUEL - THIS IS ONE RESTAURANT THAT NEEDS BOYCOTTING
The soup did nothing, and there was no magical dragon like hallucinogenic that gave me the power of a thousand men. “Shark fin soup does not under any circumstances improve erectile dysfunction (not that I tried), enhance muscle power, to even warding of any diseases/illness that I actually picked up from visiting the shite hole city of smog and environmental pollution, it does nothing and has no proven health qualities at all. The one spoon fall of fowl tasting crap was enough to show to me that one of the most majestic creatures on earth was being slain for “monetary gain” and not any magical belief. Utterly unbelievable.
Chinese Shark Fin soup is a “luxury” food served (mainly) at banquets, weddings, parties and cultural masses, however it’s killing the species of and rapidly. The Chinese claim “The shark fins provide texture while the taste comes from the other soup ingredients. The soup originated centuries ago during the Ming Dynasty.
However demand for the soup has increased as income levels of Chinese communities worldwide have risen. International concerns over the sustainability and welfare of sharks have impacted consumption and availability of the soup. So because the Asian consumers require “texture” to their soup then sharks have to be slaughtered in their thousands. There is such thing as we croutons or (toasted bread) that add more texture to this pile of watered down crap which contains one of my favorite animals.
It is estimated that 100 to 200 million sharks annually are killed for their fins alone that’s seen many species now pushed to the brink of extinction and just to give an insight of how bad a problem this is please view the link http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/01/04/hong-kong-traders-dry-thousands-shark-fins-on-roofs-to-avoid-scrutiny/
Sharks that are caught and their fins cut off are not always dead when their bodies are thrown back into the sea. Without its fins the shark simply sinks to the bottom of the ocean where it dies. Such a horrible death for such a magnificent creature and diet, the whole entire practice is unethical, environmentally damaging and will cause havoc in the biodiversity predatory hunting circle if we lose our species of sharks.
Shark fins, once they are harvested, are then dried to be sold in markets to individuals and restaurants to be made into shark fin soup and sold to the public (especially tourists) for as much as $350 per bowl! The shark fins don’t even add any flavor to the soup. Chicken or pork are used to flavor, the fins are for texture only.
The shark fin soup industry uses a wide variety of relatively large sharks. The majority of these sharks are now under threat. They are slow to mature and breed sharks give birth to a few live young or lay a small number of large eggs depending on species, rather than produce thousands of eggs at a time in the manner of many bony fish. Large sharks also do not mature until they are several years old. These characteristics mean that shark populations cannot support high levels of exploitation = nearing extinction to species vaporisation for a bowl of lousy fowl tasting soup.
Mackerel Sharks
The order Lamniformes includes some of the best-known and biggest sharks. Among them are the great white shark, the basking shark and the thresher sharks. All these species are targeted for their fins, and all are either endangered or vulnerable. The great white shark, for example, might be the most feared species of shark, especially after starring in the ’70s thriller “Jaws.” However, they are more threatened by humans than humans are by them.
Ground Sharks
Carcharhiniformes is another order boasting well-known sharks, such as the bizarre looking hammerheads, whose fins command high prices. The order also includes the family of requiem sharks. These are sharks are your typical sharks, with streamlined bodies and sharp teeth. Tiger sharks, bull sharks and the spinner sharks, which jump out of the water, are all requiem sharks, and they are all taken for their fins.
Dogfish
The order Squaliformes includes all the sharks known as dogfish, the bramble sharks and the rough sharks. They are generally small, benthic, seabed-dwelling sharks that lay eggs and reproduce relatively quickly. Their fins are not of much value, although these animals are often targeted for their meat. The tails of some species of dogfish are used for cheap versions of shark fin soup.
Of the five remaining orders of sharks, carpet sharks, bullhead sharks, angel sharks, frilled sharks and saw sharks, few species are used for shark fin soup. They are mostly small sharks, with small or undesirable fins, and they are not valuable in the shark fin market. Some species, notably the critically endangered angel sharks and the whale shark — a species of carpet shark and the largest fish in the world — are targeted for their meat or oil, but not the fins.
If we don’t take urgent notice now and demand that CITES Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora take more action and demand that law enforcement cease this repulsive and degrading trade then we will see an ocean without any sharks that will unfortunately create a massive aquatic biodiversity nightmare in the aquatic hunting food chain.
Sharks eat many prey, these prey need to be naturally controlled to preserve OTHER species of smaller aquatic marine fish, and should the shark numbers carry on dwindling at massive proportions then we are heading for a global catastrophe.
THE SLAUGHTER HAS TO END NOW - PLEASE TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION AND NEVER GIVE UP HOPE
http://www.hongkong-companies.com/wo-loong-ho-sharksfin-company-limited-b1v6/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Shark-Fin-Chinese-Bistro-Pensacola-FL/269850188099?fref=ts
PLEASE DEMAND CITES TAKES MORE ACTION NOW BEFORE MARCH OF THE FOLLOWING SPECIES LISTED ABOVE AND BELOW.
Mackerel Shark
Ground Shark
Dog fish
Bullhead shark
Angel Sharks
Frilled Sharks
Lemon Sharks
Saw Sharks
Hammer Head Shark
Reef Shark
PLEASE CONTACT / DEMONSTRATE / PETITION / - 33 DAYS LEFT BEFORE COP 16TH MEETING
CONVENTION ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN ENDANGERED SPECIES OF WILD FAUNA AND FLORA;
CITES Secretariat
International Environment House
11 Chemin des Anémones
CH-1219 Châtelaine, Geneva
Switzerland
Tel: +41-(0)22-917-81-39/40
Fax: +41-(0)22-797-34-17
Email: info@cites.org (email them hard to get a response)
CONTACT IUCN (International Union for Conservation Nature)
IUCN Conservation Centre
Rue Mauverney 28
1196, Gland, Switzerland
Opening hours: 8:00 to 17:30 Monday to Friday (except Swiss public holidays).
Phone: +41 (22) 999-0000
Fax: +41 (22) 999-0002
Dr J C Dimetri V.M.D, B.E.S, Ma, PhD , MEnvSc
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CHINA STATED IN 2010 AND 2011 THAT THEY WHERE GOING TO BAN CIRCUSES AND THE DOG AND CAT MEAT TRADE (LIES)
ANOTHER ASIAN GOVERNMENTAL LIE - MEDIA FALL FOR THEIR LIES - CHINA CANNOT EVEN REMOVE THE RHINOCEROS HORN OR IVORY THIS VIDEO BELOW IS JUST A PRIME EXAMPLE TO SHUT ACTIVISTS UP - THEY WILL CARRY ON AND STILL IMPORT..
11 months ago CNN stated that China was going to ban SHARK FINS - What China meant was (they where going to hide them from activists which is a common lie from Asia) video taken over three ago.. How coincidental.
Environmentalism - chapter 11 - Blood Fur
I don’t normally speak much on the fur trade however I have noticed in the last ten years that the trade has taken of massively again and it’s now a major international business once again with companies taking millions of dollars per year.
The trade never really did die off to a full extent however with much awareness and celebrity support and vast protests the trade was hit with a substantial loss in profit margin seeing some fur traders eventually putting down tools and moving on.
Climate change cannot be blamed on the sudden increase and influx in the marketing levels here nor can a drop in sales as of wide spread economic recession that’s seen hundreds of thousands made redundant to small high street stores pushed in to liquidation at a rate of 6 a day in the European Union, not to mention large chains this year in 2013 hitting the headlines of the press and media closing resulting in thousands of people made jobless.
We believe the massive upsurge in the fur trade has been caused by a lack of awareness and high profile figure’s that once went against the fur trade now going back to the trade which is seeing more younger people purchase fur thus more animals placed through a life of misery then extreme torturous death just for a fur coat.
I really cannot compare the fur trade to factory and cattle land farming or abattoir abuse as they are both as bad as one another and within the abattoirs the animals hide from cows mainly is used as a bi product to make leather chairs and upholstery, shoes and automobile furnishings.
The fur trade rose from the exploration era mainly of polar of arctic travel which furred animals were used to keep explorers warm, massive urbanization saw many families from these cold areas of mainly indigenous people then move closer inland of which they sold their furs and skins on the street markets to non-indigenous people thus passing on the trade to others creating a horrifying new trend without them really knowing what the future lay ahead for these animals from mink, rabbit, canine, feline, and bear to more.
Exploration teams from Russia, Canada the Americas and Antarctic also brought back with them forms of fur from Polar bear to Artic fox fur that was passed on to others thus seeing more people craving the “luxury” of a real warming fur coat, trim, to gloves, hats boots and more.
The fur trade can be roughly located back as far as 500/600 AD however the trade didn’t really pick of until the 1500’s when exchanges where made between Indians and Europeans. The Europeans are more to blame for the trade hence why there is by far more fur trade and capture in Europe than any other part of the world with China being to date the largest exporter mainly of imported “near finished products” from the European Union and America.
The label at the end of the coat or other material that’s last trade route was for example China will show produced or (made in) in China, however it doesn’t mean that it was mostly manufactured there. It’s much cheaper nowadays to export a luxury product to another nation where other added products and labour is much cheaper which companies practice now regularly. Once the item is finished for example a simple inner lining sown within with, a label will be placed on the finished product stating its final destination as “made in” but not “caught in or 80% produced in”.
The trade took off when the Europeans started their first polar explorations which then unfortunately saw fur “farms” established in North America back in the 1860’s then further on in Canada roughly from the 1890’s of mainly mink and wild fox.
Europe now accounts for some 60-70% of all fur farming with Denmark leading in the mink production of some 28% with China actually being the smallest producer along with the Baltic States, Netherlands and America. The Netherlands is now phasing out fur farming which we will see in the near 2020’s all fur farms banished from the Netherlands. There are 5 licensed mink farms in the Republic of Ireland and, between them, it is estimated that 200,000 to 225,000 mink are farmed a year in appalling conditions.
The United Kingdom banned all fur farming in 2002 along with Croatia then following along with Austria too. There is also wide spread condemnation of fur farming, trapping and trade of which is seeing many organisations and conservationists to animal welfare charities now fighting to end this sick repulsive and bloody barbaric trade.
In the early and mid-1970’s wearing a real fur coat was seen as an extravagance with many rich and famous people purchasing fur not really understanding the cruel and immoral practices that animals are put through when slaughtering is carried out. Nor do they see that trapping and holding in such solitary confined enclosures animals suffering from sores, rotten flesh wounds due to poor farm husbandry, species fighting as of overcrowding to psychological trauma, and death is some cases. The standards by “some” ethical animal welfare groups regarding farms around Europe, and internationally confirms the farms to only be in “fair to moderate standard with neglect and abuse rampant” which conditions are not even fit for a canine or feline.
Emotionally not a pretty site - Picture taken by Sergey Maximishin of a Russian fur farm’s waste pile.
It would be politically incorrect for me to state that fur farming, production and trapping reduced in size as of “animal rights extremism” as this was on a low scale in proportion. And no matter how many (extremist) activities took place copious fur farming and production progressed as the insurance firms were willing to pay out for the damage caused by animal “rightists” and not necessarily the A.L.F/A.R.M as these “non- ALF/ARM combatants” were seen to be opportunists hell bent on causing criminal damage without a real motive or plan that saw many animals once the “rightists” had released them placed back into poorly maintained huts. Insurance companies where paying out to the big farmers as of the “demand” for their top quality skins even though it was disgusting.
However some smaller farms both internationally and within Europe where shut down via arson or harassment to damaging the farmers hard finically which insurance companies couldn’t keep up with continued pay-outs simply because they were new to the market or lacked financial gain to experience.
Demand decreased primarily due to high priced identical line products and lack of design lines from the designers and marketers that where still seen back in the 1970’s-1980’s as vastly uneducated in this area. Campaigns from groups such as PETA (people for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) did play a decent role in this area that aided more trade to decrease however it didn’t and never has halted it even with celebrity pressure and television advertisements to covert militant surveillance uncovering some shocking footage of fur farm cruelty.
Fox - Electrocuted to produce less damaged garments via the traditional method of slaughtering.
Sales have regrettably though soared since the 1990’s mostly in China via imports and Europe with new technologies, news designers and more “youth” to the younger rich generation evolving wanting the latest design. Although the trade did take a pounding from PETA with many celebrities explaining the cruel and repulsive barbaric methods used to capture wild animals for fur via trapping, including “fur farming and breeding” and slaughter, some of these celebrities have gone back to their old ways and are again wearing fur.
Was it money and prospects of more sponsors that made them switch back to fur? We believe so hence why we are not a big affluent supporter of PETA as they aren’t a rescue as explained to ourselves by the United Kingdom PETA support in an email regarding Sunder the Elephant plus they use high profile dignitaries and celebrities to carry out their work whilst talking donations for this form of awareness which is more than bribing it’s dirty awareness that we despise.
The suffering;
I have outlined in bullet points the extreme suffering that many animals are put through below to gain fur;
- Animals such as foxes, mink, ferrets, and sables (an animal in the weasel family) spend their entire lives stacked on top of one other in barren cages with nothing beneath their feet but wire mesh.
- Animals at the top of the cages are a little more fortunate as they do not have urine and faeces falling on to them like the animals below as of the opened top cages.
- Animals that are caught in traps desperately try to free themselves thus causing immense pain, suffering to even eating their little legs of to save themselves that sadly then succumb to death.
- 9/10 many animals are forced to spend their lives in cramped confinements with other animals that have no shelter from the wind, rain, freezing cold or snowy temperatures, lack of water, feed and are left with the same bedding for days on end that they sit rotting in.
- Nearly all the animals suffer from psychological trauma from head bobbing, pacing, cage bashing, eating their own faeces, self-mutilation, and cannibalization, to species conflict.
- Minks that normally roam the wild spend most of their days frantically pacing up and down the cages scared witless trying to escape biting their own tail out of anxiety and cognitive stress.
- Fur farms inflict such terrible psychological trauma on animals that in one study of vixen (female foxes), half of the kit loss that occurred prior to weaning was attributed to infanticide behaviours, primarily mothers eating their young.
- Many animals suffer skin sores that are similar to bed pressure sores in humans however these sore aren’t caused by resting in the same position for many hours, they are regrettably caused by the animals sitting in their own urine and faeces.
- Many diseases form in farmed pens of fur farmed animals that don’t in wildly captured animals, the animals suffer tremendous pain, suffering, to prolonged death as of poor farm husbandry.
- After suffering through years of confinement, animals are killed and skinned for their pelts. Killing methods are typically cheap, crude, and performed in such a way so as not to damage the animal’s fur; there is no such thing as humane “euthanasia” on a fur farm.
- Caught, caged then farmed for the rest of their life the capturer either keeps the animals to breed on, or slaughterers them by breaking their neck, farmed animals suffer at the hand of their slaughterer from gassing in chambers of which the animals take up to 10 minutes to die or from strangulation, electrocuting via the anus and mouth, or just skinned alive as the fur is less damaged. (Can you imagine being skinned for life)?
- As quoted above on U.S. fur farms, one of the most frequently used methods of killing animals is electrocution: the “farmer” puts a metal clamp in an animal’s mouth, a metal rod in the anus, and sends a high-voltage current surging through the body.
- Then there is lethal injection of various chemicals that kill through paralysis, which can result in immobilized animals being skinned alive and neck breaking.
- More than 36 million animals die on fur farms around the world each year. Thirty-one million (or about 90 per cent) of these animals are mink. Foxes account for another 4.5 million, while chinchillas, sable, ferret (usually marketed as “fitch”), coypus (an aquatic mammal also known as “nutria”), and raccoon dogs (not to be confused with the North American raccoon), account for most of the remaining half-million animals. Due to the recent drop in pelt prices for mink and fox, some of U.S. fur farms have attempted to “diversify” by raising bobcat, coyote, raccoon, and beavers, along with coypus and rabbits — all in equally abhorrent conditions.
- When the United Kingdom, Scotland, and Wales stated this “Fur farming is not consistent with the proper value and respect for animal life. This is a moral issue that goes beyond welfare considerations. In the 21st century, animals should not be killed just for the business of stripping their skins off their backs … In a modern society there should be room for Government to make ethical decisions and it is right and proper for the Government to have introduced this ban”.
- The United States then stated this “the U.S. government seems not to agree with this assessment. In fact, no federal laws regulate how the animals on the nearly 400 fur farms in operation in the U.S. are to be housed, cared for, or killed, fur farming shall continue”.
Animals used for farming;
- Beavers
- Chinchillas
- Dogs and cats
- Foxes
- Minks
- Rabbits
- Raccoons
- Seals
- Bears
- Arctic fox
Animals that are used for the “illegal skin/pelt trade that often becomes mixed in with these brands are;
- Tiger (critically endangered)
- Cheetah
- Leopard (critically endangered)
- Snow Leopard (critically endangered)
Celebrities that wear fur that should be setting a good example on the younger generation;
These are simply a handful.
- Lady Gaga
- Lindsay Lohan
- Paris Hilton
- Nicole Richie
- Jennifer Lopez
- Beyonce
- Jay-z
- Katie Eary (Designer)
- Hardy Amies (Designer)
- Ulyana Sergeenko (Modelled for the Time’s)
- Kim Kardashian
- Ciara
- Jessica Alba
- GIORGIO ARMANI (Designer)
- Rihanna
- Kourtney Kardashian, Scott Disick and their son
- Chloe Green
- Rapper Big Boi
- Anna Karenina
- Poppy Delevingne
This is just twenty and there are by far many more such as David Beckham and Victoria Beckham, Kate Moss to Naomi Cambel all of these celebrities are still wearing and still flaunting the repulsive disgust without a care in the world of how that dead animal around their waist, neck or head suffered on the fur farm, or whether it spent days in a field trapped in a leg jaw trap suffering agonising pain and discomfort before having its neck broken in two.
Sores on his feet, dehydrated, as well as psychologically disturbed this poor fox still suffered, in pain, eating his own feet out of pure anxiety and cage stress. This is no way to treat an animal, this is disgusting..
Conditions on fur farms throughout Europe are fair to standard with neglect common practice. An undercover investigation by Compassion in World Farming - Ireland and Respect for Animals in 2003 found that mink were kept in cages about 3 foot long and 1 foot wide, plus a small nest box at one end. Fox cages had a floor area of about 4 foot by 4 foot and were about 28 inches high.
A Council of Europe Recommendation Concerning Fur Animals (1999) lays down new cage sizes for fur animals, which came into place in 2010. The new cage sizes are slightly bigger than the cages that were filmed in a 2003 investigation. Fox and mink cages are usually in rows inside buildings that have open sides. The animals’ droppings fall through the wire mesh floor of the cages.
Farmed mink and foxes are fed on a porridge-like food made from chicken, meat and fish offal. This is placed on the top of each cage and the animals eat it through the wire mesh. Mink and foxes are confined in cages throughout their lives until they are taken out to be killed.
In a recent press article read here http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christina-anderson/wearing-fur_b_2239881.html?utm_hp_ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false some celebrities give their reasoning as to wearing fur, if only they were taken to a fur farm or wild trapper to view how cruel the conditions are to what these animals go through it “could” change their ways to even supporting the no fur industry.. What annoys ourselves the most is some animal rights groups believe that “trapped animals” are treated (humanely) there is NO humane treatment of any animal that’s to be murdered for human gain.
Fur trade is cruel, barbaric and primitive and although it dates back to the cave man era does it give us the moral rights to then wear it as we believe the animals have been treated fairly? Although PETA claim to have scored victory over the some retailers as stated here “PETA has scored victories by getting major retailers like TOPSHOP, Forever 21 and J. Crew to stop selling fur items - and scored messes by pelting flour bombs at Paris Hilton when she was in London”. Its hasn’t made any difference to the TOPSHOP industry as seen here https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=593287620698148&set=a.188186667874914.55931.176078879085693&type=1&theater “Chloe Green, television personality, shoe designer and daughter of Top shop owner, paired her gorgeous Barbados holiday tan with a leather jacket with fur trim”
There are many fur retailers in the world from London Canada and Asia
http://www.thelondonfurcompany.com/about.htm
http://sitebuilder.yell.com/sb/show.do?id=SB0001741542000020
http://www.mayfair-london.co.uk/ladies_fashion-FursofMayfairLtd.htm
http://www.furinsider.com/ (Sweet fur stories)
http://www.hockleylondon.com/
http://www.yellowpages.ca/bus/Quebec/Montreal/Nicholas-Turgeon-Fourrures/1807739.html
http://www.kahnertfurs.com/
http://www.hongkongfur.com/
The top listed retailers sell mainly animal fur with little faux fur “fake mixed” nylon material fur within their premises. Prices start from $2,000 to $70,000 for a mixture of animal skin pelts.
In a 2010 investigation in 2010 the investigations showed the following;
In their own words;
For the past year-and-a-half, the Animal Rights Alliance investigation unit has been mapping out the Swedish fur industry. We have combed through environmental inspection protocols, court documents and research reports and what’s more - we have visited one-fifth of the 75 mink farms in Sweden to see them for ourselves. We have discovered major environmental violations by an industry that is already highly-criticized. Above all we have discovered the mink. Clever, beautiful wild mink imprisoned in shed after shed, housing row after row of small dirty cages.
Mink that will never see any water beyond what comes out of a water nipple even though they are hunters that naturally spend half of their life in water. Mink that express so-called stereotypical behavior, endless repetitive motion without purpose, a feeble attempt at dealing with stress and frustration.
We already knew that this would be the case. We were prepared for meeting curious eyes behind bars from animals that are so psychologically-broken that they incessantly circle their cages. We knew that it would be bad, but reality on the farms was worse than we could have ever imagined.
Scandinavian Fur Farm - Please click the link to view the horror
We understood that the mortality rate would be high. Several reports show that one out of every four or five animals die before they reach 6 months of age. But we didn’t know how they die – and how they suffer. Now we know. We have seen pups chewing on their dead littermates, entire litters where every animals has had its ear bitten off; young animals with gaping wounds on their heads; and fully-grown mink that twist and turn in agony, screaming in panic from pain and illness that minutes later ceases but only with their death.
It has been terrible to see all of this without being able to do anything about it. On our worst days, we felt completely powerless. But we’ve been driven to continue toward our goal – to make public the horrific animal cruelty that occurs on the farms. This animal cruelty cannot continue in silence.
The fourth paragraph of the Animal Welfare Act clearly states that all animals must be allowed to express their natural behaviours and that they must be protected from unnecessary suffering. But Sweden continues to allow mink to be bred and kept in mesh cages that are no bigger than 30 x 90 centimeters before being killed to produce an unnecessary luxury product that nobody needs. In 2003, the Swedish Commission of Inquiry into the Fur Industry gave Swedish fur farms until 2010 to comply with the Animal Welfare Act. Seven years later we can conclude that the Swedish fur industry has done nothing to improve conditions for mink on fur farms. It is high-time that the fur industry is made history.
The Animal Rights Alliance
The Animal Rights Alliance is a not-for-profit campaigning group that speaks for the animals. Founded in 2005, we have since then brought about the criminalization of bestiality, organized five veggie food conventions and exposed the Swedish pork industry through undercover investigation. Our work for the animals is completely dependent on donations, supporting members and active volunteers.
STEREOTYPICAL BEHAVIOR
“Animals shall be kept and maintained in an environment that furthers their good health and allows them to behave naturally”. – Animal Welfare Act (1988:534), 4 §
We have filmed evidence of stereotypical behaviour on thirteen of the fifteen farms that we visited. The stereotype, by which we mean incessant repetitive motion that serves no purpose, is a feeble attempt by the mink to deal with stress and frustration. It is a common symptom of an animal’s natural needs not being met “The majority of mink show typical signs of derangement that animals express when confined to areas that are too constrictive” – Sverre Sjölander, Professor in Zoology.
SICK AND INJURED ANIMALS
“A sick or injured animal shall be given necessary medical attention, if the illness or injury isn’t severe enough to justify the animal being put down immediately”.
Animal Welfare Act (1988:534) § 9.
We have found sick animals with infected eyes and ear; unconscious, convulsive and dead animals were found on two-thirds of the farms. Maimed, bleeding animals with torn-off ears, large gaping head wounds and missing limps were found on eleven of the fifteen visited farms. The horrific injuries are the result of fights caused by crowding, in shockingly small cages in the wild mink interact only to mate – but the injuries are also oftentimes caused by self-mutilation. According to 2 § of the Animal Welfare Act, animals are to be “treated well and are to be protected from unnecessary suffering and illness”.
“If a cow becomes sick, then we’re called immediately. But the mink are so many that if one animal becomes sick, then we’re not called – the animal has too little economic value for the farmer. We only get called if there is an epidemic. But every animal has an intrinsic value and the Animal Welfare Act clearly states that if an animal becomes sick, then it must be treated or euthanized. Large farms like mink farms have so many animals that it can take time before illness is discovered”
– My Leffler, District Veterinarian who used to work on mink farms.
DEAD ANIMALS IN THE CAGES
On 80% of the farms, we found dead animals in the cages – in most cases, the carcasses were left among other living animals. In many cases, the carcasses had been half-eaten by their mother and siblings.
“In the natural world, it isn’t normal for a mink to be forced to be around another dead mink. When it happens on a farm, it can lead to cannibalism because they are so under stimulated and don’t know how to react to the situation” – Mark Collins, Veterinarian
DIRTY CAGES
On 67% of the farms, we found cages where large amounts of faeces had piled up, oftentimes in thick layers. Mink avoid their own feces so when the cage fills up with waste, an already small space becomes even smaller.
ILLEGAL SEWAGE RUNOFF
Manure runoff could be documented at 80% of the farms. Mink manure contains high levels of nitrogen and phosphorus and causes contamination of water and soil if leaked out into the environment. Mink farms are therefore classified as environmentally-hazardous operations. By law, manure must be stored in such a way that it is sheltered from rain while preventing soil seepage.
ILLEGAL HANDLING OF CARCASSES
“Carcasses awaiting transport shall be stored in such a way that disease cannot be spread through contact with wild animals. The waste shall be stored separate from living animals” – Board of Agriculture Regulations 2009:6, section K 14.
Dead mink that had been left to rot throughout and around the farm property, or were otherwise disposed of improperly, were found on 73% of the farms, even though all carcasses must be immediately removed and stored, preferably frozen. Many carcasses had been left to rot for at least 6 months, since the pelting season last November.
CANNIBALISM
We have documented cannibalism on half of the farms. Mink females that kill their young and littermates that kill and eat one another is more the rule than the exception. Cannibalism is caused by stress and lack of stimulation. The mink have no release for their hunting instincts and those mink that fall victim to attack have no possibility to take flight or cover in their tiny cages.“Animals on fur farms have high levels of stress and this can cause cannibalism” - My Leffler, Veterinarian.
In a 2012 investigation the designer Giorgio Armani;
In PETAs own words;
A disturbing new undercover exposé of rabbit fur farms on two different continents shows that rabbit slaughter, no matter why or where it occurs, is always cruel. The video, narrated by actor Gillian Anderson, shows rabbits kicking and screaming during slaughter. After the skin is ripped from the rabbits’ bodies, it is sold to designers such as Giorgio Armani—who uses rabbit fur in his new designs.
The undercover investigations of rabbit fur farms in China and France—two countries from which Armani buys rabbit fur—revealed pitiful living conditions for rabbits, who are confined to tiny wire cages before they are slaughtered.
In the video footage from the investigation, workers at the Chinese farm pull rabbits out of cages by their ears and shock the screaming animals in the head with a handheld electrical device, often multiple times. Rabbits with slit throats can be seen twitching and shaking, with their eyes wide open, before they die.
Armani now sells fur, including rabbit-fur coats for babies and children. The new designs mean he has broken the promise he made just last year when he said, “I spoke with the people from PETA, and they showed me some materials that convinced me not to use fur.”
Please contact Giorgio Armani and urge him to keep the promise that he made by permanently removing all fur from his collections.
Please also send polite comments to:
Giorgio Armani Corporation
114 Fifth Ave., 17th Fl.
New York, NY 10011
212-366-9720
Still believe fur is ethically correct? We don’t and we are fighting this blood soaked war silently but surely and will cease this repulsive disgust.
Email us for more information at
externalaffairs@international-animalrescue-foundation.org.uk
info@internatinal-animalrescue-foundation.org.uk
Donate for a Zoologist in Benue http://fnd.us/c/3PFe2 read more in the link..
Together we can stop abuse – Together we can make change happen
Dr J C Dimetri V.M.D, B.E.S, Ma, PhD , MEnvSc
Apparantly the video below is “ecological mink farming the exact same as “Europe and Canada” so the narrator quotes..
speakupforthevoiceless
