Latest on MJJC
- Latest Michael Jackson News
- Click Here to Join Our Community
- Follow us on Twitter
- Wanna talk Michael? Come join the chat rooms
- The Michael Jackson Chart Watch
- Become an MJJC Patron
- Join the Premium Member Group and Get Lot's of Extra's
- Major Love Prayer - Worldwide Monthly Prayer Every 25th
- MJJC Exclusive Q&A - We talk to the family and those in and around Michael
- Join us in the Chat Rooms
- Find us on Facebook
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
To Catlovers
- Thread starter MIST
- Start date
MIST
Proud Member
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2011
- Messages
- 5,323
- Points
- 83
Cecil the lion’s son has ‘met the same fate’ — killed in a trophy hunt in Zimbabwe
The son of Cecil the lion — Zimbabwe’s beloved big cat, whose death at the hands of an American trophy hunter triggered widespread outrage two summers ago — has been killed as well.
The Facebook group Lions of Hwange National Park said Thursday that Xanda, who was 6 and had several cubs, had been fatally shot several days ago by another trophy hunter in Zimbabwe. Andrew Loveridge, an Oxford University researcher who studies the park’s lions, said in an e-mail that the shooting took place on July 7 during a “legally sanctioned hunt.”
“We can’t believe that now, 2 years since Cecil was killed, that his oldest Cub Xanda has met the same fate,” the Lions of Hwange post said. “When will the Lions of Hwange National Park be left to live out their years as wild born free lions should?”
The group said Xanda was killed during a hunt organized by Richard Cooke Safaris, which did not respond to a request for comment. Officials at the Hwange National Park have not yet confirmed the reports.
Cecil the lion was killed in nearly the same location in 2015. The Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force said the 13-year-old black-maned lion was lured out of the national park and shot with a compound bow before being finished off with a rifle. His slaying provoked international outrage and intensified calls for bringing an end to trophy hunting in Africa.
Cecil was one of hundreds of Hwange National Park lions whose lives have been meticulously monitored by Oxford University’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit. His movements had been followed in “minute detail” from 2008 until his death in 2015, biologist David Macdonald wrote on the unit’s website.
But Cecil was hardly the first big cat to have been shot by hunters in the area: Two other lions well known to researchers had been killed before him in 2015, and more than 60 others had met the same fate in the preceding 15 years.
What made Cecil’s death generate global outrage, the researchers later said, was a combination of unusual factors, including his dark and majestic mane, his English nickname and the dubious circumstances of his killing at the hands of a white, wealthy American.
They said they hoped the attention would lead to improved conservation science — including the purchase of additional satellite collars.
Xanda, Cecil’s son, was first collared in July 2015, and he was fitted with a new GPS satellite collar last October, Loveridge said. Xanda “spent considerable time” with his pride outside the boundary of the park and was killed just over a mile from its edge, in the Ngamo Forest, where hunting is legal, he said.
“As researchers, we are saddened at the death of a well-known study animal we have monitored since birth,” said Loveridge.
Luke Hunter, the president and chief conservation officer of the global wild cat organization Panthera, told The Washington Post that Zimbabwe law requires that hunted lions be a minimum of 6-years-old — Xanda’s age. That allows males the potential to breed, and contribute to the dwindling lionpopulation, for at least a year or two.
But the death of a male in his prime, as Xanda was, can have dramatic consequences for the pride and offspring he leaves behind. Typically, related males will form what’s known as a coalition to protect a pride of females and their cubs from other males who seek to overtake it. Loveridge said Xanda was the “pride male,” or head male, in a pride of three females and seven cubs.
Losing one male makes the coalition far more vulnerable to usurpers, which are biologically driven to pass along their own genes by impregnating the females as soon as possible, Hunter said.
New males come in, they take stock, and the first thing they do almost inevitably is kill all the cubs belonging to the previous males,” he said. “They just can’t afford to be stepdads … by removing the cubs, the females come back into season much, much sooner.”
It was unclear Thursday who shot Xanda, but many trophy hunters in Zimbabwe come from Europe and North America.
A Humane Society analysis published last year found that the southern African nation was one of the top sources of wildlife trophy imports to the United States between 2005 and 2014. Those imports have gotten more difficult since Cecil’s killing, however. Last year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed African lions under the Endangered Species Act and implemented a permitting process for trophy imports. It also banned the import of trophies of captive-bred lions killed during “canned” hunts, where the animal is confined to a small area increase the hunter’s chances.
Some U.S. airlines, including Delta, now also refuse to carry “Big Five” — lion, leopard, elephant, rhinoceros and buffalo — wildlife trophies to the United States. A federal appeals court this spring upheld Delta’s ban after several hunting organizations challenged its legality.
In July 2015, American dentist Walter Palmer killed Cecil. Authorities in Zimbabwe said Palmer, a big-game hunter from Bloomington, Minn., had paid about $50,000 for the African safari.
Palmer later apologized, saying he thought the hunt was legal. He was not charged with a crime because authorities said he had gone through the proper channels. However, his hunting guide, Theo Bronkhorst, and a local property owner, Honest Ndlovu, were charged in the hunt. The charges against Bronkhorst were later dropped; it’s unclear where Ndlovu’s case stands.
After Palmer was identified as Cecil’s killer, he said his life was threatened. He temporarily shut down his dental practice, River Bluff Dental, where protesters created memorials, leaving stuffed lions to represent the one that he had killed.
Following the news Thursday that Cecil’s son had met the same fate, animal rights advocates voiced concerns that nothing had been learned from Cecil’s death.
“Trophy hunters continue their blood sport at a time when lions face a conservation crisis in Africa, with as few as 20,000 lions left in the wild,” Masha Kalinina, International Trade Policy Specialist with Humane Society International, said in a statement. “Xanda was a well-studied lion like his father and critical to conservation efforts in Zimbabwe. To stop lions slipping into extinction, it is critical that countries like Zimbabwe focus on keeping as many lions alive as possible and shift away from the trophy hunting industry.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...-hunter-officials-say/?utm_term=.894eae168d2c
The son of Cecil the lion — Zimbabwe’s beloved big cat, whose death at the hands of an American trophy hunter triggered widespread outrage two summers ago — has been killed as well.
The Facebook group Lions of Hwange National Park said Thursday that Xanda, who was 6 and had several cubs, had been fatally shot several days ago by another trophy hunter in Zimbabwe. Andrew Loveridge, an Oxford University researcher who studies the park’s lions, said in an e-mail that the shooting took place on July 7 during a “legally sanctioned hunt.”
“We can’t believe that now, 2 years since Cecil was killed, that his oldest Cub Xanda has met the same fate,” the Lions of Hwange post said. “When will the Lions of Hwange National Park be left to live out their years as wild born free lions should?”
The group said Xanda was killed during a hunt organized by Richard Cooke Safaris, which did not respond to a request for comment. Officials at the Hwange National Park have not yet confirmed the reports.
Cecil the lion was killed in nearly the same location in 2015. The Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force said the 13-year-old black-maned lion was lured out of the national park and shot with a compound bow before being finished off with a rifle. His slaying provoked international outrage and intensified calls for bringing an end to trophy hunting in Africa.
Cecil was one of hundreds of Hwange National Park lions whose lives have been meticulously monitored by Oxford University’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit. His movements had been followed in “minute detail” from 2008 until his death in 2015, biologist David Macdonald wrote on the unit’s website.
But Cecil was hardly the first big cat to have been shot by hunters in the area: Two other lions well known to researchers had been killed before him in 2015, and more than 60 others had met the same fate in the preceding 15 years.
What made Cecil’s death generate global outrage, the researchers later said, was a combination of unusual factors, including his dark and majestic mane, his English nickname and the dubious circumstances of his killing at the hands of a white, wealthy American.
They said they hoped the attention would lead to improved conservation science — including the purchase of additional satellite collars.
Xanda, Cecil’s son, was first collared in July 2015, and he was fitted with a new GPS satellite collar last October, Loveridge said. Xanda “spent considerable time” with his pride outside the boundary of the park and was killed just over a mile from its edge, in the Ngamo Forest, where hunting is legal, he said.
“As researchers, we are saddened at the death of a well-known study animal we have monitored since birth,” said Loveridge.
Luke Hunter, the president and chief conservation officer of the global wild cat organization Panthera, told The Washington Post that Zimbabwe law requires that hunted lions be a minimum of 6-years-old — Xanda’s age. That allows males the potential to breed, and contribute to the dwindling lionpopulation, for at least a year or two.
But the death of a male in his prime, as Xanda was, can have dramatic consequences for the pride and offspring he leaves behind. Typically, related males will form what’s known as a coalition to protect a pride of females and their cubs from other males who seek to overtake it. Loveridge said Xanda was the “pride male,” or head male, in a pride of three females and seven cubs.
Losing one male makes the coalition far more vulnerable to usurpers, which are biologically driven to pass along their own genes by impregnating the females as soon as possible, Hunter said.
New males come in, they take stock, and the first thing they do almost inevitably is kill all the cubs belonging to the previous males,” he said. “They just can’t afford to be stepdads … by removing the cubs, the females come back into season much, much sooner.”
It was unclear Thursday who shot Xanda, but many trophy hunters in Zimbabwe come from Europe and North America.
A Humane Society analysis published last year found that the southern African nation was one of the top sources of wildlife trophy imports to the United States between 2005 and 2014. Those imports have gotten more difficult since Cecil’s killing, however. Last year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed African lions under the Endangered Species Act and implemented a permitting process for trophy imports. It also banned the import of trophies of captive-bred lions killed during “canned” hunts, where the animal is confined to a small area increase the hunter’s chances.
Some U.S. airlines, including Delta, now also refuse to carry “Big Five” — lion, leopard, elephant, rhinoceros and buffalo — wildlife trophies to the United States. A federal appeals court this spring upheld Delta’s ban after several hunting organizations challenged its legality.
In July 2015, American dentist Walter Palmer killed Cecil. Authorities in Zimbabwe said Palmer, a big-game hunter from Bloomington, Minn., had paid about $50,000 for the African safari.
Palmer later apologized, saying he thought the hunt was legal. He was not charged with a crime because authorities said he had gone through the proper channels. However, his hunting guide, Theo Bronkhorst, and a local property owner, Honest Ndlovu, were charged in the hunt. The charges against Bronkhorst were later dropped; it’s unclear where Ndlovu’s case stands.
After Palmer was identified as Cecil’s killer, he said his life was threatened. He temporarily shut down his dental practice, River Bluff Dental, where protesters created memorials, leaving stuffed lions to represent the one that he had killed.
Following the news Thursday that Cecil’s son had met the same fate, animal rights advocates voiced concerns that nothing had been learned from Cecil’s death.
“Trophy hunters continue their blood sport at a time when lions face a conservation crisis in Africa, with as few as 20,000 lions left in the wild,” Masha Kalinina, International Trade Policy Specialist with Humane Society International, said in a statement. “Xanda was a well-studied lion like his father and critical to conservation efforts in Zimbabwe. To stop lions slipping into extinction, it is critical that countries like Zimbabwe focus on keeping as many lions alive as possible and shift away from the trophy hunting industry.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...-hunter-officials-say/?utm_term=.894eae168d2c
MIST
Proud Member
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2011
- Messages
- 5,323
- Points
- 83
Why We Need ‘Crazy’ Cat People
There’s a stigma our society has placed on cat people. You know who they are. They’re the ones with cat hair all over their clothing, who are just hoping to catch their cat doing something funny on film so they can make Fluffy Internet famous. They’re the “crazy” cat people.
Society may be laughing at the girl who loves cats so much in the eHarmony video, but here’s the thing: we need her and all the other crazy cat people. We need these people because they love cats so much. In fact, cat lovers do way more than just look at cat gifs on the Internet all day. They are invested in bettering the lives of as many cats as they can.
Cat People Save Lives
These crazy cat people don’t buy thousand-dollar Siamese cats as their constant companions. In fact, don’t even mention the idea to them. Instead of buying from pet stores or breeders, they adopt a cat from their local shelter or rescue abandoned kittens in their neighborhood, which makes an impact on those cats looking for a home. In fact, there are about 70 million stray animals living in the United States. That number comes out to five homeless animal for every one homeless human. These staggering numbers show why adoption is far more beneficial to these homeless animals, the animals who are at a greater risk of being euthanized. This is why the crazy cat person chooses to adopt instead of buy from a pet store or breeder. There are too many homeless animals for this person to even consider buying their cat.
They are not only passionate about adoption, but these cat people are careful about adoption, too. They know what goes into caring for another life and they take it seriously. There are a lot of things to take into consideration when adopting an animal. Examples include finances, your daily schedule, living conditions and many others.
Cat People Make a Difference
See, the crazy cat people know the responsibility it takes to adopt, and if they are not ready for that responsibility, they volunteer their time at a shelter in order to make a difference.
Animal shelters are nonprofit organizations, so they depend on their volunteers to help take care of the animals, do the day-to-day jobs and help clean up the facilities. While society is busy mocking cat people, they are busy helping an organization keep its doors open and innocent and helpless animals extend their life expectancies. Without volunteers and donations, animal shelters wouldn’t have the plentiful food and toys to supply the animals or be able to give the animals the exercise and attention they need to be physically and mentally stimulated until they are adopted into a family.
These ‘crazy’ cat people are also dedicated to learning “trap, neuter, return” (TNR) method for helping the feral cat population and teaching it to others. Feral cats are once-domesticated cats that have reverted back to a wild state. While it is impossible to even attempt to guess how many feral cats there are in the United States, we do know that feral cats have an average of 1.4 litters of three kittens per year, furthering the feral cat population. What TNR does is humanely traps feral cats, sterilized and treated and returned to their habitat. By participating in TNR and teaching others its benefits, cat people not only help control the free-roaming cat population, but helps prevents future kittens born into the wild from imminent danger or death.
In addition to being dedicated to adoption, volunteering and the TNR method, the cat person is busy finding ways to keep feral cats warm in winter. There are many easy ways to build shelters for feral cats that can make a huge difference to their lives during the harsh winters.So next time your cat friend tells you they can’t go out because they’re making cat shelters out of storage bins, give ’em a break. They deserve one, because of crazy them, there are thousands of cats out there who are alive, healthy and happy that otherwise wouldn’t have had those opportunities. It’s the time and care these people give to cats that makes all the difference. Without their passion and love, there would be so many cats that would have much worse fates, that would not experience unconditional love, that would not get a second, third or even fourth chance at life.
We need crazy cat people in this world because we need someone to care about these animals. We need people to adopt them, to volunteer in their honor, to help control their population in a humane way. So let’s give these wonderful humans a break, OK? Because when you think about it, these crazy cat people really aren’t that crazy.
http://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/why-we-need-crazy-cat-people/
There’s a stigma our society has placed on cat people. You know who they are. They’re the ones with cat hair all over their clothing, who are just hoping to catch their cat doing something funny on film so they can make Fluffy Internet famous. They’re the “crazy” cat people.
Society may be laughing at the girl who loves cats so much in the eHarmony video, but here’s the thing: we need her and all the other crazy cat people. We need these people because they love cats so much. In fact, cat lovers do way more than just look at cat gifs on the Internet all day. They are invested in bettering the lives of as many cats as they can.
Cat People Save Lives
These crazy cat people don’t buy thousand-dollar Siamese cats as their constant companions. In fact, don’t even mention the idea to them. Instead of buying from pet stores or breeders, they adopt a cat from their local shelter or rescue abandoned kittens in their neighborhood, which makes an impact on those cats looking for a home. In fact, there are about 70 million stray animals living in the United States. That number comes out to five homeless animal for every one homeless human. These staggering numbers show why adoption is far more beneficial to these homeless animals, the animals who are at a greater risk of being euthanized. This is why the crazy cat person chooses to adopt instead of buy from a pet store or breeder. There are too many homeless animals for this person to even consider buying their cat.
They are not only passionate about adoption, but these cat people are careful about adoption, too. They know what goes into caring for another life and they take it seriously. There are a lot of things to take into consideration when adopting an animal. Examples include finances, your daily schedule, living conditions and many others.
Cat People Make a Difference
See, the crazy cat people know the responsibility it takes to adopt, and if they are not ready for that responsibility, they volunteer their time at a shelter in order to make a difference.
Animal shelters are nonprofit organizations, so they depend on their volunteers to help take care of the animals, do the day-to-day jobs and help clean up the facilities. While society is busy mocking cat people, they are busy helping an organization keep its doors open and innocent and helpless animals extend their life expectancies. Without volunteers and donations, animal shelters wouldn’t have the plentiful food and toys to supply the animals or be able to give the animals the exercise and attention they need to be physically and mentally stimulated until they are adopted into a family.
These ‘crazy’ cat people are also dedicated to learning “trap, neuter, return” (TNR) method for helping the feral cat population and teaching it to others. Feral cats are once-domesticated cats that have reverted back to a wild state. While it is impossible to even attempt to guess how many feral cats there are in the United States, we do know that feral cats have an average of 1.4 litters of three kittens per year, furthering the feral cat population. What TNR does is humanely traps feral cats, sterilized and treated and returned to their habitat. By participating in TNR and teaching others its benefits, cat people not only help control the free-roaming cat population, but helps prevents future kittens born into the wild from imminent danger or death.
In addition to being dedicated to adoption, volunteering and the TNR method, the cat person is busy finding ways to keep feral cats warm in winter. There are many easy ways to build shelters for feral cats that can make a huge difference to their lives during the harsh winters.So next time your cat friend tells you they can’t go out because they’re making cat shelters out of storage bins, give ’em a break. They deserve one, because of crazy them, there are thousands of cats out there who are alive, healthy and happy that otherwise wouldn’t have had those opportunities. It’s the time and care these people give to cats that makes all the difference. Without their passion and love, there would be so many cats that would have much worse fates, that would not experience unconditional love, that would not get a second, third or even fourth chance at life.
We need crazy cat people in this world because we need someone to care about these animals. We need people to adopt them, to volunteer in their honor, to help control their population in a humane way. So let’s give these wonderful humans a break, OK? Because when you think about it, these crazy cat people really aren’t that crazy.
http://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/why-we-need-crazy-cat-people/
MIST
Proud Member
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2011
- Messages
- 5,323
- Points
- 83
The Business of Saving Lives
How does a city bring hundreds of high paying jobs, raise millions in sales taxes, and revitalize small business? It stops killing animals at the pound.
This month, the Ozark, AL, city council passed an ordinance prohibiting the shelter from killing healthy animals, repealing a law allowing healthy animals to be killed after 48 hours and requiring them to be killed after 30 days, and providing exceptions for “critically ill or injured” animals after evaluation by a veterinarian.
Ozark’s Mayor notes he “has had many dogs throughout his life. He said changing to a ‘no kill’ shelter is something he’s wanted to do for a while now.” When asked about the costs, he replied that, “We’re not in the business to make money, we’re in the business to save beautiful animals.”
On this issue, that’s my kind of mayor. We are ethically duty bound to do it, regardless of the costs. Might does not make right, but it does create affirmative obligations. But here’s the rub: when your community saves animals, it also makes money. Lots and lots of money.
Why did Google lease a 29-story building in downtown Austin, creating hundreds of high paying, tech jobs? According to Google, the city’s “animal-welfare policies were part of the community brand that drew the company there.” Austin’s No Kill policy—and its 98% live release rate—”was attractive to company executives because it is attractive to a young, vibrant, pet-loving workforce.”
How did a Florida community realize a $71 million financial impact, including $5.7 million yearly on veterinary care, pet supplies, and other local shopping, as well as one additional employee at each of the areas 179 for-profit veterinarians? Local lifesaving at the SPCA.
How did a Nevada community increase its sales tax revenue by tens of millions annually? It cut killing in half and doubled adoptions.
Why did a Virginia community build a new shelter? To attract business. According to a local editorial,
The economic vitality of the Fredericksburg region rests on more than jobs and roads and developable acreage—the obvious factors.
It also depends on quality-of-life concerns. When major employers consider a job-creating move to an area, they size up all sorts of factors, including amenities such as parks, schools and public services. Those things matter as far as getting and retaining a quality workforce.
Which is a long-winded way of suggesting that how Stafford and Spotsylvania care for stray and abandoned critters matters to the counties’ current well-being and future prospects.
The Chairman of the Board of Supervisors was more direct: “Enhancing the lives of all our citizens—human and animal alike—benefits everyone. The new shelter will make Stafford County an even greater place to live, work, and raise a family—along with a few pets.”
I’ll be even more direct than that: No Kill is good for animals, good for people, good for the community, and very, very good for the bottom line.
http://www.nathanwinograd.com/the-business-of-saving-lives/
How does a city bring hundreds of high paying jobs, raise millions in sales taxes, and revitalize small business? It stops killing animals at the pound.
This month, the Ozark, AL, city council passed an ordinance prohibiting the shelter from killing healthy animals, repealing a law allowing healthy animals to be killed after 48 hours and requiring them to be killed after 30 days, and providing exceptions for “critically ill or injured” animals after evaluation by a veterinarian.
Ozark’s Mayor notes he “has had many dogs throughout his life. He said changing to a ‘no kill’ shelter is something he’s wanted to do for a while now.” When asked about the costs, he replied that, “We’re not in the business to make money, we’re in the business to save beautiful animals.”
On this issue, that’s my kind of mayor. We are ethically duty bound to do it, regardless of the costs. Might does not make right, but it does create affirmative obligations. But here’s the rub: when your community saves animals, it also makes money. Lots and lots of money.
Why did Google lease a 29-story building in downtown Austin, creating hundreds of high paying, tech jobs? According to Google, the city’s “animal-welfare policies were part of the community brand that drew the company there.” Austin’s No Kill policy—and its 98% live release rate—”was attractive to company executives because it is attractive to a young, vibrant, pet-loving workforce.”
How did a Florida community realize a $71 million financial impact, including $5.7 million yearly on veterinary care, pet supplies, and other local shopping, as well as one additional employee at each of the areas 179 for-profit veterinarians? Local lifesaving at the SPCA.
How did a Nevada community increase its sales tax revenue by tens of millions annually? It cut killing in half and doubled adoptions.
Why did a Virginia community build a new shelter? To attract business. According to a local editorial,
The economic vitality of the Fredericksburg region rests on more than jobs and roads and developable acreage—the obvious factors.
It also depends on quality-of-life concerns. When major employers consider a job-creating move to an area, they size up all sorts of factors, including amenities such as parks, schools and public services. Those things matter as far as getting and retaining a quality workforce.
Which is a long-winded way of suggesting that how Stafford and Spotsylvania care for stray and abandoned critters matters to the counties’ current well-being and future prospects.
The Chairman of the Board of Supervisors was more direct: “Enhancing the lives of all our citizens—human and animal alike—benefits everyone. The new shelter will make Stafford County an even greater place to live, work, and raise a family—along with a few pets.”
I’ll be even more direct than that: No Kill is good for animals, good for people, good for the community, and very, very good for the bottom line.
http://www.nathanwinograd.com/the-business-of-saving-lives/
MIST
Proud Member
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2011
- Messages
- 5,323
- Points
- 83
MIST
Proud Member
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2011
- Messages
- 5,323
- Points
- 83
I have posted about Mickey the cougar before.he was in such a bad shape when he was rescued.
I´m glad he got some good years on this earth but now it´s time to say goodbye.
[video=youtube;oaDiT7hgSqs]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaDiT7hgSqs[/video]
I´m glad he got some good years on this earth but now it´s time to say goodbye.
[video=youtube;oaDiT7hgSqs]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaDiT7hgSqs[/video]
MIST
Proud Member
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2011
- Messages
- 5,323
- Points
- 83
HELP FIND THE CRIMINALS WHO ARE RENTING OUT BABY LIONS IN FRANCE
You may have heard about the new trend going around the internet, wild animal selfies. The practice of trying to get up close and personal with a wild or caged animal - often times endangered - just to snap a selfie and post it on your feed. The phenomena was lambasted earlier this month by several conservation and media organizations as unnecessarily and unforgivably putting animals in harm's way.
Such is the story of the baby lion cub that was discovered this month half dead in a decrepit apartment in Paris. Some idiot rented a lion cub and posted several selfies of him and the kitten on social media before leaving it to die.
Luckily, the social media wiz kid was caught. Netizens helped lead officials to the animal abuser and he has now been arrested on charges of illegally keeping a wild animal.
But this story shouldn’t end there. The young man didn’t just happen upon the wild cub. He researched where to find it and paid someone good money to use it as a prop. French officials shouldn’t just prosecute the 24-year-old, but they should also follow the trail to what could end up being a wild animal trading ring and bring all those involved to justice.
Animal cruelty whether it is in the form of selfies or otherwise is a scourge that needs to be rooted out. One way to do so is to ensure the people who rented out the lion cub to this young man are also caught and put behind bars for breaking the law. Please add your name to the petition and encourage the French police to follow the paw tracks to those who sold this poor cat into a fate that almost lead to it’s death.
https://www.thepetitionsite.com/sv/takeaction/809/311/538/
You may have heard about the new trend going around the internet, wild animal selfies. The practice of trying to get up close and personal with a wild or caged animal - often times endangered - just to snap a selfie and post it on your feed. The phenomena was lambasted earlier this month by several conservation and media organizations as unnecessarily and unforgivably putting animals in harm's way.
Such is the story of the baby lion cub that was discovered this month half dead in a decrepit apartment in Paris. Some idiot rented a lion cub and posted several selfies of him and the kitten on social media before leaving it to die.
Luckily, the social media wiz kid was caught. Netizens helped lead officials to the animal abuser and he has now been arrested on charges of illegally keeping a wild animal.
But this story shouldn’t end there. The young man didn’t just happen upon the wild cub. He researched where to find it and paid someone good money to use it as a prop. French officials shouldn’t just prosecute the 24-year-old, but they should also follow the trail to what could end up being a wild animal trading ring and bring all those involved to justice.
Animal cruelty whether it is in the form of selfies or otherwise is a scourge that needs to be rooted out. One way to do so is to ensure the people who rented out the lion cub to this young man are also caught and put behind bars for breaking the law. Please add your name to the petition and encourage the French police to follow the paw tracks to those who sold this poor cat into a fate that almost lead to it’s death.
https://www.thepetitionsite.com/sv/takeaction/809/311/538/
MIST
Proud Member
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2011
- Messages
- 5,323
- Points
- 83
I get worried when I read cat island in a title. Are the cats spayed and neutered? Do they get the veterinarian care they need?and up to date on all medical?
[video=youtube;YHDbsyyjld0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHDbsyyjld0&t=2s[/video]
I love that the place is enclosed, you don´t "have to" kill the cats to protect the birds..
[video=youtube;YHDbsyyjld0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHDbsyyjld0&t=2s[/video]
I love that the place is enclosed, you don´t "have to" kill the cats to protect the birds..
BillHitchens
Proud Member
Re: to catlovers
Come on, people need to adopt these cats, only 57 adoptions last year. But god bless for the people who help these cats live well.?
Come on, people need to adopt these cats, only 57 adoptions last year. But god bless for the people who help these cats live well.?
MIST
Proud Member
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2011
- Messages
- 5,323
- Points
- 83
Lion 'Trophy' Importation Ban Was Quietly Lifted by Trump Administration in October
Last month the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFSW) began issuing hunting permits for the import of lion trophies hunted in Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Although the USFSW announced Wednesday it was lifting a ban on the import of elephant trophies, the new guidelines for importing sport-hunted lions have been quietly in effect and permits have been accepted since Oct. 20. Due to a 45-day waiting period, it's unclear if any permits have been granted so far. The decision is touted as "contributing to the conservation of lions in the wild" on the USFSW website.
The U.S. government, in addition to Zambia and Zimbabwe, allows permits for wild lions and lions from managed areas in South Africa and is reviewing permits for importing lion trophies from Mozambique, Namibia and Tanzania.
The USFSW's decision aligns with congressional Republicans' recent history of removing endangered species protections and proposing bills that remove non-native species—such as lions—from protected status.
President Donald Trump's sons are also known to be avid trophy hunters. In 2012, pictures surfaced showing Eric and Donald Trump, Jr. posing with a dead elephant and leopard.
The word "trophy"—derived from the Greek word "trophos" that referenced the acquisition of nourishment, as well as "tropaion," or body parts captured in battle—has worked its way into mainstream references to lion hunting. But its association belies its modern nature in which a person with a long-range rifle kills a lion from a safe distance.
Between 1993 and 2014, populations of African lions declined by 43 percent, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The IUCN classifies lions as "vulnerable to extinction," one step away from endangered. Lion's IUCN classification is propped up by a 12 percent population increase in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Outside of these four countries, lion populations have fallen by an average of 60 percent. In 2016, the Obama administration listed the lion as a threatened species and placed tighter restrictions on bringing back heads, paws and other body parts.
FSW officials said the decision was made after concluding that regulated hunting would help the survival of endangered species in the wild. Some conservationists dispute that claim, saying that tourism by people who want to view animals brings in far more money. The IUCN, however, contends that trophy hunting can have a potentially positive effect on lion conservation, but warns that poor regulation also contributes to population declines.
https://www.ecowatch.com/lion-trophy-trump-2510261807.html
Last month the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFSW) began issuing hunting permits for the import of lion trophies hunted in Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Although the USFSW announced Wednesday it was lifting a ban on the import of elephant trophies, the new guidelines for importing sport-hunted lions have been quietly in effect and permits have been accepted since Oct. 20. Due to a 45-day waiting period, it's unclear if any permits have been granted so far. The decision is touted as "contributing to the conservation of lions in the wild" on the USFSW website.
The U.S. government, in addition to Zambia and Zimbabwe, allows permits for wild lions and lions from managed areas in South Africa and is reviewing permits for importing lion trophies from Mozambique, Namibia and Tanzania.
The USFSW's decision aligns with congressional Republicans' recent history of removing endangered species protections and proposing bills that remove non-native species—such as lions—from protected status.
President Donald Trump's sons are also known to be avid trophy hunters. In 2012, pictures surfaced showing Eric and Donald Trump, Jr. posing with a dead elephant and leopard.
The word "trophy"—derived from the Greek word "trophos" that referenced the acquisition of nourishment, as well as "tropaion," or body parts captured in battle—has worked its way into mainstream references to lion hunting. But its association belies its modern nature in which a person with a long-range rifle kills a lion from a safe distance.
Between 1993 and 2014, populations of African lions declined by 43 percent, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The IUCN classifies lions as "vulnerable to extinction," one step away from endangered. Lion's IUCN classification is propped up by a 12 percent population increase in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Outside of these four countries, lion populations have fallen by an average of 60 percent. In 2016, the Obama administration listed the lion as a threatened species and placed tighter restrictions on bringing back heads, paws and other body parts.
FSW officials said the decision was made after concluding that regulated hunting would help the survival of endangered species in the wild. Some conservationists dispute that claim, saying that tourism by people who want to view animals brings in far more money. The IUCN, however, contends that trophy hunting can have a potentially positive effect on lion conservation, but warns that poor regulation also contributes to population declines.
https://www.ecowatch.com/lion-trophy-trump-2510261807.html
MIST
Proud Member
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2011
- Messages
- 5,323
- Points
- 83
MIST
Proud Member
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2011
- Messages
- 5,323
- Points
- 83
Free to good home?
A new study analyzes the impact of free adoptions in a shelter on the number of cats adopted, the type of people who adopted, and the care and retention of those cats.
The shelter waived all adoption fees for adult cats because it was full.
The study noted that, “Waiving adoption fees is the most controversial option, because of concerns that people attracted to low-cost or free adoptions may be less responsible owners who subsequently neglect or rehome cats, or use them for nefarious purposes.”
It found what all of us hoped it would find:
1. Adoptions did go up (reducing killing);
2. The type of cat adopted did not change;
3. The type of person doing the adoption did NOT change (with two positive and crucial differences); and most importantly,
4. Attachment to and quality of their care of the cat did NOT change.
As to No. 3 above, while the kind of person who adopted when the cats were free were demographically similar to those who paid the normal adoption fee, which should give people comfort, there were two (good) differences. First, many were first time adopters from a shelter (though not necessarily first time cat families). Second, they were drawn to the shelter by media promotion of the event. They heard in the media that the shelter was jammed, was trying to avoid killing, and was promoting cats for adoption.
This is incredibly good news.
In other words, they were motivated to help and they can now be counted on saving the lives of other cats in the future. Welcome to the family.
Most importantly, there was no difference between fee-paid and fee-waived adoptions in terms of rates of the cat wearing a collar, staying in the home post-adoption (retention), or receiving veterinary care.
In other words, they kept the cat, took care of the cat, and loved the cat.
The study concluded that fee-waived adoptions are good for cats (“Preventing euthanasia of healthy adult cats is an obvious, immediate positive outcome of reducing crowding by offering occasional free adult cat adoption-drives”), good for adopters, and good for shelters and shelter workers.
A win-win.
The study adds to a growing body of literature that reached similar conclusions.
From the Cornell Feline Health Center: "A study in the Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science examined the attachment of adopters to their cats in relation to payment or fee waiver for adoption… Statistical analysis of the result showed no significant difference in the two groups 'attachment' to their adopted cat.
The authors conclude 'implementing a free adult cat adoption program in shelters around the country could dramatically affect the lives of thousands of shelter cats who otherwise either would reside in the shelter for months awaiting adoption or be euthanized.
The ultimate goal of shelters is to adopt their animals into loving homes with families who are committed to the success of their pet. The free adult cat adoption program may accomplish these goals, and shelters can feel confident in implementing the program.'" See also nathanwinograd.com/?p=6359 and nathanwinograd.com/?p=11272
The study, “Using Free Adoptions to Reduce Crowding and Euthanasia at Cat Shelters: An Australian Case Study,” is here: http://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/7/12/92
https://www.facebook.com/nathanwinograd/posts/175114505490973
I think you can never be sure even if they pay for a cat that it will be a forever home.Peoples life can change