Updates: polution; hunting; animal slaughter; climate change

[Anthea]

Is Chernobyl STILL killing us?

At a checkpoint on the border between the U.S. and Canada in 2017, American homeland security agents stopped an articulated lorry for a routine check

Running a Geiger counter over its trailer, they were alarmed to discover a ‘radiating mass’ was pulsing inside. This could be the border patrol’s worst nightmare: a ‘dirty’ nuclear terrorist bomb

But when they inspected the contents, all they found was fruit. The radiation came from a crateload of blueberries, picked in Ukraine.

Since official U.S. government thresholds for permissible radiation in fruit are surprisingly high, the cargo was deemed safe and the lorry was waved on its way. But some of the blueberries were in fact way above official levels and therefore not safe at all

To understand why is to discover that 70 years of atomic tests and nuclear accidents have flooded markets around the world with toxic food.

Kate Brown’s painstaking investigation into the Chernobyl disaster and its aftermath might be the most plausible conspiracy theory you’ll ever read.

Manual For Survival argues that presidents, military chiefs, government mandarins and official scientists have all failed to face a basic truth for decades: nuclear radiation is really poisonous.

That ought to be obvious to anyone, but, rather than deal with the facts, those in charge have buried their heads in the sand and refused to take any responsibility.

The pretence began with Hiroshima, and the first of two atomic bombs dropped on Japan at the end of World War II.

Concerned that nuclear radiation would be condemned as a type of chemical warfare, and thus morally repugnant, American General Leslie Groves, head of the Manhattan Project, which developed the atomic bomb, told journalists that it was simply a very powerful conventional weapon which inflicted serious burns over a wide area.

Even American army medics were fed this lie. They were baffled that U.S. troops doing reconstruction work in Japan’s devastated cities continued to suffer unexplained burns — symptoms, we now know, of radiation poisoning.

The explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant near the city of Pripyat, in Ukraine, on April 26, 1986, was the worst atomic disaster in human history, equivalent to four Hiroshimas.

Kate spent four years conducting research on the nuclear power plant explosion which took place in Ukraine during 1986.

The book describes it vividly — ‘the thick concrete walls wobbled’ . . . ‘the blast tossed up a concrete lid the size of a cruise ship’ . . . ‘plant worker Sasha Yuvchenko watched a blue stream of ionising radiation careening towards the heavens’.

According to official Soviet figures at the time, the death toll was 54 — a gross underestimate — made up of mostly firemen and soldiers who sacrificed their lives to get the blaze under control.

Brown reveals that Soviet doctors advised workers on nuclear clean-up duty at Chernobyl to drink vodka throughout the day. It stimulated the liver to cleanse the body of radiation, they said.

Her research, conducted over four years and drawing on 27 archives in Europe, the U.S. and the former Soviet Union, estimates the actual death toll at up to 150,000 in Ukraine alone over the past 30 years.

Even today, the Russian government does not acknowledge this, and there have been no official investigations.

Many were children. Thyroid cancer in young people was rife after Chernobyl, a medical fact that even the Politburo in Moscow could not fully explain away (though the official version was that fewer than 100 children were affected and they were easily cured).

Kate speculates that radiation poisoning from nuclear leaks and explosions could be responsible for the rising incidence of cancers and auto-immune diseases (pictured: Pripyat)

Very high levels of radioactive iodine were among the toxins released in the blast. The human body craves iodine, which is absorbed through the thyroid gland; children process it especially quickly if their levels are low.

So, one simple remedy, effective if not failsafe, would have been for the government to issue safe iodine supplements to everyone at risk. This wasn’t done, partly because almost no one in the Soviet Union, from the Kremlin down to the local hospitals, had any idea how to deal with radiation poisoning.

After all, its effects had always been downplayed, ever since Hiroshima.

And they still are downplayed. When the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant was hit by a tsunami in 2011, causing a meltdown in three reactors, the Japanese response was as inadequate as the Soviet government’s 25 years earlier. Safe iodine, for example, was not distributed.

The leaves that fell in Ukraine’s capital Kiev in autumn 1986 ought to have been treated as hazardous nuclear waste and buried.

The soil had absorbed so much radiation that a government pamphlet suggested, in a low-key way, that mushrooms should not be eaten.

MANUAL FOR SURVIVAL: A CHERNOBYL GUIDE TO THE FUTURE by Kate Brown (Allen Lane £20, 432 pp)

The meat from cattle, sheep and pigs fed on local vegetable produce was also dangerously radioactive. But rather than waste so much food, the Soviet ministry decided to send it off across the USSR, so that every citizen shared in the tribulations of Chernobyl by consuming a small, ‘safe’ amount of irradiated meat. That’s Communism in action.

It might seem so callous as to be unthinkable. But Brown warns that the same thing still happens with much food that reaches the West. After Chernobyl, radiation spread on the wind. It was quickly detected as far away as Sweden. And it lingered.

Today, much agricultural land in Ukraine and beyond is still affected. And so is the produce. But why waste it? If a batch of fruit is ‘hot’, it can be mixed with other fruit until the overall radiation reading is within so-called safe limits. That’s how a consignment of blueberries could be mistaken for a dirty bomb.

The author speculates that radiation poisoning, not only from Chernobyl but from numerous other nuclear leaks and many hundreds of atomic explosions, may be responsible for the rising incidence of cancers and auto-immune diseases.

‘Few people on earth have escaped those exposures,’ she concludes.

This book doesn’t have all the answers. It does, however, ask the right questions.

The biggest of all is: why does no one want to face the lessons of Chernobyl?

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/books/ ... ng-us.html

[Anthea]

Why should we study if there's no future?
Whanganui students strike against climate inaction

The "entitled" younger generation is entitled to a future, school climate strike organiser Ali Gammeter says

That has to be a real future, and not a stuggle amid the effects of catastrophic climate change. She was pleasantly surprised by the enthusiasm of about 150 people who turned up for the strike at Whanganui's Virginia Lake Punchbowl on March 15.

Most who responded to the event on Facebook were adult. She feared they might outnumber the younger generation - but there were young people from all Whanganui's secondary schools, and a few from primary and intermediate schools too.

Why should we study for a future that we don't actually have or that will be a constant, miserable struggle?

Whanganui schools have been good about the strike, Gammeter said. Whanganui Girls' College and Whanganui High School students will not be marked absent if they have contacted the school and said they were striking.

Those at the punchbowl gathered in groups, with placards and banners. It was hot, and speeches were punctuated by the squawks of cockatoo from the aviary.

Whanganui Mayor Hamish McDouall was there, with his children. He was inspired by 16-year-old Swedish girl Greta Thunberg, who started a global school strike for climate.

"Individual action has effect, and collective action has even greater effect," he said.

He said the way the ozone hole has stopped growing, as a result of global action to limit CFC emissions, was an example.

In her own speech, Gammeter said she first heard about global warming eight years ago, and thought world leaders would fix it.

Instead it was "us all around the world with our underdeveloped frontal lobes actually thinking about the future".

Some have said the students just wanted a day off school

"Why should we study for a future that we don't actually have or that will be a constant, miserable struggle?" was her reply.

She would like to see a research-based long-term transition plan, with reforestation and renewable energy, and goals and deadlines.

Green Party member Nicola Patrick added to the wish list: solar panels, no coal burned to provide electricity and freight travelling on trains, not trucks.

Teenager Messina Su'a was disappointed with the turnout, and said the schools should have publicised the strike.

"We had to go out of our way to find out about this and get involved."

Fellow Whanganui High School student Kahu Miller said climate change was something he worried about in the night.

"I feel like climate change is an issue that's going to affect not only us but future generations and we need to do something about it. It's worth sacrificing school time to come to voice our opinion."

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/coal/news/ar ... d=12212981

[Anthea]

Hundreds of thousands
join world youth climate demo

Please click to enlarge


Hundreds of thousands of young people skipped school across the globe on Friday to march through the streets for an international day of student protests aimed at pushing world leaders into action on climate change

Classrooms in capitals from Bangkok to Berlin and Lagos to London emptied as organisers of the student strike called demonstrations in more than 100 countries.

Students flooded into the streets across Europe, North and South America, and Asia carrying placards reading: "There is no planet B", "You're destroying our future" and "If you don't act like adults, we will."

Despite three decades of warnings, carbon dioxide emissions hit record levels in 2017 and again last year.

Loading the atmosphere with greenhouse gases at current rates will eventually lead to an uninhabitable planet, scientists say.

In Stockholm, Swedish teen activist Greta Thunberg - who inspired the protests - warned that time was running out.

"We are living through an existential crisis that has been ignored for decades and if we do not act now it may be too late," the 16-year-old, a Nobel Peace Prize nominee, told Swedish public television station SVT.

Across the world, their placards formed a mosaic:

"Like the ocean, we will rise" (Sydney)

"Our future in your hands" (Berlin)

"System Change not Climate Change" (Vienna)

"Don't be a Trump" (Hong Kong)

"The Titanic would have NO problem in 2019" (Elmshorn, Germany)

And everywhere, "There is no planet B."

Montreal drew among the largest crowds, estimated by organisers at nearly 150 000.

In the United States, protests were more low-key, with events held in New York, Washington, Chicago, Portland, Oregon, and St. Paul, Minnesota, where one sign read: "So bad even introverts are here!"

Further south in Latin America, placards with messages such as "climate change is not 'fake news'" were seen in Buenos Aires, Argentina - while young people also took to the streets in the Chilean capital Santiago and Colombia's Medellin.

In Delhi, one of the world's most polluted cities, 200 students took part in a colourful protest, waving ribbons, juggling and performing stunts with hoops.

"We have to make a choice whether we want to sit and be indifferent or do something for our planet," said 16-year-old student Srijani Datta.

In Sydney, 18-year-old Charles Rickwood warned that Australia's Great Barrier Reef could be destroyed.

"If current trends in the environment continue, we'll see the one, two degrees increase in our ocean then it will simply become unsustainable and we could lose the entire Great Barrier Reef," he told AFP.

Skipping exams

European students were also out en masse. Several thousand youngsters thronged the streets of central London in a raucous demonstration with banners and placards.

Packing into Parliament Square, they cheered and chanted "Change... now!" before marching past Downing Street and massing outside Buckingham Palace.

"They're not going to stop me trying to save the planet," said 15-year-old Joe Crabtree from southwest London, who had missed two exams to join the rally.

More than one million marched overall, according to estimates by organizing groups such as the Youth For Climate movement and AFP reporters.

The Friday for Future movement said more than 300 000 young people demonstrated in Germany alone.

As youngsters hit the streets, nations meeting at the UN environment assembly in Kenya announced they had agreed to "significantly reduce" single-use plastics over the next decade.

But experts said the pledge - which only referred to man-made global warming and made no mention of the fossil fuels driving it - fell far short of the steps needed to tackle Earth's burgeoning pollution crisis.

'Adults should learn a lesson'

The global action drew a mixed reaction from politicians.

Germany's Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said the demonstrators should be in class while Australia's Education Minister Dan Tehan said striking was "not something that we should encourage."

But New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern hailed the action, saying: "We hear you and we're getting on with setting a path for carbon neutrality."

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres offered his strongest support yet for the strikes, writing in The Guardian newspaper: "Without ambitious action, the Paris agreement is meaningless."

Guterres also called for world leaders to come to the Climate Action Summit in New York in September "with concrete, realistic plans" to further reduce their emissions by 2020, in order to reach a target of 45 percent lower emissions over the next decade, and to net zero by 2050.

In the Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius, students circulated a petition to be submitted to the government demanding concrete measures.

'My eyes hurt from pollution'

The Paris treaty calls for capping global warming at "well below" two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) but the planet is currently on track to heat up by double that figure.

The UN's climate science panel warned in October that only a wholesale transformation of the global economy and consumer habits could forestall a catastrophe.

"My eyes hurt from pollution. My shirt gets dirty from dust," 13-year-old protester Shagun Kumari told AFP in Delhi.

"I want fresh air that won't harm my lungs and clean water to drink so that I don't keep falling sick."

https://www.parisnews.net/news/25998382 ... mate-demo#

[Anthea]

Dead whale washed up in Philippines
had 40kg of plastic bags in its stomach

Marine biologists horrified to find 16 rice sacks and multiple shopping bags inside Cuvier’s beaked whale

A young whale that washed up in the Philippines died from “gastric shock” after ingesting 40kg of plastic bags.

Marine biologists and volunteers from the D’Bone Collector Museum in Davao City, in the Philippine island of Mindanao, were shocked to discover the brutal cause of death for the young Cuvier’s beaked whale, which washed ashore on Saturday.

In a damning statement on their Facebook page, the museum said they uncovered “40 kilos of plastic bags, including 16 rice sacks. 4 banana plantation style bags and multiple shopping bags” in the whale’s stomach after conducting an autopsy.

Images from the autopsy showed endless piles of rubbish being extracted from the inside of the animal, which was said to have died from “gastric shock” after ingesting all the plastic.

The D’ Bone Collector Museum biologists who conducted the autopsy said it was “the most plastic we have ever seen in a whale”.

“It’s disgusting,” they added. “Action must be taken by the government against those who continue to treat the waterways and ocean as dumpsters.”

The use of single-use plastic is rampant in south-east Asia. A 2017 report by Ocean Conservancy stated that China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam have been dumping more plastic into the ocean than the rest of the world combined.

Marine biologist Darrell Blatchley, who also owns the D’Bone Collector Museum, said that in the 10 years they have examined dead whales and dolphins, 57 of them were found to have died due to accumulated rubbish and plastic in their stomachs.

In June last year, a whale died in southern Thailand after swallowing more than 80 plastic bags, which weighed up to 8kg (18lb) in the creature’s stomach, and marine biologists estimate around 300 marine animals including pilot whales, sea turtles and dolphins, perished each year in Thai waters after ingesting plastic

Link to Article - Shocking Photos:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... ts-stomach

[Anthea]

'I live to pour boiling water on that man':

Outpouring of disgust as trophy hunter creeps up on sleeping lion, shoots it, watches it writhe in agony and then celebrates its death

Video of a man on a guided hunt shows him killing a sleeping lion
It's not clear where or when the video was taken but the guide refers to the man by last name, calling him what sounds like 'Mr. Goney' or 'Mr. Gooney'
The hunter shoots the lion three times before being congratulated on the kill
The video garnered thousands of responses in outrage at the 'trophy hunting'

Video shared on social media shows a trophy hunter shooting and killing a sleeping lion and then being congratulated on the kill.

The clip was posted by the Twitter account @protect_wildlife on Monday, without any identifying details about the shooter or where the incident took place, save for the guide calling the man by last name, potentially saying, 'Mr. Goney' or 'Mr. Gooney.'

'This "hunter" sneaked up on a SLEEPING #Lion and killed it! How brave, how sporting - HOW C**TISH!!!,' the tweet which included the video read, prompting thousands of responses in outrage over the spectacle.

One person wrote: 'I live to pour boiling hot water on him while he's sleeping and watch him scream in agony - that was horrible to watch.'

People on social media have called for the man to be identified.

At the current rate of lion hunting and poaching, the majestic animals could go extinct by the year 2050, according to the African Wildlife Foundation.

The video shows an unnamed hunter, who is referred to by last name but inaudibly, pointing a rifle at a sleeping lion while he's being coached to shoot.

The hunter fires one shot, and awakes the lion, which arches its back in pain and looks around at where the attack has come from.

Before the lion can understand the assault against it, the hunter fires a second and third shot.

The person guiding the shooter then tells him to stop, saying, 'OK, OK, don't do any more.'

The guide then shakes the shooters' hand and says, 'That, Mr. [inaubible], is a very nice lion.'

It sounds as if the man's last name might by Goney, or Gooney, but it's not completely clear exactly what the guide says in that moment.

'A very nice lion,' the guide continues, while laughing and patting the man on the back.

The clip then cuts to the guide prodding the lion with the butt of the rifle to ensure it's dead, saying again, 'Very nice lion,' while shaking the shooter's hand once more.

Beautiful,' the guide says, as the video shows a closeup of the lifeless animal's face.

'That is an exceptional lion,' the guide says.

The account which shared the video is an animal rights advocacy account, based in the United Kingdom, according to the information on the page.

'I am an advocate for wildlife,' the biography reads.

'I expose animal abuse and abusers wherever they are. I will NEVER stop fighting for better animal rights and welfare.'

Many users responded to the footage, which was also shared by an account listed as belonging to 'Danny Smith' under username '@doglab.'

Several called out the cowardice of attacking the wild animal at rest.

'A sleeping lion, wow what a big man! [angry, cursing face emoji],' wrote one user.

Many expressed objection over trophy hunting, in general, regardless of whether the animal was asleep at the time of its killing.

'This is not hunting, or sport...it's murder #stoptrophyhunting #Fightforyourworld.' user @verdiKate wrote.

'Even if it was awake, the Poor Animal Shouldn’t be Killed AT ALL!!!!!!!!!!! EVIL B*****D!!!!!!!!!! [various emojis],' wrote another user.

Others suggested penalties for the actions of the unidentified men in the video.

'In my book that should be 5 years in jail. Grotesque,' one user wrote.

Another still called for a punishment in kind, replying, 'More like fed 2 a pride of lions & eaten alive.'

More than a few people called for the naming of the man in the clip.

'I pray he is named and shamed and becomes a total social pariah and hounded out of existence,' wrote user @CptCloggy.

'Disgusting, loathesome excuse for a human. I'm not religious but there is a special kind of hell for psychopaths like this. I feel sick.'

Link to Article - Comments - Photo:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... ng-it.html

[Piling]

Some humans are just a pile of shit.

[Anthea]

Viewers outraged as hunter kills sleeping lion

An unidentified hunter has inspired rage with his “sickening actions”

An unknown hunter is currently going viral after a video was uploaded yesterday by the account @protect_wildlife on Twitter of him shooting a sleeping lion, while a man with a South African accent stands alongside him and congratulates him saying, “That Mr Goni, is a very nice lion”.

Various tweets of the video have collectively amassed tens of thousands of retweets as the outrage builds and people attempt to identify the two participants.

No additional facts are known at this stage.

Sensitive viewers are warned that the footage might be upsetting:

Danny smith @doglab

This 'hunter' sneaked up on a SLEEPING Lion and killed it!
How brave, how sporting
RT if you want a GLOBAL ban on ALL #trophyhunting NOW!
4,692
7:53 AM - Mar 16, 2019

Link to Article - Video:

https://citizen.co.za/news/south-africa ... ping-lion/

[Anthea]

‘Grotesque’ Sickening clip shows
hunter shooting dead sleeping lion

SICKENING footage in which a cowardly big game hunter shoots and kills a sleeping lion before he gloats for the camera has prompted a massive outpouring of rage on social media - with calls for the man to be named and shamed

The clip was shared by the Twitter account @protect_wildlife on Monday. No details were provided about where the incident happened, or the identity of the man responsible - although a guide appears to call him by his last name, possibly saying Mr Goney or Mr Gooney.

An angry post accompanying the tweet said: “This ‘hunter’ sneaked up on a SLEEPING #Lion and killed it! How brave, how sporting.” The message triggered thousands of messages of condemnation, with one saying: “I live to pour boiling hot water on him while he's sleeping and watch him scream in agony - that was horrible to watch.”

In the minute-long film, which Expres.co.uk has decided not to publish, the man shoots the lion, which wakes up, clearly in shock and pain.

He then fires two more shots, at which point his guide says: “OK, OK, don't do any more” before shaking the man’s hand and saying: “That is a very nice lion.”

The guide also says the man’s name, which could be Goney or Gooney, although the audio is unclear.

He adds: “A very nice lion.” He then slaps the shooter on the back and prodding the hapless beast with the butt of a rifle to make sure it is dead.

Finally, the video zooms in on the animal’s face as the guide says: “Beautiful. That is an exceptional lion.”

Some Twitter users condemned the man for killing the lion as it sleep, with one sarcastically observing: “A sleeping lion, wow what a big man!”

However, others objected to the principle of trophy hunting, irrespective of whether or not the lion was conscious.

One, @verdiKate wrote: “This is not hunting, or sport...it's murder #stoptrophyhunting #Fightforyourworld.”

Another added: “Even if it was awake, the Poor Animal Shouldn’t be Killed AT ALL!!!!!!!!!!! EVIL B*****D!!!!!!!!!!”

Others called for harsh punishment, with one saying: “In my book that should be 5 years in jail. Grotesque.”

The biography of the UK-based account which shared the clip states: “I am an advocate for wildlife.

“I expose animal abuse and abusers wherever they are.

“I will NEVER stop fighting for better animal rights and welfare.”

The story will inevitably draw comparisons with the case of Cecil the lion, who was lured out of Hwange National Park in Matabeleland North, Zimbabwe in 2015 and shot with a crossbow by Walter Palmer, an American dentist and recreational big-game hunter, with Cecil dying in agony ten hours later.

The incident sparked a furious worldwide reaction, with demonstrators picketing Mr Palmer’s dental practice in Minnesota.

https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/11 ... ney-gooney

[Anthea]

36 Gir lions to be back in jungle in
India’s largest reintroduction operation

The Gujarat forest department will take up the country’s biggest and most challenging effort to reintroduce big cats from captivity to the wild now that 36 Asiatic lions suspected to be infected with canine distemper virus (CDV) have been declared fit to return to their natural habitat, according to officials familiar with the development

The scale of this operation will be larger than ever before; no more than two big cats have been needed to be reintroduced from captivity to the wild at the same time, according to experts. Even for relocations from one wild habitat to another, the largest number at one time was six in Sariska between 2007 and 2012.

“All 36 lions, housed in two groups at Jamwada and Devaliya rescue centres are fit. They will be released into the wild very soon,” Gujarat’s chief conservator of forest, Junagadh range, DT Vasavda, said. “We need to chalk out a detailed plan on how, when and where, the lions will be relocated. It will be a major exercise that will be done in phases.”

According to biologist Fayaz Khudsar, there have been no more than three or four cases of reintroduction of tigers in the wild.

Even then, in most cases, they were cubs rather than full-grown tigers, said Khudsar, who has worked in tiger habitats in Madhya Pradesh.

“The lions… would have become habitual to humans. They will have to be kept in a big enclosure to reorient them before releasing them in the wild,” explained Rajesh Gopal, secretary general of the Global Tiger Forum, who as head of National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) monitored the relocation of tigers to Sariska and Panna.

The 36 lions suspected to be infected with CDV were moved to the two care centres last October following deaths of over 25 lions over a month. It was for the first time that the Gir National Park and Sanctuary, or any other wildlife habitat in India, saw such a big breakout of CDV. The virus that spreads from stray dogs was responsible for wiping out several hundred lions in East Africa in 1994.

Under the supervision of experts from India and abroad, three cycles of CDV vaccination were completed in four months, before declaring the lions fit. “Lions were quarantined as a precautionary measure,” Vasavda said.

The reintroduction task for the Gujarat forest department will not be easy as lions, like tigers, are territorial animals and take time to define and settle in their domain. Gujarat forest department officials and experts identified two challenges for the reintroduction — first the territories from where the lions were picked for treatment of suspected CDV have been taken up by new pride; second, finding new territories may be difficult considering that the Gir National Park and Sanctuary is now filled to the brim with about 600 lions, as per the state government’s latest estimate, despite losing 204 tigers in 2017 and 2018. Gir had 523 lions in 2015.

Vasavda said relocating all the 36 lions to their earlier home in Dalkhania range in Amreli district, where they belonged at the time of the outbreak of CDV last October, would be difficult. “We will not be able to relocate all of them back to Dalkhania range. We are looking at various options,” Vasavda said. The 1,400 sq km national park is divided into two zones and Dalkhania falls in the east zone, far away from the popular tourist attraction, Sasan, which is in the west zone.

AJT Johnsingh, senior ecologist and former Wildlife Institute of India (WII) scientist, said the relocation will have to be “done carefully” so that it does not result in “another conflict” in Gir. In 2018, 25 lions in Gir died because of territorial fights.

VB Mathur, director of the Dehradun-based WII, said the relocation of lions in Gir will be a learning experience for wildlife management as there are “no guidelines” on the release of wild animals given CDV medication. “Through this experiment, we all can learn important lessons for betterment of both species and habitat management,” he said.

According to a reply submitted in Gujarat assembly on Friday, 204 lions died in Gir in 2017 and 2018, including the deaths of 36 because of various viral diseases such as CDV and streptococcus, which spreads through highly contagious bacteria.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-ne ... IvOyO.html

[Anthea]

PIERS MORGAN:

This video made me physically sick - next time, wake up the lion, take the gun away and let’s see how brave this pathetic, snivelling, cowardly excuse for a ‘hunter’ really is…

The definition of cowardice is a ‘lack of courage to face danger, difficulty, opposition, pain.’

By that criterion, it’s hard to think of a more appropriate way to describe the actions of American trophy-hunter Guy Gorney in a shocking video that’s gone viral, showing him killing a lion.

It’s one of those clips that grows more horrendous and unconscionable the more you watch it.

Click to enlarge:

Gorney is seen in the Zimbabwe bush, in 2011

He’s wearing combat fatigues, yet what he does is as far removed from ‘combat’ as it’s possible to imagine.

In his sights, less than 50 metres away, is a sleeping male lion.

It’s lying peacefully on its back in the baking sunshine, blissfully oblivious to the hellish end to its life that is about to occur.

A second man, apparently some kind of guide, directs Gorney, in hushed tones, where to aim.

Gorney fires a bullet into the lion’s torso, causing its limbs to horribly retort upwards.

It roars in pain and bewilderment, and tries to get up.

But as it does so, Gorney fires again.

And then a third time.

The last thunderous shot sends the lion crashing dead to the ground.

The guide is breathlessly excited at what he’s witnessed, enthusiastically shaking Gorney’s hand, laughing, and patting him proudly on the back.

‘That, Mr Gorney,’ he gushes, ‘is a very nice lion! Well done! A very nice lion!’

They then both walk over to the victim and the guide prods the lion’s lifeless body with a gun before exclaiming to Gorney: ‘Very nice lion…beautiful.. that is an exceptional lion!’

Yes, it was

Click to enlarge:


So why did these two snivelling gutless b*astards have to kill it in such a cold-blooded merciless manner?

I felt physically sick watching the video, and I wasn’t alone.

To see such a magnificent beast lying fast asleep in its natural habitat as it was shot dead has reduced many who’ve seen it to tears of shock and anger.

Click to enlarge:


But Gorney, a 64-year-old from Manhattan, Illinois, doesn’t give a damn what we think.

The scumbag’s Facebook page depicts him proudly posing with a dead lion.

Click to enlarge:


He’s wearing the same clothing he wore in the infamous video clip, and it may be the same lion. That’s not clear, as he reportedly killed two on that trip.

But what IS clear is Gorney’s beaming smirk as he triumphantly straddles this lion’s back, having yanked its head up to face the camera.

That is the kind of ‘trophy’ that Gorney craves.

Click to enlarge:


He travels the world trying to find more great animals to kill precisely so he can pose for this kind of horrifying picture with them – his prey including endangered species like lions, rhinos, elephants, leopards and buffalos.

Click to enlarge:


Gorney is not just proud of what he does, he delights in threatening anyone who dares suggest he should have a taste of his own medicine.

‘I don’t see the logic of making a physical threat against somebody who’s proficient with firearms and wouldn’t hesitate to defend himself or his family,’ he said in 2015 when he was first challenged about his twisted hobby after a storm of protest erupted over his Facebook photo. ‘It’s like, are you insane?’

No, Mr Gorney, we’re not insane - YOU’RE INSANE.

Only someone with a severe mental illness could possibly enjoy doing what you did to that poor unconscious lion.

The ecstatic thrill it gave you suggests you’re a psychopathic monster devoid of any empathy or compassion.

That’s certainly what any psychiatrist would determine if you had done this to another human being, once you had been sentenced to life imprisonment or even the death penalty.

Ironically, you can still be executed for cowardice in the United States.

Article 99 of the Uniform Code for Military Justice states that any member of the armed forces found guilty of ‘cowardly conduct’ can be ‘punished by death or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct.’

The criteria for such cowardice is:

1) That the accused committed a specific act.

2) That this act was cowardly.

3) That the accused committed this act when he was before the enemy.

4) That the accused did not do so out of fear.

Unfortunately, this only applies to people in the military, not civilian animal-slaying cowards like Gorney who would otherwise tick every box.

So he is free to continue with his repulsive rampage without fear of anything but social media outrage and widespread public condemnation – neither of which will bother him in the slightest.

‘I like pitting myself against these animals,’ he said in 2015. ‘The ‘why’ is just the – I call it the adventure of it.’

What a callous pr*ck.

The only good thing about this video, found and posted by a UK-based animal rights group, is that it has exposed the nightmarish, vile reality of ‘trophy-hunting’.

Killers like Gorney aren’t killing for ‘conservation’ reasons, as many of them claim. They’re doing it purely for sick kicks and to have another hideous snuff photo for their office wall.

It’s a barbaric abhorrence that this is still legally allowed to happen, but I’ve thought of one way to level up the playing field.

The next time Gorney goes to the African bush, let’s arrange for the lion to be woken up and for his gun removed.

Then we can judge just how brave a ‘hunter’ he really is when faced with a fair fight.



Of course, we all know the answer.

Like all cowards, terrified Gorney would show his real colours and try to run away, screaming like a baby and begging for help.

By targeting a sleeping lion in the way that he did, Gorney revealed himself to be the most pathetic, spineless, depraved excuse for a ‘hunter’ the world has ever seen.

Shame on him, and shame on anyone that still supports this despicable practice.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... -away.html

[Anthea]

Matador is seriously injured
when bull gores him in the backside

This is the painful moment a Spanish matador is left seriously injured after being tossed into the air by an angry bull

Enrique Ponce was dumped on the ground after the animal's horn pierced his lower backside.

The 47-year-old also suffered ligament damage after landing on his left knee as he fell.

He was carried to hospital for an emergency operation after the drama, which happened at a bullring in the eastern Spanish city of Valencia on Monday afternoon during its annual Fallas festival.

The 532-kilo bull, named Declamador, sends Ponce flying during the horrific incident

As the matador lies dazed on the ground, he is further gored by the massive beast

Ponce suffered a five-inch gore injury to his lower gluteus (buttock) and torn knee ligaments, said his doctor, Cristobal Zaragoza.

The bullfighter, who is married to model Paloma Cuevas, is expected to have to undergo a second operation on his knee, which he had already injured last year.

TV footage showed him lying stunned on the ground for a few seconds before getting up in pain and hobbling for a couple of feet as aides rushed to lift him and carry him away in their arms.

The 532-kilo bull that felled him was named as Declamador. As the bull won he should be given his freedom

Father-of-two Ponce, one of Spain's leading bullfighters, was badly gored in the same Fallas festival in 2014.

Las Fallas is Valencia's biggest festival. It takes place every march in commemoration of Saint Joseph.

Groups of people in each neighbourhood of the city produce a construction known as a falla which is eventually burnt.

Bullfights also take place as part of the annual festival, which was added to UNESCO's cultural heritage of humanity list in November 2016 - a list which serves to raise awareness of heritage and recognition of traditions.

Animal rights campaigners made their feelings known as footage of the moment Ponce was gored started to emerge.

One said: 'I love happy endings.'

Another wrote: 'How beautiful it is to see the bull triumph when it is used for such a stupid spectacle.'

Link to Photos - Video:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... ayer_click

[Anthea]

Disgraced trophy hunter who killed a sleeping lion REFUSES to comment on the shocking video showing him prey on the napping beast - as it's revealed he's killed over 70 big game

Guy Gorney, 64, of Manhattan, Illinois, is identified as the hunter in a shocking video who killed a sleeping lion

DailyMail.com approached Gorney for comment, but the retired energy company executive refused to explain himself for the killing

The video is believed to have been recorded on a 2011 hunting trip in Zimbabwe

The guide can be heard congratulating Gorney on his kill, which he described as an 'exceptional lion'

Gorney has admitted to killing at least 70 big game animals, including elephants, lions, leopards, rhinos and buffalo

The video garnered thousands of responses in outrage at the trophy hunting, including by comedian Ricky Gervais, Piers Morgan and golfer Ian Poulter

The hunter who snuck up on a sleeping lion and then took three bullets to kill the magnificent beast has shown he is not so bold without his gun.

Retired energy company executive Guy Gorney refused even to try to explain why he would kill an animal as it napped when DailyMail.com visited him at his home.

'I'm not interested in talking to you,' he said on the doorstep of his half-million-dollar house on the windswept Illinois plains south of Chicago.

'Private property,' he added. 'Take off!' He then firmly shut the door.

An eight-year-old video of Gorney shooting the big cat in Zimbabwe surfaced this week, leading to outrage that he would kill an endangered animal as it slept.

Even as it lay motionless, enjoying the African sun, Gorney couldn't take out the male lion with a clean shot from his high-powered rifle. Instead it woke after being hit and was seen writhing in agony before he could finish it off with two more bullets.

Gorney is then seen celebrating with Mark Vallaro, a professional hunter in Zimbabwe who was acting as his guide.

Vallaro is heard telling Gorney to stop shooting after the third bullet, then he says: 'That, Mr. Gorney, is a very nice lion. A very nice lion.'

As Gorney approaches the lion, poking it with his rifle to make sure it is dead, Vallaro adds: 'Beautiful. That is an exceptional lion.'

Gorney, 64, has been vilified for his actions, with comic Ricky Gervais — an outspoken critic of trophy hunting — calling him a 'sniveling sadistic coward' in a tweet.

Top golfer Ian Poulter also tweeted: 'How brave you are. How pathetic shooting something that's sleeping. This has to be STOPPED. #Coward.'

DailyMail.com columnist Piers Morgan said he felt 'physically sick' watching the video, saying: 'Only someone with a severe mental illness could possibly enjoy doing what you did to that poor unconscious lion.

'The ecstatic thrill it gave you suggests you're a psychopathic monster devoid of any empathy or compassion.'

Gorney lives in a five-bedroom home in Manhattan, Illinois, a wealthy village 50 miles southwest of Chicago. A large wooden American flag hangs on his front door, along with a religious message. Two SUVs and a pick-up truck sit in the driveway with a large RV in the back yard.

He has visited Africa several times to kill big game, once boasting that he has bagged all of the 'big five' animals that are said to be the most difficult to kill on foot — the lion, leopard, rhino, elephant and Cape buffalo. Of the five, the buffalo is the only one that is not endangered.

'You can say, why'd you shoot a lion?' he said during a 2015 interview with WBBM-FM, a radio station in Chicago.

'I love zebra, so shooting a lion probably saves 70 zebra a year, give or take. There's all these kinds of balances in nature.'

However, his Facebook page, which he has now taken down, contained a photo of a zebra's head in his vehicle with the caption: 'Now how did this get in my truck?

A picture of his 'trophy room' showed 17 stuffed animals and two zebra skins.

He admitted in the old interview that his hunting is mainly for the thrill of the kill. 'I really like hunting elephants,' he said. 'They're difficult to track down. They're incredibly dangerous.

'The first elephant I got, I walked over 120 miles tracking elephants before I actually caught up to him and found him.

Gorney said he had a hard time understanding why people could accept deer hunting in the United States but not big game hunting in Africa.

'If you have a picture of somebody with a deer, nobody seems to care. But if it's an elephant, it's a big problem. If it's a lion – especially now – it's a huge problem. But to me, either way, I've stopped a beating heart.'

He did not address the question of deer normally being killed to be eaten while big game is usually just for the trophy, or the fact that most species of deer are not endangered.

Gorney even invoked the memory of former president Theodore Roosevelt during the interview. 'When I killed that buffalo that had hurt somebody, the people that had benefited from the death of that animal cheered. Clapped.

'The 'why' is just the – I call it the adventure of it. Same reason Teddy Roosevelt did it.'

Last year Gorney got up during an open mic night for authors at the Book and Bean Café in Joliet, Illinois, a few miles from his home, where he said he 'travels' a lot' and writes journals.

He said once in Africa he had been asked to deal with a lion that had attacked livestock. 'When they get like that, they are not killing to feed, they are just killing, so they are particularly dangerous.'

He said he volunteered to help, 'literally putting himself in harm's way.'

As he sat in a tree waiting for the lion to attack an animal he was using as bait, he heard a noise behind him and furiously began to plan in his mind how he was going to kill the lion if it attacked.

But the story ended when the animal that approached turned out to be merely a porcupine. He did not say whether he killed it anyway.

Since the furor caused by the newly released video, Gorney has taken down his Facebook page which showed him with his kills, including one of him straddling a lion while wearing the same clothes he had on in the video.

That was in stark contrast to 2015 when he told WBBM's Steve Miller he would not remove the page due to public anger. 'I thought about taking it down, but I really have a problem changing my behavior over people that are just over the top,' he said.

The video of Gorney killing the lion was posted on the British Twitter account @Protect_Wldlife — which has nearly 335,000 followers — on Monday. The administrator says: 'I am an advocate for wildlife. I expose animal abuse and abusers wherever they are. I will NEVER stop fighting for better animal rights and welfare.'

Many Twitter users called out the 'cowardice' of attacking the wild animal at rest.

'A sleeping lion, wow what a big man!' wrote one user, alongside an angry, cursing emoji.

Many expressed their objection to trophy hunting in general, regardless of whether the animal was asleep at the time of its killing.

'This is not hunting, or sport...it's murder #stoptrophyhunting #Fightforyourworld.' user @verdiKate wrote.

'Even if it was awake, the Poor Animal Shouldn't be Killed AT ALL!!!!!!!!!!! EVIL B*****D!!!!!!!!!! [various emojis],' wrote another user.

Others suggested penalties for the actions of Gorney as shown in the video.

'In my book that should be 5 years in jail. Grotesque,' one user wrote. (NOT ENOUGH)

Another still called for a punishment in kind, replying, 'More like fed 2 a pride of lions & eaten alive.' Excellent Idea

Link to Photos - Videos:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... video.html

[Anthea]

Kenya has announced that
poachers will face the death penalty

Poaching is one of the world's least divisive issues. Almost everyone would agree that endangered animals should be allowed to live in peace - and roam their natural habitats without humans endangering their lives

However, it remains a huge issue in African countries - including Kenya - where animals such as rhinos and elephants are targeted for their horns and tusks for alternative medicine and ivory, respectively. However, the government is taking drastic steps to stem the bloodshed.

"We have in place the Wildlife Conservation Act that was enacted in 2013 and which fetches offenders a life sentence or a fine of U.S. $200,000," Cabinet Secretary for Tourism Najib Balala told China’s Xinhua news agency. "However, this has not been deterrence enough to curb poaching, hence the proposed stiffer sentence."

In 2017, poachers killed nine rhinos and 69 elephants - cancelling out the growth rate of their populations. The number of black rhinos in the country is now below 1,000. Balala added that the law to see poachers face the death penalty, while not yet enacted, was being fast-tracked.

“Across the continent’s diverse wild lands, management authorities need data-driven solutions to enhance anti-poaching capacity to allow remaining priority populations to recover from previous, and current, crises," stated the African Wildlife Foundation.

"Meanwhile," they continue, "community-level interventions must explore different economic opportunities that secure rather than destroy biodiversity as pressure on natural resources grows with increasing development, infrastructure, and urbanisation.”

Ghana, home to animals as diverse as lions, elephants and monkeys, is seeing the rapid spread of human life - as the metropolis leaches into the countryside. But the main problem here, as it is in large swathes of Africa, is traffic. Meetings and functions usually start 45 minutes late and locals joke that "GMT" stands for "Ghana Maybe Time".

In 2005, there were 159,000 registered vehicles in the country. Just 10 years later, there were already 890,000. Inevitably, as well as the impact on humans, wildlife is affected too - unless the animal in question is lucky enough to live on a protected wildlife reserve.

“Not only can KWS [Kenya Wildlife Service] catch wildlife criminals but now they have the capacity to ensure those criminals are convicted under Kenya’s robust laws," stated Max Graham of Space for Giants. "A ranger in the field should not have to experience the frustration of confronting a wildlife criminal they arrested a week earlier walking free again because of an acquittal. This is a critical step up in the battle against the illegal wildlife trade."

However, as to whether Kenya's decisive steps to protect wildlife are progressive is up for discussion. The United Nations (UN) opposes the death penalty. The UN General Assembly has recommended a phasing-out of capital punishment and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights advocates its abolition worldwide.

Furthermore, the idea that poachers enjoy what they do is misconceived. In many cases, it may be the only way they can provide for their families - creating a difficult moral dilemma for those tasked with policing the situation.

Kenya’s tourism chiefs say that the number of poaching incidents has reduced thanks to investment in conservation and wildlife law enforcement. These individuals, dubbed wildlife "bodyguards", also helped to publicise the desperate fight against poaching.

“These efforts led to an 85 per cent reduction in rhino poaching and a 78 per cent reduction in elephant poaching, respectively, in 2017 compared to when poaching was at its peak in 2013 and 2012 respectively,” the ministry said.

"At current poaching rates, elephants, rhinos and other iconic African wildlife may be gone within our lifetime,” the African Wildlife Foundation states. They add that poachers “use high-powered technology and weaponry to track and kill many animals at once without being detected.”

However, conservationists are also turning to technological methods. Certain Kenyan rangers have started using thermal and infrared cameras in the hopes of spotting poachers before they spot their targets.

“In the past, we would never have found these people,” explains Brian Heath, who runs the conservation group the Mara Conservancy. “Now the poachers are saying it’s just not worth going out because the chance of getting caught is getting higher and higher. It has been a big deterrent. In other areas, like South Africa where most rhinos live, dozens of rhinos have actually been airlifted out of poaching-prone areas and into safer locales, like Botswana, where poaching is rare.”

Vietnam has typically been thought of as the dominant market for rhino horn, while up to 70 per cent of illegal ivory ends up in China, where it sells for up to $1,000 a pound. But there are also tonnes of it in the west, forming a burgeoning antique ivory market. That said, its future - at least as a legal trade - looks increasingly uncertain.

While not divisive as a conversation topic, poaching remains an important source of income for some of the world's most impoverished people. Unfortunately, the issue isn't straightforward and enacting the death penalty will be seen by many not as a step forward, but a step back.

If you would like to help protect endangered species, you can donate to Drive4Wildlife - a conservation group formed of three brothers from Britain's Paradise Wildlife Park who recently travelled through Africa to get a better perspective on the issue of poaching

Link to Article - Lovely Photos:

http://vt.co/animals/stories/kenya-has- ... eaE7LzNuiY

[Anthea]

NASA says Arctic sea ice dropped
to seventh-lowest extent this year

Arctic sea ice continues to dwindle as NASA says its volume dropped to the seventh-lowest extent on record this winter

According to NASA, the Arctic lost a Texas-sized portion of sea ice this year

Though less drastic than recent losses, NASA says a downward trend continues

Most of the 'ice pack' is now seasonal ice, further imperiling levels

As the impacts of climate change march on, peak volumes of sea ice continue their downward spiral.

According to NASA, this past year was no exception to the rule. This winter, the peak volume of Arctic sea ice receded enough to tie the seventh lowest level of all time.

NASA data shows the maximum extent of the ice peaked at 5.7 million square miles which is 332,000 square miles below the average maximum between 1981 and 2010.

To put that number in perspective, the loss is the same as missing an area larger than the state of Texas, according to NASA.

Arctic sea ice sinks another year even despite a minor reprieve of record declines. This winter, the peak volume of Arctic sea ice receded enough to tie the seventh lowest level of all time

In January, a study of glaciers on Baffin Island in Canada, show that this century has been the warmest one in about 115,000 years.

Scientists say that even though this year's decline didn't rise as far into the record books — since 2015 decreases have continued to set new highs — the trend over time is definitive.

'The temperatures in the Arctic were a bit higher than average and we saw a lot of ice loss in the Bering Sea, but nothing this winter was as extreme or dramatic compared to recent years and the record lows,' said Melinda Webster, a sea ice scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

While 2019 represents a reprieve from recent record breaking years, the sheets are far from recovery, says NASA.

'While this year wasn't a record low, the maximum extent still points to there being a sustained decline in winter sea ice,' continued Webster.

For the Arctic, steady melting has stretched beyond the seasonal ice ebb and flow of ice and into trends once considered static.

Seasonal ice melts more easily than older ice in the 'pack' - a class that has all but faded away according to NASA.

Arctic ice has traditionally undergone seasonal changes, with a great deal of ice melting in warmer months only to return during the winter.

In recent decades, however, scientists have noted that upon return, the volume of ice has been declining steadily.

The so-called 'ice pack' which used to contain older and more solid ice has almost disappeared according to the agency.

About 70 percent of the pack now consists of seasonal ice according to a 2018 study led by Ron Kwok, a sea ice researcher with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

The announcement from NASA comes on the heels of a recent report from the U.N. that foreshadows substantial temperature rises that will likely accelerate trends in the Arctic, sea level rise, and affect as many as 4 million people.

WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS OF LOWER SEA ICE LEVELS?

The amount of Arctic sea ice peaks around March as winter comes to a close.

NASA recently announced that the maximum amount of sea ice this year was low, following three other record-low measurements taken in 2015, 2016 and 2017.

This can lead to a number of negative effects that impact climate, weather patterns, plant and animal life and indigenous human communities.

Additionally, the disappearing ice can alter shipping routes and affect coastal erosion and ocean circulation.

NASA researcher Claire Parkinson said: 'The Arctic sea ice cover continues to be in a decreasing trend and this is connected to the ongoing warming of the Arctic.

'It's a two-way street: the warming means less ice is going to form and more ice is going to melt, but, also, because there's less ice, less of the sun's incident solar radiation is reflected off, and this contributes to the warming.'

Link to Article - Photos:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech ... inter.html

[Anthea]

Had to repost this video

Makes me think of evil lion killer

https://youtu.be/WfGMYdalClU

And all the things WE humans are doing to destroy this planet we live on