Japan wants to kill more whales!

Japan wants to kill more whales!
09.02.2018
Japan
Japan wants to kill more whales!
Wildlife

Shinzo Abe, the Japanese Prime Minister, revives the controversy on whaling. By advocating commercial fishing and allocating new credits, the Japanese government leader defies the international community.

Recently, in response to a parliamentary question on whaling, the Japanese head of government unveiled a real battery of harpoons … Shinzo Abe has indeed announced morecetacean specimens for commercial purposes and direct support to the fleet of Japanese whaling ships, in particular to replace or renovate her flagship, the Nisshin Maru.

Doubletalk

We know that whaling has never really stopped in the land of the rising sun. In 2014, the International Court of Justice ordered the archipelago to end its regular hunting campaigns in the waters of Antarctica. Repeatedly called to order by the International Whaling Commission (IWC), Japan continued this activity under the guise of fishing for scientific purposes, while being a signatory for the moratorium on hunting. This doubletalk has fizzled out: Japan now asserts its right to commercial fishing for cetaceans, even if they are already in danger.

By responding favourably to the demands of Japan’s Fisheries Agency headed by Takato Maki, the prime minister is adopting a nationalist stance that defies the international community and all environmental NGOs. A sitting position on the traditional aspect of this type of fishing, flattering the conservative electorate of Shinzo Abe.

A real battle of the sea

The Japanese whaling fleet is large, very well equipped, including military-grade satellites. Very committed to the surveillance of these activities, the NGO Sea Shepherd, struggles to intervene with its own fleet in the immensity of the Southern Ocean. In the Australian Whale Sanctuary, where all whaling is prohibited, Japanese factory ships harvest Minke whales, of which 333 are killed each year in the name of a “science”. No one can account for it exactly.

If the Australian government, the first concerned by the integrity of its territorial waters, seems conciliatory with one of its major economic partners in the region, the position of the Japanese government generates a public outcry, and promises serious discussions in future negotiations of the IWC next September.

This naval battle on the outer reaches of the planet is endangering thousands of cetaceans, who are all already in danger, and threatening the global ecosystems. One Voice also strongly condemns the Japanese government’s position of identity, a country where the whale is no longer such a popular dish and the defence of the environment is progressing.

An outcry for the rats: Paris may be eternal but Paris is cruel!

An outcry for the rats: Paris may be eternal but Paris is cruel!
06.02.2018
Paris An outcry for the rats: Paris may be eternal but Paris is cruel!
Wildlife

Eradication! While several factors explain the increased visibility of rats in some parts of the capital, the Paris’ mayor’s office is sinking into empty gestures, ineffective and cruel measures, to always appear squeaky clean. The animals that populate the city since its creation would no longer have rights to exist? A shameful and pointless demonization.

It is a media-crazed TV and social networks coverage aimed at reminding people about the action plan against rats implemented by the City of Paris. Tourists, dustmen, residents … All the possible fears and fantasies are heard to give credibility to the message: proliferation equals eradication. Being under stress allows  misinterpretation of these problems and presents this to the public as a lifesaving action when it is outdated. Delirious and prompt measures like these despicable “rat guillotines” are billed on a monthly basis and which by eradicating a few rodents will claim the “problem” is solved.

Where is the problem?

Rats have populated Paris since its creation. These social, mobile and very intelligent rodents are in fact our commensal partners: they live, drink, reproduce but in proportion to the opportunities of their environment. In all cities, by their underground life, rarely terrestrial by day and in direct contact with humans, they are present. And useful for cleaning rubbish left here or there by those who point the finger.

Health risk, visual discomfort, fears, phobia? The aesthetics of the politicians is very much alive, in these days of rising waters, in a context of cosmetics for tourists and soon to come Olympic Games. Tomorrow, it will be cats, victims of abandonment, which will have to be removed from the public landscape. One Voice rebels!

As an expert pointed out, these urban rats are not inevitably more numerous, they are simply more in view because of factors disturbing their environment … natural. To warn, to cry out on animal populations that are self-regulating, without managing the real problems (floods, management of canals and waste), are short-sighted rantings.

To pretend to eradicate rats from a city like Paris is nonsense. The committed budgets represent, on the proposed axes, an incredible waste that is reminiscent of some reports … But above all, on the part of elected officials concerned with respect for animal life, it is an easy and deadly bias, in short, it is disgusting.

One Voice invites everyone to take the measure of the level of intelligence and social skills of these rodents that are so vilified. Paris has already sought to relegate rats as harmful and also dedicating them to animal experimentation. Please, a little respect is indeed!

Madame Hidalgo, nobody believes in your ability to eradicate rats from Paris, if so needed. Clean the garbage in front of your own door, or ours, and you will see that the rats, without even the sound of your pipe, will be more discreet. #Pest #Cruelty

Eco volunteers diverted in favour of the trophy hunting of big cats

Eco volunteers diverted in favour of the trophy hunting of big cats
02.02.2018
South Africa
Eco volunteers diverted in favour of the trophy hunting of big cats
Wildlife

Take action against living in a world without lions? This type of action is commendable. Opt for eco-volunteering on farms, feed and cuddle wild animals thinking that you are contributing to the protection of wild animals? One Voice has investigated this subject and permits itself to doubt this. The association shows you how a good intention can be diverted and used to assist a lucrative and horrifying business: The development of wild animal farms and trophy hunting in South Africa.

Eco-volunteering: The beautiful promise of wild animal farms

According to an article in The Guardian, 160 wildlife farms are registered in South Africa and legally invite for money lovers of wild animals to contribute to the protection of the wildlife and to the preservation of genetic diversity. Their mission? Feed and cuddle lion cubs or other baby animals whose mothers are no longer able to do so for lack of milk. Visitors are invited to feed the new-borns by hand, to cuddle them and why not. And the opportunity to have the moment immortalized by a professional photographer. Walks are organized in the company of big cats aged 5 to 6 years old who have been reintroduced to a reserve. The program seems enticing and everything suggests that wild beasts are the kings of the savannah. Yet the reality is quite different!

But behind the scenes: cruel treatment and living conditions for the big cats

One Voice leads a daily nonviolent struggle for animal rights and the respect for all life, which is why the association investigated these businesses internally in 2015, the investigation only draws a sad picture which is shared by other associations.

Delivered to the visitor farms, the little ones find themselves in cages, stressed by the permanent contact from the volunteers. All this to sell a magical interaction with the public and hide the angst of the new-borns, the employees use several deplorable practices towards these young animals. They blow on their faces to prevent them from crying out, throw them in the air to stun them or simply drug them so that they do not wander back and forth in the cage; this being typical behaviour of stressed animals.

Reserves on the other hand are only enclosed spaces which are small in size and where animals are tranquilized with drugs to enable walks with volunteers. Let’s be clear on this, after spending the first years of their lives being cuddled and in contact with man, it is obvious that the return to the wildlife is impossible. Yet, to justify the existence of these farms, the opposite is asserted.

Farms: a supply of wild animals for trophy hunts

If the business of the farmers paid and they could be self-sufficient, then maintaining this is a real issue for the development of trophy hunting: these structures constitute a continual pool of wild animals ready to be slaughtered. Big cats are taken a few days before the hunt and put in an enclosed space that they cannot escape from. This practice, better known as “canned hunting”, inevitably signifies the death sentence of the animal. In 2006, 1,830 trophies were exported from South Africa, 4,062 in 2016, most of which came from capture sites.

It is time to boycott this type of structure and to move towards ethical eco-volunteering and doing something useful for animals. After the survey conducted by One Voice, Guidisto, an eco-volunteering portal has withdrawn all missions offering direct contact with big cats and directs users to volunteer to observe animals in their natural environment as well as participating in the protection of their habitat.