Here we go again.  More trophy hunters after the thrill of the kill.

This time, it’s gorgeous, adorable puffins. 

Companies in Iceland (the country, not the supermarket) are offering guided puffin hunts.  A hunter can pay $3,650 each for a chance to bag up to 100 puffins at a time.  How on earth can you want to do that?

The IUCN’s Red List lists puffins as “vulnerable”.  And that means that if things don’t change for the better, they could go extinct.

Over the last 10 years, Iceland’s Atlantic puffin population has fallen by 1.5 million.  And Iceland allows hunters to kill thousands of puffins every year.  Many end up on plates in local restaurants, served to curious tourists. 

And by the way, companies in Iceland also give people the chance to hunt reindeer, goose, and Ptarmigan.

Millions of people want to get a closer look at puffins every year, from the island of Alderney to Norway, the Faroe Islands, the USA and Canada.  Many of these places have puffin viewing tours, which give people the chance to see puffins alive and close up.

So why can’t Iceland stop the hunt to kill puffin tours and put more emphasis on having hunt to see, enjoy and love tours instead?

Please sign this petition. 

Tell Iceland's president Jóhannesson to protect their puffins, not kill them.

And by the way, Theresa Villiers, Britain’s new environment secretary, is being urged to ban puffins which have been killed in trophy hunts. And also to push CITES to list seabirds for global protection. 

RSPB Spotlight Puffins
£9.99
from the RSPB Online Shop

Planting trees with Bangalow Koalas and IFAW

The IFAW (that’s the International Fund for Animal Welfare) have planted 1,500 koala trees on Irish comedian Jimeion’s property.

A number of private land owners in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia, have taken action to keep the local koalas safe.  They are allowing parts of their properties to be re-planted with eucalyptus trees.  This means the koalas can have a safe haven and pass through the landscape.

The idea came from Bangalow Koalas who want to restore a koala wildlife corridor from Byron Bay to Repentance Creek.  A neighbour of Jimeion kindly let everyone use his paddock so that they could get to the steep land behind Jimeion’s property.

Over 120 people came to help, all wanting to help plant koala trees and secure the species’ future.   Amongst them were old and young volunteers – plus tourists from the UK and Germany.  Imagine going home after your holiday and telling people you were part of a volunteer group which planted trees to help secure koalas’ future!

The land had been prepared already and the holes pre-dug.  Saplings had been provided – and all the volunteers planted 1,500 trees IN ONE HOUR!  They trees were the koalas’ favourite local food trees such as red gum, swamp mahogany, tallow wood and the important medicinal melaleuca that koalas eat from instinct when they don’t feel well.

The trees grow quickly in the climate and in a few years they will be home for koalas, birds and native wildlife.  And Jimeoin hopes that by planting trees on his land, the koalas will stay.  

The key message IFAW want us to take from this is that yes, there are messages of loss and possible extinction of koalas.  They are certainly in trouble.  But there is hope – and crucially THERE IS A SOLUTION.

©Bangalow Koalas

IFAW and Bangalow Koalas hope to plant 25,000 trees by the end of the year. 

Visit Bangalow Koalas here – check out their gallery, whatever you do.  It has some beautiful photos and videos of the Bangalow Koalas!  You can become a member or donate through their website to help. 

Here’s a video of another project Bungalow Koalas worked on with the Northern Rivers Community Foundation.  They started a wildlife corridor in Binna Burra in the Northern Riveres of NSW to help conserve the local koalas. 

 
Tell your representative to support the
Critically Endangered Animals Conservation Act.

The Wildlife Conservation Society have been in touch about an Act that would be a major deal for endangered species.

It’s called the Critically Endangered Animals Conservation Act.

The act would re-establish a programme which provided funding for projects aimed at conserving animals who are threatened or endangered in the wild.

Snow leopards, Andean cats, African penguins and the white-backed vulture would really benefit from this act:

The Wildlife Conservation Society say the act would help by

• Fighting the illegal wildlife trade
• Improving wildlife health
• Adapting to climate change
• Preventing conflict between humans and wildlife

PLEASE ask your representative to co-sponsor the Critically Endangered Animals Conservation Act.  

The Lewa Wildlife Conservancy is a safe refuge for the critically endangered black rhino and the endangered Grevy’s zebra, the elephant, lion, giraffe, wild dog and other iconic wildlife species in Kenya.  It is also home to over 400 bird species.

The Conservancy envisions a future when people in Kenya value, protect and benefit from wildlife so that they can derive their day to day livelihoods in ways that are compatible with thriving wildlife habitat. 

Lewa has combined the techniques of world-class anti-poaching operations, including cutting edge monitoring technology, with the engagement of the surrounding communities as critical partners in conservation.

A big thank you to Fridah and all the rangers
for all you do to keep wildlife safe.
©Lewa Wildlife Conservancy

The good news is that Lewa has had NO poaching of rhino since 2013, thanks to their amazing ranger team.

And this World Ranger Day, you can support their efforts – and every gift you give will be matched!

Support the rangers on World Ranger Day
Lewa Wildlife Conservancy

This will enable the team to continue protecting wildlife, look after their canine colleagues and get equipped with vital resources such as radios.

Give this week and double the impact of your gift! 

There’s bad news from Kuala Lumpur but something is being done in an attempt to reverse a situation.  

Back in the 1950s, there were about 3,000 tigers in Malaysia.   There are now less than 200 Malayan tigers left as poaching ploughs on, even in the tiger priority state of the Belum-Temengor forest reserve.  They are classed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN's Red List.

Poachers are driven by demand for tiger body parts for traditional Chinese medicine and other uses.  Hunters from Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia have been drawn to the area. 

Poachers have set up thousands of snares, according to WWF Malaysia’s Tiger Landscape, and these have trapped tigers and other wild animals.  Deer and wild boar – the tiger’s natural food source – have been caused by poachers and locals who hunt the animals for sport.

Please give your support to WWF Malaysia's Tiger Pledge
Photo ©WWF Malaysia

The tigers roam the jungle in search of food or a mate but they find it hard or impossible to find food, so
haven’t got enough energy to survive or reproduce, which means the tiger numbers have gone down even further.

WWF Malaysia have established patrol teams of indigenous people in Belum Temenggor.  These teams undertake daily patrols, retrieve snares and report possible poaching areas.  But there’s a lot of the jungle to cover, and these secluded areas aren’t easy to reach.  A specialist force with tactical and jungle survival skills is required.

WWF Malaysia have videos (they call them documentaries) you can look at all about the Malayan Tiger project they are running to try to save this tiger from extinction.   Watch the Guardians of the Forest at work here

The good news is that the police will be helping the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) rangers to patrol deep in the jungle. 

The police have agreed to send two General Operations Force battalions from Senoi Praaq to carry out patrols in identified forest areas.  They will be tracking down poachers, especially those helping the Malayan tiger.

The WWF patrol teams have removed about 1,400 snares and released 269 different trapped animals since 2014.

Visit WWF Malaysia here and find out about the Malayan Tiger Project here

Will you pledge your support for the Malayan Tiger?

Sign here today and be a tiger hero!

Source:  Freemalaysiatoday.com