Deborah Tabart OAM is Chairman of the Australian Koala Foundation

And today, she sent out the most beautiful picture of an adorable koala, thinking it’s what we need right now.  Deborah, thank you.  It certainly cheered me up.

 
Save the Koala - Join the Koala Army

One of the things Deborah said in the email she’d sent us was that she thinks the issues we are facing – the wildfires around the world and the coronavirus – stem in part from our lack of respect for the natural world, our lack of care for animals and our need to develop at all costs.

I agree.  I remember once reading a phrase, Look after the earth and she will look after you.  Well, we have not looked after the world and she is finding it increasingly difficult to look after us.  We reap what we sow.  As Deborah says, we do not respect our planet, our forests, our rivers, our oceans.  We exploit them and abuse them far too much.

My hope is that this virus will give us all the chance to reflect on what really matters and that it will give the planet a chance to do some healing.  We need to look at how we are living and what we are doing, and really start thinking about what we want going forward.

The 21^st March is International Day of Forests.  

We need to love our forests around the world and to care for them like never before.  

We are dependent on them. 

Without forests that are in good health, we cannot be healthy.  They are the lungs of our planet.

Without oceans and rivers that are in good health, we cannot be healthy.  They are our blood supply.

Without air that is clean, we cannot be healthy.

Without biodiversity, the right balance of species across the planet – I include humans in that – we cannot be healthy.  Every species has its place in nature – she has planned things pretty carefully and we are destroying that balance through activities dedicated to our own ends.

So back to our Koalas.   Will you help put pressure on the Australian government to nudge them in the right direction and protect the koala, with the Koala Protection Act?  Protect one species and you protect far more. 

Save the Koala - find out more about the Koala Protection Act

Find out more here.

And keep safe

Images above ©Australian Koala Foundation

Sumatran tigers are trapped and dying.

Question:  Why?

Answer:   snares. 

So why are Sumatran tigers trapped and dying from snares? 

It’s because snares are brutal and the perfect thing for poachers to use in their quest to take down the beautiful Sumatran tiger.

Bali tigers and Javan tigers died this way.   And the need to change the status of the Sumatran tiger is urgent.  For the Sumatran tiger, the smallest of all the tiger sub-species, is going the same way.

There are less than 400 Sumatran tigers living in the wild – that’s an estimate.  These cats are generally shy, and keen to avoid people.  The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species lists them as Critically Endangered.

Why are their numbers so low?

• Poaching
• Habitat loss
• Human-wildlife conflict

Kerinci Seblat National Park and the Ulu Masen and Leuser ecosystems of Aceh on the Indonesian island of Sumatra are global priority areas for tiger conservation.

Please help Sumatran tigers with a £3 donation

So what can we all do to help?

In an email today that I received, Fauna and Flora International are asking Care2 members to donate £3 today to help equip their highly trained rangers.

The rangers will work closely with networks of informants who will guide them to active poaching efforts – meaning they can get rid of the snares.

Please donate today

Who are Fauna and Flora International?

FFI is an international wildlife conservation organisation, with a science-based approach to conservation.  Founded, in 1903, they have saved species from extinction over the last 100 years and – helped by their Vice President, Sir David Attenborough – they have helped bring mountain gorillas back from the brink.  Their mission is to conserve threatened species and ecosystems worldwide, choosing solutions that are sustainable, based on sound science, and which take into account human needs.  They have over 140 conservation projects around the world and they work in over 40 countries. 

Visit FFI's website here

Calling all koala lovers!

The terrible bushfires have been catastrophic for the koalas.

Not only have thousands of koalas died or been severely injured, but key prime koala habitat has been destroyed, which means life is going to be very tough for those who survived.  What will they eat?  Where will they live?

It shows the importance of saving this vulnerable species before it’s toolate.

The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW for short) have a petition to urge the state of New South Wales to declare a koala emergency and enact special protections to save koalas. 

Life had been hard enough for koalas before these fires. Their numbers had been devastated because of massive habitat destruction and prolonged drought.

Koalas need our help.

Protect the habitat of koalas and we also help many other species in the same area who live there too.

A report commissioned by IFAW shows that:

• At least 5,00 koalas died in the bushfires
• In 3 generations, we’ve lost 66% of the population
• The fires have all but destroyed many regionally significant koala populations
• Over 5 MILLION hectares across New South Wales has been burned – with the remaining land depleted by prolonged drought – and this land was vital habitat for koalas.

The New South Wales Koalas are listed as Vulnerable at the moment. 

Join IFAW in urging the state of New South Wales to declare a koala emergency and enact special protections to save this iconic species

Please act now to save koalas from extinction. 

Please sign and share

WCS (that’s the Wildlife Conservation Society) has emailed to warn that US government programmes helping to conserve species such as tigers, elephants, rhinos and others are under threat.

WCS works to save wildlife and wild places in nearly 60 countries and across the ocean.

Trump’s Administration is looking at cuts to programs that protect wildlife.

WCS need as many people as possible from the US to urge their Congress members to support international programmes.

These include programmes such as the USAID Biodiversity Program and the Multinational Species Conservation Fund. Key efforts at USAID and the Department of State fight international wildlife trafficking programmes.  The Global Environment Facility which plays a key role fighting the wildlife trafficking which is driving the slaughter of elephants and rhinos.  Programmes that conserve vulnerable species in the wild and protect the last wild places on earth are at risk. 

If you are in the US, Please tell Congress right now: stand up for wildlife.

If you are not living in the US and don’t have a Congress member, please share, share, share, the message people can sign.  Sharing is vital because it spreads the word.

You could also donate here

For anyone concerned about the illegal wildlife trade, this surely is a must-see programme – especially so if you’re a big cat or tiger lover.

Aldo Kane reports on the illegal tiger trade in south east Asia in an episode for BBC2’s Natural History series

The big cats are trafficked for products such as wine and glue, made from their bones.

Aldo Kane is a formal commando.  He now trains African anti-poaching teams.   And he spends time in Thailand, Laos and Vietnam following the route of trafficked animals which end up as tiger bone medicine or aphrodisiacs for Chinese and Vietnamese customers.  He shows how the breed is on the brink of extinction – there are about 4,000 tigers left in the wild – and almost 8,000 held captive in zoos, breeding units and basement cages across south east Asia.

The breeding and farming of captive tigers drives consumer demand for tiger products and in turn fuels wild tiger poaching.

Aldo Kane gets into farms by breaking in or posing as a tourist or customer, and gathers evidence, aided by local colleagues, which he presents to CITES in Geneva.  CITES is short for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.  

Tigers – Hunting the Traffickers is on BBC2 on Wednesday 4 March 2020 at 9pm.  It will be available shortly after broadcast for viewing.

Visit the programme’s website here.

Risking life and limb on the hunt for the tiger traffickers

DON’T LEAVE THIS PAGE JUST YET!

Please take a look at Education for Nature – Vietnam.   They are working to educate people in Vietnam and further afield and in so doing, to tackle the illegal wildlife trade. 

They have a number of videos (which they call public service announcements) they have put together to educate people about the illegal wildlife trade and to tell people not to get involved in it.   Take a look at the videos and share them if you can.