Born Free has just heard that the 2008 IUCN Red List status for the African Elephant has been corrected from 'Near Threatened' to 'Vulnerable' as of midnight 10 March 2010.  Other corrections made are to the status of the Central African sub-population, now 'Endangered' (previously 'Data Deficient') and that of West Africa now 'Vulnerable' (previously 'Near Threatened').

Natural England has launched the most complete audit of hundreds of years of England’s wildlife winners and losers to an audience of leading conservationists at the Zoological Society of London today (11 March).

The needs of wild animals can simply not be met in a travelling circus. Extreme confinement, frequent transport and relocation and training for performance increase the risk of stress and, in some cases, ill-treatment of the animals.

Fauna & Flora International helps to define Amazonian park’s management activities

After over three years of hard work by Fauna & Flora International (FFI) and other organisations, the management plan for Brazil’s 184,000-hectare Cristalino State Park has finally been completed.

The park is on the southern edge of the Amazon rainforest, where there is the highest threat of encroaching cattle, soya and other destructive agriculture.

The State government, which manages the park, asked FFI and our partner the Cristalino Ecological Foundation to facilitate the planning process. Our thorough knowledge of both the forest and the communities’ lives and concerns enabled us to engage all stakeholders in a constructive process, with excellent results.

Summary:

• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service concludes that the sage grouse could face extinction if it doesn’t receive protections under the Endangered Species Act
• However, the agency says it is currently too busy working on more urgent cases to move forward with listing the birds at this time
• The prairie and sagebrush lands that the rare birds depend on have increasingly become targets for oil, gas and wind energy development as well as increased agricultural use and grazing
• Sage grouse have already vanished from nearly half of their historic territory

More than 275,000 people and leading scientific and conservation organisations from the UK and around the world have called on the UK government to establish a protected area in the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT), which is comprised of the Chagos Islands and its surrounding waters.

If established, the Chagos Protected Area would be the largest marine reserve in the world and play a vital role in fulfilling the UK’s global international conservation commitments.

Rich marine biodiversity

The support for a marine reserve comes as the UK government closes its three-month public consultation period today [Friday 5 March 2010] on future management of the Chagos Islands. The government will now consider the creation of a Chagos Protected Area, a designation that would safeguard the rich marine biodiversity of the islands and their surrounding waters by prohibiting extractive activities, such as fishing. A final decision is expected sometime this spring.

2009-2010 Antarctic Whale Defense Campaign: Operation Waltzing Matilda

After three long weary and dramatic months upon the most remote and hostile seas in the world, the Sea Shepherd ships Steve Irwin and Bob Barker were welcomed by crowds of cheering supporters in the port of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, on Saturday, March 6^th, 2010.

Sea Shepherd just completed the most ambitious and effective campaign to defend the great whales that we have ever undertaken and Operation Waltzing Matilda, the sixth voyage to the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary to oppose the illegal whaling activities of the Japanese whaling fleet, was astoundingly effective.

The Republic of Tanzania and Zambia have submitted a controversial proposal to CITES, the Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species, for a one time sell-off of over 80 tons of ivory.  The 15th CITES conference will convene from March 13-25th in Doha, Qatar and these two countries will need 66% of the 175 country votes in order to proceed.  Some other African countries support lifting the ban on sales, notably South Africa, Namibia and Botswana.

Kenya, the Republic of Congo, Ghana, Liberia, Mali, Rwanda and Sierra Leone are offering a counter proposal, calling for a 20 year moratorium on one-off sales and lobbying other countries to join them.  These countries are upset because of the potential implications of the sale -  the elephants don’t follow the borders and the sale could impact these shared elephants populations.  The proposal is seen to have “betrayed the spirit of conservation in the region.”

In the past, permission has been granted for one-off sales.  In 1997, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Namibia and Botswana were permitted to sell approximately 50 tons of ivory and in 2007, South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe were permitted to sell 108 tons of ivory to Japan and China, earning a reported $20 million USD.  The 2007 deal included a 9 year moratorium on future sell-offs, but a loophole in the text allows for countries not involved in the 2007 deal to submit proposals during this time-span.

Iconic fashion model Twiggy pleads with UK fashion designers to stop using fur at London Fashion Week.

With the increase of fur on the catwalk this London Fashion Week, many celebrities are denouncing the use of fur. Additional supporters of ADI include: Stella McCartney, Mary McCartney, Brian Blessed, Meg Mathews, Ricky Gervais, Samantha Janus, and Belinda Carlisle.