1. New Documentary, Why On Earth, Uncovers The Vital Connection Between Humans & Animals In Order To Create Positive Change For The Betterment Of Our World
Why On Earth is acompelling new feature-length documentary by Katie Cleary, which takes a comprehensive look into our current condition as a people; uncovering many issues that are affecting our natural world and the animals who inhabit it.
Three years in the making, the powerful documentary was shot on a RED camera by Director of Photography, Hunter Nolan, in five countries including South Africa, Kenya, and Indonesia. The film includes a host of exclusive interviews with well-known leaders in the animal welfare and conservation world including fellow filmmaker and animal advocate, Clint Eastwood.
Why On Earth establishes a vital connection between humans and animals through rarely before seen footage exposing the rapid rate of deforestation in Borneo and Sumatra due to the careless and inhumane extraction of palm oil, along with the rescue of endangered orangutans in Indonesia.
2. WAN Exclusive: Urgent Help Needed To Rehome 32 Chimps From The Wildlife Waystation To Sanctuaries In The U.S.
When the Wildlife Waystation in Southern California closed its doors in 2019, hundreds of exotic and domestic animals needed to be rehomed. While the majority of the animals were relocated, 32 chimpanzees remained. Now, with a little more than three weeks left before the new year, it is more important than ever to help ensure that these precious chimps are placed in their new homes in 2021.
Most of the chimps have been rescued from animal testing labs, as well as the so-called “entertainment” and “pet” industries, and reportedly cost $100,000to care for each month.
Please help these 32 precious chimps relocate to their new homes in 2021 and make a donation HERE!
3. Major Progress Made By Yahoo Japan In Stopping Japan’s Harmful Ivory Market With 100% Drop In Online Stores In 2020
In a promising new report, Teetering on the Brink: Japan’s online ivory trade,TRAFFIC finds that the trade in ivory has dropped by as much as 100% this year on Japan’s largest online ivory trading platform, Yahoo Japan. This resolve must become nation-wide and be enforced by the Japanese government if the country is to put an end to its role in the international ivory trade.
In a snapshot survey, TRAFFIC compared the number of shops selling ivory on Yahoo Shopping before and after the ban, and found a remarkable 100% decrease, from 58 shops in 2017 to 54 shops in 2018, now down to zero in 2020.
Rather than resolving those violations, the agency has doubled down on its abandonment of those measures and invented a new policy that it claims does not permit the release of red wolves from the captive population into the wild. The agency also now claims that its rules do not allow the agency to address hybridization with coyotes. As a result, the world’s only population of wild red wolves is now on the brink of extinction.
5. U.S. Government Signs Off On Seismic Airgun Blasting In The Gulf Threatening The Survival Of Endangered Whales & Marine Life
The National Marine Fisheries Service has broadly authorized seismic airgun oil exploration in the Gulf of Mexico.The long-awaited final rule comes in response to a court-ordered settlement of a lawsuit brought by environmental groups.
The move promotes the expansion of oil and gas development in the Gulf of Mexico as the Trump administration leaves office. President-elect Biden promised to end fossil fuel leasing on federal lands and waters during his presidential campaign.
The rule estimates that seismic blasting will disturb and harass the Gulf’s Bryde’s whales more times than its entire population of just 33remaining individuals.
Documents released by the VA, including disturbing photos and videos of cat testing, show that taxpayer dollars have been used to purchase cats and kittens, sever their spinal cords, implant electrodes into their brains, and perform other abusive and even deadly procedures.
7. 550 Organizations Urge President-Elect Biden To Solve The Pollution Crisis With The New Presidential Plastics Action Plan
A coalition of more than 550 community and conservation organizations today released its Presidential Plastics Action Plan,urging President-elect Joe Bidento take eight key executive actions to solve the plastic pollution crisis.
These include a moratorium on new plastic production facilities, using federal purchasing power to curb single-use plastics, tightening up regulations of the petrochemical industry, ending fossil fuel subsidies, and protecting environmental justice communities from pollution.
8. High-Level Corruption Has Made West & Central Africa The Epicenter For Ivory And Pangolin Scale Trafficking To Asia
A new report finds that West andCentral Africa have emerged as major sourcing and export hubs for the illegal trafficking ofelephant ivoryandpangolin scalestoAsia.
At a time when the world is grappling with the crippling impacts of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, such high-volume of trade in wildlife poses a serious risk for the spread of zoonotic diseases – those arising from animals – such as COVID-19.
9. New York Is The Latest State To Offer Plant-Based Options In Hospitals; Washington D.C. & California Have Passed Similar Legislation
New York State hospitals must now make a healthy plant-based option available to patients at every meal. The new rule went into effect this week, following a landmark bill that was signed into law last year.
Bill (S1471A/A4072),introduced bySenator Brad Hoylman and Assembly Member Richard Gottfried, requires hospitals in New York to offer plant-based meals and snacks containing no animal products or by-products that are nutritionally equivalent to other menu items. The bill also requires hospitals to list the plant-based options on all written materials and menus.
The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, which supported the bill, is a member of a nonprofit coalition that offers support, resources, and hands-on training to help hospital culinary teams provide more plant-based meals to patients.
