Order of the Supreme Court in the matter of M K Ranjitsinh & Others Vs Union of India & Others dated 21/03/2024. The matter related to protection of Great Indian Bustard (GIB) and Lesser Florican. The SC order of April 19, 2021 imposed restrictions on the setting up of overhead …
Was April’s avian influenza outbreak Hyderabad’s first encounter with the deadly virus? Analysis of the virus found in the city suggests that it could have around for at least two years, long before it hit headlines. Earlier this month, the High Security Animal Diseases Lab in Bhopal, which detected H5N1 …
These strains of bird flu have killed millions of commercial chickens and turkeys and have even led to the deaths of hundreds of people. The new vaccines, though, should help prevent such devastating losses. The researchers actually focused on the avian influenza virus subtype H5N1, which is a new strain …
A rare bird may become extinct in Syria because of the capture of Palmyra by Islamic State, experts say. A tiny breeding colony of the northern bald ibis was found near the city in 2002. Three birds held in captivity were abandoned last week after their guards fled the fighting. …
Around half of wild birds have a secure status as EU programs to protect endangered species have boosted numbers, but some of their habitats are cause for major concern largely because of intensive farming, an EU report found on Wednesday. The State of Nature in the European Union report for …
Drones have come a long way, from their military origins as sinister hardware for spying and remote warfare to their more recent use by conservation charities monitoring whaling ships and rare bird nests. This year’s Drones for Good awards finalists included social enterprises hoping to develop unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) …
Releasing balloons en masse into the sky to mark funerals and other ceremonies is killing birds, say scientists who have called for the practice to be banned. "Balloons are a huge threat, not only to birds, but turtles and other marine life," said Fiona Maxwell, campaigner with the Australian Marine …
Birds have the fundamental right to "live with dignity" and fly in the sky without being kept in cages or subjected to cruelty, Delhi High Court has said while holding that running their trade was a "violation of their rights". Justice Manmohan Singh expressed anguish that instead of being allowed …
With puzzling variability, vast numbers of birds from Canada’s boreal forests migrate hundreds or thousands of miles south from their usual winter range. These so-called irruptions were first noticed by birdwatchers decades ago, but the driving factors have never been fully explained. Now scientists have pinpointed the climate pattern that …
Numerous climate change effects on biodiversity have been anticipated and documented, including extinctions, range shifts, phenological shifts, and breakdown of interactions in ecological communities, yet the relative balance of different climate drivers and their relationships to other agents of global change (for example, land use and landuse change) remains relatively …
One in three European birds is endangered, according to a leaked version of the most comprehensive study of Europe’s wildlife and natural habitats ever produced. The EU State of Nature report, seen by the Guardian, paints a picture of dramatic decline among once common avian species such as the skylark …
Vultures are listed as specially protected animals in Zimbabwe under the sixth schedule of the Parks and Wildlife Act. INCREASED incidents of poisoning in the country's expansive national parks could wipe out the vulture population in Zimbabwe. Vultures are listed as specially protected animals in Zimbabwe under the sixth schedule …
One hundred British conservationist groups have launched a campaign to oppose a review of key wildlife protection laws which they say presents the single biggest threat to UK and European nature in a generation. Last week, the EU began an eight-week public consultation to look at the cost-effectiveness of the …
After a brief lull, bird flu fear reared its head again following reports of nearly 10,000 chickens in poultry farms on the city outskirts dying over the past few days. Authorities on Monday began a decontamination drive to contain any outbreak of the dreaded H5N1. The animal husbandry department has …
The expert committee on the Okhla Bird Sanctuary approved the draft of the eco-sensitive zone in its last meeting on April 15 and proposed a slew of measures, including turning the park's precincts into a 'silence zone', to protect the avian habitat. The committee, which met under the chairmanship of …
The Environment Authority Abu Dhabi has put in place measures to better protect breeding birds across the emirate. According to Al Ittihad, The National’s sister publication, annual surveys showed that birds that breed in Abu Dhabi are prone to threats caused by human activity, construction work and predatory animals such …
We isolated eight highly pathogenic H5N8 avian influenza viruses (H5N8 HPAIVs) in the 2014/15 winter season at an overwintering site of migratory birds in Japan. Genetic analyses revealed that these isolates were divided into three groups, indicating the co-circulation of three genetic groups of H5N8 HPAIV among these migratory birds. …
This study is the first, to our knowledge, to reveal how climate variability drives irruptions of North American boreal seed-eating birds. Patterns of Pine Siskin irruption and associated climate drivers manifest as two modes (North-South and West-East) in which dipoles of temperature and precipitation anomalies push and pull irruptive movements …
A new bird species has been discovered in central China by a team of Swedish and Chinese scientists. This shy brown bird, named the Sichuan bush warbler, Locustella chengi, breeds in the mountainous region of the Sichuan Basin at 1000-2300 m elevation. Its winter home is currently unknown. This bird …
Scientists say clearing the largest remaining habitat of the black-throated finch to make way for coalmines will have ‘irreversible consequences’ The creation of Australia’s largest mine will have “serious detrimental and irreversible consequences” for the endangered black-throated finch and may even push it to extinction, a recovery team for the …
Experts have some new plans for the International Space Station (ISS), and they have absolutely nothing to do with space, exploration, or even astronauts. A new investigation will be using the uniquely high vantage point of the orbital space station to help track animals in trouble - the results of …
