The Government has recently introduced the Draft Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Rules, 2023, with the aim of strengthening animal welfare efforts across the country. The rules are designed to establish a comprehensive framework for the effective functioning of Societies for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCAs) and …
Hunting of brown and black partridges, and urial continues in the Salt Range of the Chakwal region in Pakistan, despite a ban imposed by the provincial government. These species, which are on the verge of extinction, fall regular victim to feudal lords. The Wildlife Department Chakwal, has been accused of …
For the first time in India's history, a writ petition has been filed in the High Court to shift a national zoological park. The petition filed by People for Animals (PFA), a group led by Maneka Gandhi, draws the court's attention to the pitiable conditions in the Calcutta Zoo. It …
Senadhi, a six month baby elephant, was rescued by Sri Lankan soldiers from the Settikulam army base in the Kallady region after being hit by a bullet. The three-feet-tall elephant was hit by a bullet from a T-56 rifle but the circumstances under which he was injured were not clear. …
The Bombay high court was assured by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) that dogs in the city will not be killed indiscriminately, but only when they pose a danger to public health. The high court set aside the mayor-in-council's resolution that proposed to kill stray dogs. After deliberations, it was …
A SEVEN-year-old female elephant and a four-month-old male calf were killed when they came in contact with a low-slung naked electrical wire at Parambi-kulam Wildlife Sanctuary in Tamil Nadu. They were part of a herd of about 20 elephants. Despite the huge crowd that had gathered at the spot of …
IN THE sparse jungles on the fringe of the Thar in western Rajasthan, the battle is between celluloid heroes and real-life heroes. At stake are the endangered Blackbucks and Chinkaras. The protagonist, Bollywood actor Salman Khan - accompanied by Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Neelam, and Sonali Bendre - thought he …
FILM star Salman Khan's arrest in Jodhpur for killing a chinkara, an endangered animal, and Sahib Singh Verma's resignation as chief minister of Delhi are both developments that hold a message for environmentalists and all those engaged in environmental management. First let us look into the unprecedented action that has …
the director-general of the World Trade Organisation (wto), Renato Ruggiero, has promised more dialogue with environmental groups to ally their fears that world trading rules threaten the environment. In his opening address to the wto's second ministerial meeting in Geneva on May 18, Ruggiero acknowledged that the wto's committee on …
Rice lands release up to 14 per cent of the world's methane emissions that cause global warming. Now, Philippine-based International Rice Research Institute (irri) is studying ways to reduce methane emissions. An irri researcher, Noel Nocon, has said that the research project is determining what rice land conditions induce methane …
a ban on fur imports from the us has been called off by the European Union (eu) after accepting an assurance from Washington to phase out steel-jawed leghold traps, used in catching animals, within six years. A majority of the eu ambassadors accepted the latest offer from the us which …
it was a case of a shark escaping from the jaws of human "cruelty'. A restaurant owner in Hong Kong is facing charges of animal cruelty after a 2.6-metre female shark was rescued from a fish tank a day before it was to be served to customers. The Lie Garden …
A Mumbai court has ordered the release of five blind lions and lionesses that were performing for the Golden Circus. The tigers will now be kept in the Borivilli National Park. Earlier, the Delhi High Court had instructed the Union environment and forest ministry to consider the 1991 ban on …
Two black Himalayan bears that were caught in traps in Bhutan's Begana and Yoesipang region were released into the forest by team of forestry officials. Officials said that a small male bear which was caught in a crude wire trap in Begana, had its right paw injured. In another incident, …
benign cars: In an attempt to introduce eco-friendly vehicles, the world's third-largest car maker, Toyota Motor Corp, plans to launch a vehicle equipped with a new diesel engine which improves fuel efficiency by 25 per cent as compared with the conventional diesel engines. It also plans to introduce this year …
the Peruvian Army has embarked on a new defence mission: guarding the vicuna, a woolly animal that is an ancient symbol of Peruvian identity. The scientific name of this distant cousin of the llama is vicugna vicugna . It has been celebrated richly in Peruvian literature and memorialised on the …
The longest court case in Britain's history ended in a costly victory for McDonald's Corp of the US when two British environmental activists were ordered to pay the company US $98,000 in damages. The case cost the company a whopping US$16 million. In a trial that lasted for 314 days, …
india recently took an important step towards preventing cruelty against animals when it banned the mandatory testing of cosmetics and toiletries on live animals. It became the first country in Asia to do so. The ban was announced at a recent meeting of members of the cosmetics sectional committee, the …
THE plight of large carnivores worldwide has come to a sorry pass. In India, a country having the largest remaining tiger population of the world, according to recent estimates, poaching poses the danger of decimating the population within five years. In North America, large carnivores generally survive in appreciable numbers …
British journalist, Mark Votier, may have to pay dearly for his attempt to save the minke whales. The Japanese Institute of Cetacean Research has filed a suit against him for damages and costs totalling US $448,000. It has accused him of breach of con- tract which prevented him from releasing …
