How This Tanzanian Musician Made Ivory a National Campaign Issue

Posted on July 1, 2017 by GarryRogers

GR: Individual activists are important spark plugs for nature conservation and wildlife protection. Here’s a great example.

Shubert Mwarabu promotes the grassroots campaign to save Tanzania’s elephants at a festival in Iringa, in the southern highlands. PHOTOGRAPH BY MOHAMED MVUMBAGU, FEMINA HIP

“Until Shubert Mwarabu saw a photograph of an elephant with its face hacked and bloodied, poaching was an abstraction. He didn’t know anything about ivory trafficking, or even what ivory was used for. That was in 2011, and the Tanzanian musician was 25.

“The photo had a powerful impact on him, and from then on, he says, he threw himself into the fight to save Tanzania’s elephants.Mwarabu, who previously had organized clubs in primary schools for advocating against child abuse, now started school conservation clubs. He composed songs about protecting elephants. His first, called “Let’s Talk About Poaching,” or “Tupige Vita Ujangili” in KiSwahili, was played on Tanzania’s national radio station.

“His efforts have been noticed in Tanzania and beyond. The California-based nonprofit Generation Awakening, which works to support young environmental activists, appointed him their first country ambassador.

“In October 2013, Mwarabu launched a one-man campaign, naming it Me Against Poaching, to show that change can come from a single person.

“Now he’s leading the first organized citizen campaign to lobby the Tanzanian government to halt the ivory trafficking that has made this East African country ground zero in the slaughter of Africa’s elephants. Okoa Tembo wa Tanzania, “Save Tanzania’s Elephants,” succeeded in making conservation an election issue in the hotly contested presidential race, Mwarabu says.” –Maraya Cornell (How This Tanzanian Musician Made Ivory a National Campaign Issue)

WATCH on the original post: A video aired in 2013 shows investigative journalist Aidan Hartley attempting to gain access to a maximum-security warehouse in Tanzania that holds perhaps the world’s largest cache of raw ivory. Maintaining this stockpile is expensive. Moreover it can’t legally be sold. So why not follow Kenya’s example and burn it!

Famous Rare White Wolf Killed in Yellowstone, $10K Reward Offered

Posted on May 16, 2017 by GarryRogers

GR: Killing for a thrill must be like pedophilia. It satisfies an inner urge so despicable that self-delusion creates and supports justifications that seem ludicrous to observers. Thus, we often hear that killing wildlife is a necessary form of protection. Perhaps a poacher/cruelty registry would help park rangers and others keep track of offenders.

“The Center for Biological Diversity is contributing $5,000 toward a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for illegally shooting and killing a famous wolf in Yellowstone National Park.

“The 12-year-old wolf—one of only three known white wolves in Yellowstone—was the alpha female of the canyon pack.

“The Center for Biological Diversity’s pledge, along with the $5,000 offered by the National Park Service, $5,000 from the Wolves of the Rockies and the Go Fund Me campaign launched by the Heart of the Wild Yellowstone with the goal of raising an additional $15,000, comes as National Park Service officials are seeking leads in their criminal investigation of the incident. The wolf, mortally wounded from a gunshot, was found by hikers on April 11 in Yellowstone National Park near Gardiner, Montana.

“We sure hope they catch the despicable killer of this wolf,” said Andrea Santarsiere, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Shooting this wolf in Yellowstone National Park, an area that should be a safe haven for wildlife, is not only illegal but repulsive.” –Center for Biological diversity (Continue reading: Famous Rare White Wolf Killed in Yellowstone, $10K Reward Offered.)

Armed herders invade Kenya’s most important wildlife conservancy

Posted on February 2, 2017 by GarryRogers

Eastern Escarpment of the Great Rift Valley, Northern Kenya (Photo by the Luxury Safari Company)

GR: Combine global warming-forced drought with politics and you get indigenous people destroying nature so that they can live a richer life than their neighbors.

Drought in Samburu, to the north of Laikipia, has led to herders ranging further afield than normal. Photograph: Stephen Morrison/EPA

“Thousands of heavily-armed herders are invading conservancies, private properties and smallholdings in Laikipia, one of Kenya’s most important wildlife areas, as they search for pasture for their cattle.

“Over the past couple of weeks, about 10,000 nomadic herders, armed with automatic rifles and driving 135,000 cattle, have left a trail of destruction and chaos in the county, just three hours drive from Nairobi. The herders have indiscriminately killed wildlife – from elephants, giraffes, zebras and lions to family dogs. Residents have been injured, some seriously. At least one person has been killed, according to reports.

“This is just the latest but most serious clash between the herders and the residents of Laikipia, after a series of incursions dating back at least a few years. This time private game lodges, ranches and smallholdings owned by farmers are being targeted systematically. David Mwaweu, who owns a small farm, said that armed herdsmen passed his way as they marched towards private land where they have since been “stealing grass for their cows”.

“The wildlife deaths appear to be a tragic byproduct of the violence. At least six elephants have been killed in the last two weeks, and graphic photos of a decapitated zebra and a skinned buffalo, among many others, have been posted on Twitter and Facebook.“

An elephant carcase found at a Laikipia waterhole. The elephant had been shot. Photograph: Laikipia Farmers’ Association

“The elephants are being shot for several reasons,” said Max Graham, CEO of Space For Giants, a conservation organisation headquartered in Laikipia. “First, the herders are coming into conflict with elephants at water points, and shooting at them to scare them away. Second, some of these herders now in Laikipia, but not indigenous to the area, are traditionally hunters: to kill an elephant is a rite of passage in their culture.” –Adam Cruise, Bibi van der Zee (More: Armed herders invade Kenya’s most important wildlife conservancy | Environment | The Guardian

2016: Another fatal year for elephants

Posted on December 22, 2016 by GarryRogers

GR: With great sorrow, we watch as poachers eliminate elephants from the Earth.

HAMBURG, Germany, Dec. 22, 2016 — Elephants continued to be slaughtered for their ivory this year. More than 18 tons of illegal ivory, plus 949 elephant tusks and more than 3,000 pieces were reportedly seized in 2016, with at least 15 large seizures in excess of 500 kilograms. Most large shipments were intercepted in Vietnam, although huge amounts were also found in Malaysia, Uganda, Tanzania, Sudan, Spain, Austria and Germany.

“It is a sad fact that practically no day goes by without dozens of elephants being killed by poachers and every single week this year enforcers discovered illegal ivory somewhere in the world,” said Rikkert Reijnen, Director of the Wildlife Trade Program for International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW). “And this is just the tip of the iceberg as only a small fraction of the illegal ivory on the market is being intercepted.” –International Fund for Animals (Continue Reading: 2016: Another fatal year for elephants)

The extinction crisis is far worse than you think

Posted on December 19, 2016 by GarryRogers

GR: This CNN Photo/Video/Data essay has high-quality images and interviews. Recommended.

“Frogs, coral, elephants — all are on the brink. Three quarters of species could disappear. Why is this happening? CNN explores an unprecedented global crisis.” –CNN (Continue: The extinction crisis is far worse than you think)

Petition · Remove Ivory from the traditional Wedding Anniversary gifts list before its TOO LATE

Posted on December 3, 2016 by GarryRogers

GR: Wildlife is dying out as our farms, forestry, cities, and industries remove and poison habitats. Ivory lovers and the poachers who represent them favor a more direct approach to extinction.

“Thank you so much for taking the time to read this short and simple petition, which has a very achievable and easy goal, which I will come onto shortly.

“As you will already know, this petition centres around the conservation of our magnificent gentle giants with whom we share this planet. The noble and majestic Elephant. A beautiful and intelligent creature which may very possibly be extinct in our lifetimes. This means our children may never know a real live Elephant.

“This is not hundreds of years in the future, this is now.

“The insatiable demand for ivory is causing a dramatic decline in the number of African elephants. Poachers are hunting the animal faster than it can reproduce, with deaths affecting more than half of elephant families in the Samburu National Reserve in Kenya, a new study finds. In 2011, the worst African elephant poaching year on record since 1998, poachers killed an estimated 40,000 elephants, or about 8 percent of the elephant population in Africa. This is unsustainable.” Please sign: Petition · Remove Ivory from the traditional Wedding Anniversary gifts list before its TOO LATE. · Change.org

Stop Wildlife Trafficking | ForceChange

Posted on November 17, 2016 by GarryRogers

GR: Here’s a petition with a tight focus on a high-volume wildlife-crime center.

“Target: Nguyễn Phú Trọng, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam

“Goal: Act to end the illegal trade in endangered species by shutting down the trade in Nhi Khe.

“Investigators with the Wildlife Justice Commission (WJC) have alleged that tens, if not hundreds, of millions of dollars in illegal wildlife is being trafficked through the Vietnamese village of Nhi Khe. Over the investigation, the WJC linked $53.1 million in illegal wildlife products to 51 traders based in the village of Nhi Khe. Over an 18-month investigation, these traders allegedly sold products made from an estimated 225 tigers, 579 rhinos, and 907 elephants. Deals were reportedly completed in person and through social media platforms such as Facebook and WeChat. If the tiger products allegedly sold in Nhi Khe over the investigations were exclusively wild tigers, this represents about six percent of the wild population.

“Vietnam is a hub for wildlife trafficking and the final stop for ivory before it enters Chinese markets. The WJC handed the results of its investigations to the Vietnamese government, however, the response has not been sufficient. Sign our petition and demand that the Vietnamese government act immediately and effectively to end wildlife trafficking in Nhi Khe.”

PETITION LETTER: (Read and sign at: Stop Wildlife Trafficking | ForceChange)

Mass Wildlife Poisoning in Limpopo National Park

Posted on October 28, 2016 by GarryRogers

GR: Lion bones? Are ignorant people of Asia the most deadly threat to lions and rhinos? Do they also crave Panda and Snow Leopard body parts? What about American Mountain Lions? Ranchers of the western U. S. love to kill Mountain Lions. Let’s hope they don’t start selling the bones to Asians.

Lion remains left at the scene of a wildlife poisoning in Limpopo National Park, Oct. 10, 2016 (Photo by Rae Kokes)

“CAPE TOWN, South Africa, October 22, 2016 (ENS) – The ongoing Asian demand for lion bones has led to a wildlife poisoning in the Limpopo National Park, just over the Mozambican border from South Africa’s Kruger National Park.

“A mere two kilometers from the Machampane tourist camp, a research team from the Limpopo Transfrontier Predator Project came across the carcasses of two nyala, a warthog and an impala laced with what they describe as a black granular poison.

“Lying nearby were the bodies of two lions, 51 vultures, three fish eagles, a yellow-billed kite and a giant eagle owl. There was evidence of a leopard but its body was not found.” –– Mass Wildlife Poisoning in Limpopo National Park | ENS