Had history of engine failure AMAMI OSHIMA ISLAND, Japan––The Gulf Livestock 1, a Panamanian-flagged converted container ship carrying 5,867 two-year-old heifers and 43 human crew, capsized and sank on September 2, 2020 in the East China Sea, about 100 nautical miles west of Amami Oshima Island, Japan, the first survivor to be rescued told the Japanese […]
“Asian murder hornet”: surrogate for COVID-19 terror
Or, how two “great sparrow bees” incited a national hunt for alleged Chinese alien invaders BLAINE, Washington––How did the Asian giant hornet, known for centuries in Japan as the “great sparrow bee,” generally regarded as beneficial to farmers for killing insect pests, suddenly become feared in the U.S. as the so-called “murder hornet”? After […]
Sidney Holt, 93, achieved goal that great whales would outlive him
70-year scientific career focused on whale conservation PACIANO, Italy––Marine scientist Sidney J. Holt, 93, died on December 22, 2019 at his home in Paciano, Italy, about 80 miles north of Rome and 10 miles north of his previous longtime home in Citta della Pieve, Italy. Holt thereby realized his often stated life’s ambition of having […]
Bali: fighting rabies & dolphin captivity amid mud & ashes of a live volcano
Long uphill struggles pay off DENPASSAR, Bali, Indonesia––Fireballs and lava are no longer flying from Mount Agung, the reputed Balinese home of the gods, but smoke, steam, and noxious gases are still rising from thermal vents, keeping most humans at a distance, Bali Animal Welfare Association (BAWA) dog rescuers excepted. Rabies persists in three […]
Dolphin defender Ric O’Barry, cleared by Tokyo court, plans return to Japan
Three-judge panel rules O’Barry was wrongly barred entry & deported in 2016 TOKYO––“I’m gonna go back and do it again!” dolphin defender Ric O’Barry emailed to ANIMALS 24-7 late on October 3, 2019, after attorneys Megumi Wada and Takashi Takano won a Tokyo District Court ruling on O’Barry’s behalf that O’Barry is free to return to […]
Cockfighters vs. coal miners, Taiji vs. Hong Kong: animal suffering gets lost
What happens when animal issues are overwhelmed by current events? HARLAN COUNTY, Kentucky; TAIJI, Japan; BALI, Indonesia––A trainload of coal worth $1.4 million, blockaded for six weeks by illegally laid off miners whose last pay checks bounced, might at a glance appear to have nothing to do with an alleged cockfighting ring run by […]
Elephants, giraffes, sharks, Asian otters & seahorses fare well in Switzerland
African elephants win protection near where exports for display began GENEVA, Switzerland––Live elephant exports from Africa for exhibition at least nominally ended by plenary vote at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) Triennial Conference of the Parties on August 27, 2019 in Geneva, Switzerland, about 200 miles north from where the […]
An Easter bunny, cat, & mongoose story from a Japanese island
Predators wrongly blamed for losses, ancient Amami rabbits make a comeback AMAMI, Amami-Oshima, Japan––The Easter 2019 bunny story of the year, and island ecology story, too, with even an angle involving egg hunts by ornithologists, is underway on Amami-Oshima and Tokunoshima islands, between Japan and Okinawa. Much to the evident embarrassment of the Japanese Environment […]
Mercury Toxicity as a Cause for Stranded Marine Mammals is not a Mystery
by Bill McGraw (Ph.D. in aquaculture, Boquete, Panama; www.newaquatechpanama.com) Approximately 37% of marine mammal species are in danger of extinction, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Among the most often reported concerns regarding deaths of whales and dolphins are the phenomena of these animals beaching or “stranding” themselves en masse. Episodic […]
Japan hands whales a Christmas gift camouflaged as coal
Withdrawal from IWC covers for decision to halt Antarctic whaling TOKYO––Handing whales a Christmas Day gift camouflaged as coal, Japanese chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga on December 25, 2018 confirmed months of speculation and decades of threats that Japan would withdraw from membership in the International Whaling Commission, which has maintained a global moratorium on […]
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