The Brutal Killing of Leopards Continues . . .

A leopard, that had no past record of attacks on humans, was cudgeled to death by a mob in Garhmuktwshar, near Delhi, even as forest department officials waited for a tranquilizer dart fired at the cat to take place. The leopard had earlier seriously injured two policemen and had caused minor injuries to five of the hundreds of villagers surrounding the cat. The cat had been trapped by a mob in a sugarcane field.


According to the chief of the Wildlife Protection Society of India, Belinda Wright, as many as 78 leopards have been killed this year alone in incidents as diverse as poaching, road accidents and killings by villagers. This proves the drastically low levels of awareness and sensitivity of the masses about these wild animals. They still seem to live in the sixteenth century when these animals of the wild remained a mystery to the people and were perceived as a major threat to the mankind.

We need to educate people about how these fellow companions of humans are needed to save the ecosystem and ultimately the earth. We need to run awareness campaigns for these people who would corner, attack and kill any wild animal for the fear of life, sheer excitement or fun.


We also need trained forest department staff to handle incidents involving all jungle cats. Besides, Mobile leopard rescue teams are absolutely essential and needed. Wild animals stray into villages for the search of food and this has happened because of the rampant deforestation and their natural habitat being destroyed. Everybody knows that wild animals want to be left alone and live their life peacefully. So why not to leave their forests and them, alone?






Source: TOI

Mangroves should be Declared Protected Forests

Mangroves, which globally span more than 150,000 sq km, are disappearing faster than any other kind of forests on the earth. Growing industrial and residential areas along the coastlines and discharge of waste to water bodies are the prime reason for destruction of mangroves. The forest departments have little manpower to spare for protecting mangroves and as a result, they are dying fast.


A natural breeding ground for several species, mangrove forests act as natural lungs and kidneys of the ecosystem. They play a major mitigating role in the changing climate scenario and time and again, their importance has been highlighted in buffering natural hazards such as cyclones, storm surges and land erosion.

Research worldwide has established that mangroves are effective carbon sinks. One research in Florida says mangrove forests, that cover less than 0.1 percent of the global land surface, account for a tenth of the dissolved organic carbon flowing from land to ocean. Dissolved organic matter is an important player in the global carbon cycle that regulates atmospheric carbon dioxide and therefore, climate.


Governments worldwide should take strong measures to ensure protection of mangroves and should declare them protected forests. Interdepartmental coordination among government departments such as departments of fisheries and forest and environment could play a great role in protecting mangroves. Community participation too could play a major role. The masses have to be made aware of the importance of mangroves in balancing the ecosystem, so that even they could participate in efforts of saving mangroves, and thus, the ecosystem and the earth.




Source: TOI

Leopards Being Killed Regularly

Leopards are being killed in India on a regular basis. In a shocking incident recently, a leopard was "pushed out" of its habitat and then shot from a short range. In retaliation, the injured leopard pounced on one of its attackers before collapsing.

It is believed that the leopard was killed by villagers for game or by poachers as opposed to it being attacked by villagers in self defense. The seven-year-old male leopard was shot dead. The bullet had pierced the heart, lungs, diaphragm, liver and the anterior parts of the kidney and intestine. According to a report, "The abdominal cavity was full of blood and the leopard died due to circulatory and respiratory failure due to injury to heart and lung.

According to sources, the leopard was spotted by villagers on a nearby hill but it was not in the fields or inside the village, as rumors suggested. A forest official said that it was unbelievable that the leopard would have first injured the villagers, then they would have run to their houses and brought back the gun, while the leopard would be waiting for them to return.

Such incidents have been happening almost every month, and only show the level of insensitivity of people towards harmless animals whose habitat has been encroached upon by humans. Animals would never harm human beings until they are cornered with the intent of being brutally murdered. In most such cases, even the forest officials stand and watch this game of death as mute spectators. They feel helpless due to lack of adequate man power and weapons.

These heinous acts of crime against voiceless animals must be stopped immediately. The government agencies must ensure that the wild animals are protected from insensitive and insane murderers and poachers. Animals are as much needed to save our planet as much as humans are needed. The local population needs to be educated about how animals are necessary to exist in order for us humans to exist on the earth.

Sad Incidents of Stray Animals being Killed or Maimed

Sad incidents of stray animals being thrashed to death or maimed are on an all time rise in India. These incidents have been happening despite sterilizing and vaccinating of a good percentage of the street dogs in cities. The situation is worse in small towns and villages where there are no organizations or government machinery to vaccinate or help these animals. The authorities are supposed to lodge a report whenever they are supposed to know about any such incident of cruelty against animals, but they choose to look the other way whenever an animal is tortured or hurt. Recently, many street dogs were killed mercilessly, but almost no action was taken against the perpetrators.

There are some animal lovers, who try to help and take care of stray animals by giving them food and water, but they face continuous resistance from the local population. The reason given by them for killing stray animals is that these dogs bark at night and make it difficult for them to sleep! Animal rights activists, who try to take care of these animals, or help them, are even threatened with dire consequences if they continue to help animals or report animal abuse! Recently, the house of an animal rights activist was surrounded by a mob of local people who abused, manhandled and threatened these activists of grave consequences if they continued to help animals!

These incidents have become a common practice with almost no help in sight for these helpless animals. The level of awareness and sensitivity among the masses about animal rights is very low, and stray animals live under completely hostile situations. Animal rights activists are often ridiculed and attacked by the local population.

It is a great challenge to help stray animals and work for them under such circumstances. Apart from working for the welfare of these animals, the masses need to be educated about being sensitive to the needs of stray animals and the difficulties they face in order to survive. Stray animals need to be looked after for food, water and medicines. They also need to be spayed/neutered so that their uncontrolled breeding is restrained, thus saving them from further torture. Animal lovers need to join hands together to raise their voice against animal atrocities, and come forward to help them. We will try our best for the situation of these animals to improve in the new year, as we will continue raising our voice and working for them.

New Hope for Animals in the New Year

We hope that the new year proves to be better for animals worldwide and brings more happiness and peace to them. Animals are fighting a hard battle for their existence and we need to work harder for them. With too many abused, homeless and abandoned animals and not enough money to care for them, they are living a miserable life. More and more trees are being felled everyday and the animals are losing their habitat. They are forced to come out of their natural environment and risk captivity, torture and death.
Animals are just like people, full of life and emotions. They all have their own personality and deserve to be treated respectfully. This world belongs to them as much as it belongs to us.

People, who buy animals from a pet shop, should rather adopt a stray or abandoned animal so that it gets a new home. They should also spay/neuter their pet to control their breeding. The money that they would have spent on purchasing a pet, could be spent for the animal they adopt, or for charity. This will be a great help for animals.

Homeless and abused animals need a second chance. They need to be given shelter, food, love and warmth. They need to be given medical care. They need everything human beings need. To treat animals with love and respect, we need a greater level of awareness in people about animal welfare. We also need more people to extend a helping hand to the cause of animals. We all have to realize, that ultimately, for the earth and life to be saved, the animals and the forests need to be saved. Apart from all the good work being done by individuals and organizations for animals, we also seem to need the support of the Secret Santas who could come forward and lend a hand in the campaign of saving animals. We must help animals because adopting or helping an animal is like helping a friend for life.

Tigers May Become Extinct Soon

It is a matter of great concern that wild tigers could become extinct in next 12 years if action is not taken by countries where they live, to protect their habitats and step up the fight against poaching. According to the World Wildlife Fund and other experts there are only about 3200-3500 tigers left in the wild, which is a dramatic plunge from an estimated 100,000 a century ago. It is believed that if the proper protective measures are not taken, tigers may disappear completely by 2022.
Tigers are mostly located in Asia. The reason why tigers are becoming endangered is because of the loss of their habitat due to the spread of man, and because of poaching. Places that were once covered with vast forests have been cleared for agriculture. As forest space diminishes, tigers can't find the prey they need to survive. As a result, tigers have begun to eat the livestock belonging to villagers who live near what's left of the forests. In retaliation, tigers are getting killed by villagers protecting their families and their livestock.
Tigers are also killed because tiger skins and body parts are considered valuable as medicines and fashion accessories. Every part of a dead tiger is valuable. A tiger's coat sells for as much as $20,000 on the black market. An intact tiger forearm can bring in hundreds of dollars per pound. Tiger penis soup sells for $320 a bowl in Taiwan. (Some people actually believe that tiger penis soup will increase their sexuality!) Tiger bones, claws, eyes and even the whiskers command high prices for use in Eastern potions and elixirs. To fulfill the demand, the world's last tigers are being illegally trapped, poisoned and shot, then smuggled across international boundaries. Forestry and wildlife departments don't have the resources to fight against the poachers and the brutal killing of the tiger.

 

However, there are many things happening to stop the killing of tigers. A wide-ranging program with the goal of doubling the world’s tiger population has been approved, and will be backed by governments of the 13 countries that still have tiger population. These countries are Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, Vietnam and Russia.  It is estimated that these countries will need about $ 350 million in outside funding in the first five years of the 12-year plan. We hope donors from all across the world will come forward to help the governments of these countries to finance conservation measures and save the majestic tiger from becoming extinct.

Neuter/Spay – No More Stray

Stray and abandoned animals live a miserable life and suffer violent torture and death. They wander around the streets and fight a bitter battle with humans and other animals for survival. These animals do not live in the wild, they live with people and their growing population only brings great suffering to them. According to a research, in a period of seven years, just one cat and her offspring can give birth to 400,000 kittens, while just one female dog and her offspring in the same period of time can give birth to 66,000 puppies. These figures are nerve-wrecking and stray animals have their problems only increasing as their population increases.
It is not possible to get a shelter or a home for all of them and the best way to save them from the miseries of everyday torture is to control their population through a neuter/spay program. By neutering/spaying them, we can save them from being unwanted and homeless any further. Dogs do not lament their lost capability to reproduce as they are a different species than ours and reproduce only to ensure the survival of their kind. Besides controlling their population, neutering/spaying has many other advantages. It prevents diseases such as breast or uterine cancer, sepsis and prostate or testicular cancer.

Male dogs are usually better pets if they are neutered. They may have less desire to roam and to mark territory. If they are neutered before sexual maturity, they may be less likely to exert dominance over family members. They may also be healthier pets as they will have no chances of a testicular cancer. The fact that spayed/neutered animals also live longer has been established.
Females also tend to be better pets if they do not experience oestrus every six-to-nine months. Heat cycles bring hormonal changes that can lead to personality changes, and oestrus females must be confined to prevent unwanted pregnancies.