Eunuch Spiders
from Macro Photography in Singapore
Other Critters @ Bukit Brown
from Beauty of Fauna and Flora in Nature
Brahminy Kite passing on prey in midair
from Bird Ecology Study Group
Screw the divers: The sad tale of Thern Da Seafood Pte Ltd.
from Mad As A Marine Biologist
Sumita Sreedharan Today Online 6 Jan 12;
SINGAPORE - Shark's fin products will no longer be sold at over 100 FairPrice outlets by the end of March this year. The retailer will cease selling shark's fin products at all its retail outlets, which include FairPrice supermarkets, FairPrice Finest, FairPrice Xtra hypermarkets, Cheers and FairPrice Xpress petrol stations, and FairPrice Online.
NTUC FairPrice CEO Seah Kian Peng told Today that it has been looking into the area of shark's fin products for the last few months, "in our commitment to be a socially responsible retailer."
"FairPrice has always focused our efforts on social sustainability by reaching out to the less privileged in the community, helping them to have access to daily needs but, at the same time, we recognise that there are other areas of sustainability such as environmental sustainability that need to be addressed," he said.
FairPrice will no longer be extending new commitments for shark's fin products but will honour current commitments to its suppliers. "In other words, this will be the last Chinese New Year in which customers can buy shark's fin products at all our stores," said Mr Seah.
This announcement comes after an incident in November last year when an employee of Thern Da Seafood, a supplier of shark's fin products to FairPrice, made disparaging remarks about divers who were against shark finning on his Facebook page. This sparked an online protest, with many raising their concerns on the wall of FairPrice's Facebook page.
FairPrice said on its Facebook page yesterday that all its suppliers are required to clear joint promotional materials and messages before implementation. In this incident, the supplier had not complied with the standing instructions.
Stating that it takes the matter very seriously, FairPrice will be withdrawing all products from Thern Da Seafood across all their stores, it said.
Cold Storage ceased the sale of shark's fin products in October last year. When contacted, a spokesperson for Sheng Siong, which operates 25 stores in Singapore, said that they do not have concrete plans to do so at the moment.
Outrage over posting on supplier's webpage
FairPrice to stop selling shark's fin products after...
Ng Kai Ling Straits Times 6 Jan 12;
SINGAPORE'S largest supermarket chain, FairPrice, yesterday announced that it will stop selling shark's fin products from April this year.
The move follows an outcry over a post on the Facebook page of one of its suppliers.
The comment 'Screw the divers' - an apparent reference to diving enthusiasts campaigning against the shark's fin trade - appeared on the Facebook page of Thern Da Seafood. It was announcing the launch of a new shark's fin product at FairPrice outlets.
The post drew much criticism and went viral on the social networking site and also microblog Twitter. Many who commented called for a boycott of both the supplier and FairPrice.
Comments also made their way onto FairPrice's Facebook page. Among them were calls for FairPrice to look again at its corporate social responsibility policy and to stop selling shark's fin.
In a statement yesterday, FairPrice chief executive Seah Kian Peng said it would stop selling shark's fin products by the end of the first quarter of this year.
This will be in effect across FairPrice's more than 230 retail outlets, which include FairPrice Finest stores, FairPrice Xpress petrol stations and also its online store.
Mr Seah said FairPrice had been looking into the sale of shark's fin products in the past few months as part of its commitment to being a socially responsible retailer. He also said it would be withdrawing all products from Thern Da Seafood.
'We do not condone such insensitive remarks. As a standing instruction, all our suppliers are required to clear their joint promotional materials and messages with us before implementation... the supplier had not complied with our standing instruction,' he said.
A spokesman for Thern Da Seafood said the company had been unaware of the post, which was put up in November last year, until Wednesday.
He said the post was not representative of the company's position, and was made by a staff member tasked with managing the Facebook page, which was deactivated on Wednesday night.
The spokesman said: 'We have immediately, upon notice of the matter, removed the comments and reprimanded the staff member. We have also dismissed and terminated the employment contract of the staff member concerned.'
In recent years, the consumption of shark's fin - considered a delicacy in traditional Chinese culture - has been a controversial issue.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species, six species of sharks are considered critically endangered.
Conservationists have also pointed out that shark's fin, on its own, has no taste nor nutritional value.
In Singapore, imports of shark's fin have nearly doubled since 2003 to about 2,500 tonnes in 2010, up from 1,300 tonnes about eight years ago.
The growing calls for sharks not to be eaten have prompted many companies, like upmarket Hong Kong hotel chain the Peninsula Hotel Group, to stop selling shark's fin from Jan 1 this year.
Last September, local supermarket chain Cold Storage was the first to pull all shark's fin products from the shelves of all its 42 outlets.
It is unclear how much shark's fin is sold yearly by FairPrice, but one supplier said demand typically picks up during the lead-up to Chinese New Year.
Mrs Doreen Goh, who runs Yeow Seng Shark's Fin, said yesterday that her company has supplied between 3,000kg and 4,000kg of frozen shark's fin and 2,000 cartons of canned shark's fin to FairPrice for sale during this Chinese New Year.
'We are one of FairPrice's biggest suppliers of shark's fin, and we have not heard anything from them,' said Mrs Goh, who was surprised to hear the news.
However, the news of FairPrice's withdrawal of shark's fin products was welcomed by netizens.
Within five hours of the announcement being made on the That's My FairPrice Facebook page, it drew close to 400 'likes' and more than 100 comments.
Ms Jennifer Lee, founder of Project: Fin, which aims to reduce the consumption of shark's fin through the education of both consumers and businesses, noted that FairPrice's move could have some impact on other businesses.
'This may get others that still sell shark's fin, such as restaurants, to rethink their policy,' she said.
Going forward, Ms Lee and others like biologist Xu Qiaoling hope that supermarkets will in future stock only seafood from sustainable sources - in other words, from areas where the ecosystem is not threatened by overfishing.
Said Ms Xu: 'FairPrice's recent move to stock locally farmed fish was a good start, but I hope they will not stop there.'
NTUC FairPrice withdraws all Thern Da products
The New Paper AsiaOne 7 Jan 12;
THIS will be the last Chinese New Year where you can buy shark’s fin products from FairPrice outlets.
Singapore’s largest supermarket chain announced yesterday that it will stop selling such products by the end of March.
In another surprise move, FairPrice is also withdrawing from its shelves all products from one seafood supplier – Thern Da Seafood – after one of its employees made insensitive comments about divers who were against shark finning.
A Mr Chris Lee had announced in a recent Facebook post that a product supplied by his company – containing shark’s fin – would be launched this month at FairPrice outlets during Chinese New Year.
Mr Lee, who is listed as Thern Da’s sales manager, said: “S***w the divers!”
He then went on to mock the divers for being unable to stop his company from supplying the product.
Mr Lee even directed an expletive at them, saying: “I’m not the one who slashed the sharks.”
His comments, which were made last November, angered netizens.
On Wednesday, they complained about the matter on FairPrice’s Facebook page. And yesterday, FairPrice acted.
Withdraw
The supermarket announced it was withdrawing all Thern Da products from its stores.
Its chief executive officer, Mr Seah Kian Peng, told The New Paper in an e-mail reply: “We know many customers are upset by the insensitive post.
“We do not condone such insensitive remarks.”
Mr Seah explained that as a standing instruction, all FairPrice’s suppliers are required to clear their joint promotional materials and messages with the retailer before implementation.
Thern Da had not done so in this instance.
Said Mr Seah: “We take this matter very seriously.”
He also announced that FairPrice will cease the sale of shark’s fin products by the end of March.
This will apply across all its retail formats, including its supermarkets, hypermarkets, Cheers outlets and its online platform.
The decision was made after a review over the last few months. Said Mr Seah: “We recognise that there are areas of sustainability, such as environmental sustainability, that need to be addressed. “As such, we have been continually assessing various policies in our commitment to be a socially responsible retailer.
“We will no longer be extending new commitments for shark’s fin products.” Netizens applauded FairPrice’s decision.
One said: “I’m so happy to see NTUC make such a courageous stand.
“Thanks for making sure future generations will have healthy fish stocks in the ocean.”
But another netizen said: “Well done, FairPrice, though removal of shark’s fin products before CNY will send an even stronger message in your commitment to sustainability.
“Such an announcement before CNY might result in an abnormal spike in demand, which will be detrimental to your cause.”
It was reported last October that Cold Storage was the first supermarket chain in Singapore to stop selling shark’s fin and other shark products.
Thern Da, a private company registered in 2008, could not be reached for comment.
Its Facebook account, as well as Mr Lee’s, appear to have been deleted.
Jakarta Globe 5 Jan 12;
Bangkok. Thai wildlife officials on Thursday said body parts from a dead wild elephant found without its tusks, tail and penis were likely destined for restaurants in tourist areas.
The creature, which was discovered in Kaeng Krachan National Park near the Burma border in central Thailand on Monday, is believed to have died at the hands of a local gang of poachers.
“They cut its tusks, trunk, sexual organ and tail. Those parts must be sold to the middleman and will be sent to restaurants in the main tourist spots like Phuket, Surat Thani and Hua Hin,” park head Chaiwat Limlikhitaksorn told AFP.
“There is a team of elephant hunters in this area. They are stateless people who live along Thai-Myanmar [Burma] border,” he added.
The wildlife department has found four elephant carcasses killed by poachers in the past three years.
Chaiwat blamed ineffective laws for the increase in the crime and putting more than 250 wild elephants and the officers in danger.
Thailand is known as a global hub for the illegal ivory trade, with a dramatic rise in seizures of tusks in recent years as the decimation of the kingdom’s elephants has seen poachers turn to Africa for their plunder.
The country has an ivory sculpting tradition dating back to the late 19th century when an estimated 100,000 elephants roamed the kingdom.
Since then most have been lost to poachers and the clearing of their forest habitat, and now just a few thousand remain, many working in the tourism industry.
Benefiting from its location, Thailand exports much of the ivory to China — where it is traditionally used in medicinal powders — and Japan.
Agence France-Presse
The Star 5 Jan 12;
PETALING JAYA: A Category Three strong winds and rough seas warning has been issued for waters off several areas including the east coast until Tuesday.
The Meteorological Department said conditions were dangerous for all coastal and shipping activities including workers on oil platforms.
“Strong northeasterly winds over 60kph with waves more than 5.5m occurring over waters off Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, east Johor, Samui, Tioman, Bunguran, Condore, Reef North and Layang-Layang are expected to continue until Tuesday.
“The coastal areas of the east coast are also vulnerable to sea rise,” it said.
The department also issued a Category Two strong winds and rough sea warning with waves of up to 4.5m for waters off Sarawak, FT Labuan, Sabah (Interior, West Coast and Kudat), Reef South and Palawan, making it dangerous for fishing and ferry services.
Strong winds and high waves warning in several states
The Star 6 Jan 12;
KUALA LUMPUR: Intermittent to moderate rain expected in several areas in Pahang and Johor from Sunday is likely to prolong until Monday, the Meteorological Department said.
In a statement, it identified the areas in Pahang as Kuantan, Pekan, Rompin and Maran and those in Johor as Mersing and Kota Tinggi.
The department also issued a warning of north-easterly winds of 60kph and waves higher than 5.5 metres in the waters off Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, eastern Johor, Samui, Tioman, Bunguran, Condore, Reef North and Layang-Layang until Jan 10.
It also issued a warning of winds of between 50 and 60kph and waves higher than 4.5 metres up to Jan 10 in the waters off Sarawak, Reef South, Palawan, Sulu, Federal Territory of Labuan and several areas in Sabah such as Pedalaman, Pantai Barat, Kudat and Sandakan. The department said the wind and sea conditions would be dangerous for beach activities, shipping, fishing and ferry services. BERNAMA
ECOS Magazine a href="http://www.sciencealert.com.au/features/20120501-22971-2.html">Science Alert 6 Jan 12;
Australian scientists have reconstructed the past six thousand years in estuary sedimentation records and found that changes in plant and algae abundance point to a possible undermining of these natural coastal carbon sinks.
The findings, published in Global Change Biology, show an increase in microalgae relative to seagrass in the past 60 years. This shift could diminish the ability of estuaries to mitigate climate change.
‘We have effectively gone back in time and monitored carbon capture and storage by coastal ecosystems, finding a 100-fold weakening in the ability of coastal ecosystems to sequester carbon since the time of European settlement,’ said University of Technology Sydney’s Dr Peter Macreadie.
‘This has severely hampered the ability of nature to reset the planet's thermostat’.
The scientists collected soil cores from sites in and around Botany Bay. A chronology for the cores was determined using radiocarbon dating. Changes in plant and algae composition over time were then determined according to the change in isotopic ratio of the organic matter in the sediment.
The team's analysis suggests the relative reduction in seagrass and increase in microalgae coincided with a time of rapid industrial expansion and increased nitrogen deposition.
These findings are critical because plants such as seagrass have a relatively large carbon sink capacity, which plays a critical role in mitigating climate change.
‘Unfortunately, this outcome is common to urbanised estuaries throughout the world, therefore the study adds further support for the inclusion of Blue Carbon habitats (seagrasses, saltmarshes, and mangroves) in greenhouse gas abatement schemes,’ said Dr Macreadie.
Rene Pastor PlanetArk 6 Jan 12;
The U.S. government forecaster warned on Thursday that La Nina, the weather phenomenon widely blamed for withering drought in the southern United States and South America, may persist longer than expected, into the Northern Hemisphere spring.
In a monthly update, the U.S. Climate Prediction Center said the latest sea temperature data suggests La Nina "will be of weak-to-moderate strength this winter, and will continue thereafter as a weak event until it likely dissipates sometime between March and May". A month ago it said La Nina should dissipate "with the onset of the northern spring".
The prolonged phenomenon, although weaker than it was a year ago, threatens to roil commodity markets from corn to coffee as dry conditions in Argentina and Brazil whither crops while the southern United States -- a prime growing area for cotton and some wheat -- suffers through a once-a-century drought.
La Nina, which can last for several years, is the opposite number of the more infamous El Nino anomaly and is caused by an abnormal cooling of waters in the equatorial Pacific Ocean.
El Nino leads to warming of those waters. Both wreak havoc in weather patterns from South and North America to India and possibly even Africa.
"During December 2011 - February 2012, there is an increased chance of above-average temperatures across the south-central and southeastern U.S. below-average temperatures over the western and north-central U.S.," said the report from the CPC, part of the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
"Also, above-average precipitation is favored across the northern tier of states, excluding New England, and drier-than-average conditions are more likely across the southern tier of the U.S."
The effects of the current phenomenon are already being felt keenly in Latin America, where estimates for the 2011/12 corn crop from Argentina, the world's No. 2 supplier, have been slashed by as much as a fifth, while Brazil's soybean crop is also withering due to a prolonged dry spell.
Without persistent rains within the next two months, Argentina's soybean crop could also be at risk.
In the United States, an extended dry period could cause problems for farmers from the Carolinas to Kansas planning for sowing cotton in the spring, analysts said, particularly in top growing state Texas.
Although recent storms have helped restore moisture in Kansas, the severe Southern drought in Oklahoma and Texas has already drained the soil there, Sterling Smith, senior analyst at Country Hedging Inc said.
"It could worsen the possibility of a dry spell in Texas," said Smith.
In leading palm grower/exporter Malaysia, severe monsoon rains from La Nina could disrupt harvesting and boost palm oil prices.
Rains in the December to March period are also posing a threat to the coffee crop in Colombia, the world's top source of high quality beans.
La Nina lasting until the Northern Hemisphere spring would also bring it to the cusp of the start of the annual Atlantic hurricane season on June 1.
In the last two years when La Nina was present, more storms formed in the Atlantic Ocean, but most veered away from the U.S. mainland, with the exception of Hurricane Irene and the severe damage it caused in states from New Jersey to Vermont.
(Editing by David Gregorio)
Oil spill near Pulau Pawai, Pulau Senang 4 Jan 12
from wild shores of singapore
Buy native mangrove plants in Singapore!
from wild shores of singapore
An Extraordinary Oriental Pied Hornbill at Pulau Ubin
from Bird Ecology Study Group
Meeting the volunteers for the Tanah Merah Year-Round coastal cleanups
from News from the International Coastal Cleanup Singapore
2012 Eco-resolutions: Simple ways to do our part for our Earth
from Nature rambles
Jasmine Ng Business Times 5 Jan 12;
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said on Thursday that 5 metric tonnes of marine fuel oil had spilled into the Strait of Singapore. However, traffic in the port and the Strait of Singapore remains unaffected.
The minor oil spill is caused by a collision between a Singapore-registered containership, Kota Tenaga, and a Malta-registered VLCC, SEEB. The collision occurred about 2.7km south of Pulau Sebarok on Wednesday night.
MPA said the spillage from Kota Tenaga was contained and Kota Tenaga was moved to Raffles Reserved Anchorage with an oil boom was laid around the vessel as a precaution.
A total of 12 craft was activated to monitor and clean up the oil spill. Non-toxic and biodegradable oil spill dispersants were used to break up patches of oil sighted in the vicinity of Pulau Pawai, Pulau Senang and Raffles Reserved Anchorage.
MPA said it is investigating the cause of the collision.
Minor oil spill in Straits of Singapore
AsiaOne 5 Jan 12;
A Singapore-registered container ship, Kota Tenaga, and a Malta-registered VLCC, SEEB collided at about 2.7km south of Pulau Sebarok yesterday, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said.
The accident occurred at about 9pm and saw about 5 metric tonnes of marine fuel oil spill into the sea.
An inter-agency effort coordinated by MPA was immediately activated to contain and clean up the oil spill.
MPA said the spillage of oil from Kota Tenaga has been contained, and Kota Tenaga has been moved to Raffles Reserved Anchorage.
An oil boom was laid around the vessel as a precaution. There were no reported injuries to crew members.
In addition, a total of 12 crafts were sent to monitor and clean up the oil spill.
Non-toxic and biodegradable oil spill dispersants were used to break up patches of oil sighted in the vicinity of Pulau Pawai, Pulau Senang and Raffles Reserved Anchorage.
MPA said it is monitoring the situation closely and will respond to any sightings of oil patches.
According to the port authority, traffic in the port and the Strait of Singapore remained unaffected.
The cause of the collision is currently under investigated.
Crash leads to minor oil spill off Singapore
Straits Times 6 Jan 11;
A SINGAPORE container ship collided with a Malta-registered ship on Wednesday night, causing about 5 tonnes of marine fuel to spill into the sea 10km off southern Singapore.
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) received a report on the incident on Wednesday night.
The accident - involving Singapore-registered vessel Kota Tenaga and Malta-registered ship SEEB - occurred 2.7km south of Pulau Sebarok, which lies just south-west of Sentosa.
The crew members did not sustain any injuries, said the MPA in a statement yesterday.
It also said that the spill has been contained with the help of non-toxic and biodegradable chemical dispersants. They were used to break up the patches of oil.
Oil patches were sighted in the vicinity of Pulau Pawai, Pulau Senang and the Raffles Reserve Anchorage.
The Kota Tenaga has since been moved to the Raffles Reserve Anchorage.
An oil boom has also been laid around the vessel as a precaution.
A total of 12 craft were deployed to monitor and clean up the oil spill.
The MPA said it continues to monitor the situation closely, and will respond to any sighting of oil patches.
Meanwhile, traffic in the port and the Strait of Singapore remains unaffected.
The MPA is investigating the cause of the collision.
In May 2010, another collision involving an oil tanker and a bulk carrier in the Singapore Strait dumped about 2,500 tonnes of crude oil into the sea off the Changi coast.
It prompted a week-long closure of a 10km stretch of the eastern shoreline.
KEZIA TOH
OTHER SPILLS
May 2010: An oil slick formed in the Singapore Strait when the MT Bunga Kelana 3 crude tanker collided with the MV Waily bulk carrier. The 2,500-tonne leak was enough to fill an Olympic-size swimming pool. Wednesday's spill is small compared with it.
October 1997: Singapore's worst oil spill occurred when the Cyprus-flagged Evoikos collided with the Thai-registered Orapin Global, leading to a leak of more than 29,000 tonnes of oil.
Minor oil spill following collision between Kota Tenaga and SEEB in the Strait of Singapore
MPA Press Release 5 Jan 12;
At about 2100hrs on 04 Jan 2012 (Singapore time), the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) received a report that a Singapore-registered containership, Kota Tenaga and a Malta-registered VLCC, SEEB had collided at about 2.7km south of Pulau Sebarok.
The master of Kota Tenaga reported that about 5 metric tonnes of marine fuel oil had spilled into the sea.��An inter-agency effort, coordinated by MPA, was immediately activated to contain and clean up the oil spill. The spillage of oil from Kota Tenaga was contained and Kota Tenaga was moved to Raffles Reserved Anchorage. An oil boom was laid around the vessel as a precaution. There is no report of injury to crew members.
A total of 12 craft was activated to monitor and clean up the oil spill. Non-toxic and biodegradable oil spill dispersants were used to break up patches of oil sighted in the vicinity of Pulau Pawai, Pulau Senang and Raffles Reserved Anchorage.
MPA continues to monitor the situation closely and will respond to any sighting of oil patches.
Traffic in the port and the Strait of Singapore remains unaffected.
MPA is investigating the cause of the collision.
ISSUED BY THE MARITIME AND PORT AUTHORITY OF SINGAPORE (MPA)
For clarification, please contact:
Ms Evelyn Lim
MPA media hotline: (65) 8366-2294
Email: Evelyn_Lim@mpa.gov.sg
More links on wild shores of singapore
Ulma Haryanto Jakarta Globe 4 Jan 12;
The recent government relocation of hundreds of long-tailed macaques from Gunungkidul, Yogyakarta, to a breeding facility in Tangerang, Banten, has raised the hackles of animal welfare watchdogs.
“Hundreds of wild monkeys have been trapped in Gunungkidul and shipped by truck to Tangerang to a primate dealer who supplies the international research industry, in particular laboratories in the USA and Japan,” Sarah Kite, director of special projects at British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection, told the Jakarta Globe.
BUAV is a London-based group that campaigns for an end to lab experiments using animals.
A truck carrying 64 macaques arrived on Tuesday at a shelter owned by CV Universal Fauna in Pasir Riab, and at least 109 more are expected in coming days.
“We are very concerned about the plight of these monkeys, their capture from the wild and removal from their home and family groups, their transportation for many hours on the back of a truck to Jakarta and their final destination,” Kite said.
Legal trade
Previous investigations carried out by BUAV in Indonesia have heightened concerns about the trade in primates. It was found that the exported animals were being used in lab experiments.
Under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites), which Indonesia ratified in 1978, the long-tailed macaque is classified under Appendix II, which means that while it is “not necessarily now threatened with extinction, [it] may become so unless trade in specimens of such species is subject to strict regulation.”
Since 1989, the Forestry Ministry has forbidden the export of wild-caught macaques; only those bred at breeding centers can be exported. But a special permit for catching the wild animals and breeding them can be obtained.
Every year the Ministry also determines a quota for the capture of wild species within the country. In 2008, for long-tailed macaques, the quota was 5,100.
“This figure included 3,000 monkeys for the Indonesian research company Bio Farma — a vaccine and serum manufacturer in Indonesia — and 2,000 monkeys to replace breeding stock at primate supply companies, after consultation with regional forestry offices,” a BUAV report says.
Bio Farma is listed as a client of CV Universal Fauna. On its Web site, CV Universal Fauna states that it has been exporting the animals since 1987. It boasts a capacity of “producing” 3,000 monkeys per year and cites clientele from the United States and Japan.
Plight of the monkeys
Information on what happens to specific primates at their final destination is difficult to obtain, but BUAV said it tracked down a number of institutions that have imported primates from Indonesia, including Wake Forest University in North Carolina.
“The experiments involved ethanol consumption and its effect on the body or behavior. This was often combined with removal of the ovaries or feeding the animals a diet that would cause fatty deposits in blood vessels as part of the study,” the report says, adding that in some studies all the animals were killed or died.
One of the companies, SNBL USA, uses the animals in experiments in “reproductive toxicology, safety pharmacology, immunotoxicology and carcinogenicity.”
“The BUAV is opposed to all animal experiments,” Kite said. “There are strong ethical and scientific arguments against using primates in research.”
“[And] not only are international animal welfare guidelines being violated,” she added, “but Indonesia is also breaching its own legislation as well as failing to comply with Cites.”
A ‘service’ to the government
Herman Riyadi, director of development at Universal Fauna, said this was the first time the company had received wild monkeys from the government.
“This is our CSR [corporate social responsibility]. We don’t charge the government anything for taking in the monkeys,” Herman said, adding that wild monkeys cost more since they have to be vaccinated for various diseases. “Besides, we already have our own monkeys that we breed in captivity.”
Sulis, an officer at Yogyakarta’s Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) confirmed the captures, adding that the long-tailed macaques have been “disturbing ... and causing trouble for the community.”
A press statement from the office, dated Dec. 20, said that the Gunungkidul Forestry Office had asked for BKSDA Yogyakarta in July to “actively participate” in “countering the attacks of the long-tailed macaques,” which are considered state property.
Pramudya Harzani, director of the Jakarta Animal Aid Network, questioned the decision made by BKSDA Yogyakarta, since the long-tailed macaques do not usually disturb human habitat.
“The agency failed to look at the root cause, which is the diminishing habitat for the monkeys, especially after the Mount Merapi eruption destroyed hectares of forest,” Pramudya said.
He added that in other regions, humans and the long-tailed monkeys are able to live side-by-side as long as there is enough vegetation for both species.
“In Karimun Jawa, the villagers plant guava trees in the outskirts of their villages for the monkeys,” Pramudya said.
“Our other concern is that Indonesia does not have a record of how many long-tailed macaques are left in the wild,” Pramudya continued.
“With unorganized exploitations and cases where the monkeys are viewed as pests and captured, it is harder to find out.”
Concern as Indonesian Monkeys Relocated to Research Breeding Center
Ulma Haryanto Jakarta Globe 4 Jan 12;
The Indonesian government's recent relocation of hundreds of long-tailed macaques from Gunungkidul, Yogyakarta, to a breeding facility in Tangerang, Banten, has raised the hackles of animal welfare watchdogs.
“Hundreds of wild monkeys have been trapped in Gunungkidul and shipped by truck to Tangerang to a primate dealer who supplies the international research industry, in particular laboratories in the USA and Japan,” Sarah Kite, director of special projects at British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection, told the Jakarta Globe.
BUAV is a London-based group that campaigns for an end to lab experiments using animals.
A truck carrying 64 macaques arrived on Tuesday at a shelter owned by CV Universal Fauna in Pasir Riab, and at least 109 more are expected in coming days.
“We are very concerned about the plight of these monkeys, their capture from the wild and removal from their home and family groups, their transportation for many hours on the back of a truck to Jakarta and their final destination,” Kite said.
Legal trade
Previous investigations carried out by BUAV in Indonesia have heightened concerns about the trade in primates. It was found that the exported animals were being used in lab experiments.
Under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites), which Indonesia ratified in 1978, the long-tailed macaque is classified under Appendix II, which means that while it is “not necessarily now threatened with extinction, [it] may become so unless trade in specimens of such species is subject to strict regulation.”
Since 1989, the Forestry Ministry has forbidden the export of wild-caught macaques; only those bred at breeding centers can be exported. But a special permit for catching the wild animals and breeding them can be obtained.
Every year the Ministry also determines a quota for the capture of wild species within the country. In 2008, for long-tailed macaques, the quota was 5,100.
“This figure included 3,000 monkeys for the Indonesian research company Bio Farma — a vaccine and serum manufacturer in Indonesia — and 2,000 monkeys to replace breeding stock at primate supply companies, after consultation with regional forestry offices,” a BUAV report says.
Bio Farma is listed as a client of CV Universal Fauna. On its Web site, CV Universal Fauna states that it has been exporting the animals since 1987. It boasts a capacity of “producing” 3,000 monkeys per year and cites clientele from the United States and Japan.
Plight of the monkeys
Information on what happens to specific primates at their final destination is difficult to obtain, but BUAV said it tracked down a number of institutions that have imported primates from Indonesia, including Wake Forest University in North Carolina.
“The experiments involved ethanol consumption and its effect on the body or behavior. This was often combined with removal of the ovaries or feeding the animals a diet that would cause fatty deposits in blood vessels as part of the study,” the report says, adding that in some studies all the animals were killed or died.
One of the companies, SNBL USA, uses the animals in experiments in “reproductive toxicology, safety pharmacology, immunotoxicology and carcinogenicity.”
“The BUAV is opposed to all animal experiments,” Kite said. “There are strong ethical and scientific arguments against using primates in research.”
“[And] not only are international animal welfare guidelines being violated,” she added, “but Indonesia is also breaching its own legislation as well as failing to comply with Cites.”
A ‘service’ to the government
Herman Riyadi, director of development at Universal Fauna, said this was the first time the company had received wild monkeys from the government.
“This is our CSR [corporate social responsibility]. We don’t charge the government anything for taking in the monkeys,” Herman said, adding that wild monkeys cost more since they have to be vaccinated for various diseases. “Besides, we already have our own monkeys that we breed in captivity.”
Sulis, an officer at Yogyakarta’s Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) confirmed the captures, adding that the long-tailed macaques have been “disturbing ... and causing trouble for the community.”
A press statement from the office, dated Dec. 20, said that the Gunungkidul Forestry Office had asked for BKSDA Yogyakarta in July to “actively participate” in “countering the attacks of the long-tailed macaques,” which are considered state property.
Pramudya Harzani, director of the Jakarta Animal Aid Network, questioned the decision made by BKSDA Yogyakarta, since the long-tailed macaques do not usually disturb human habitat.
“The agency failed to look at the root cause, which is the diminishing habitat for the monkeys, especially after the Mount Merapi eruption destroyed hectares of forest,” Pramudya said.
He added that in other regions, humans and the long-tailed monkeys are able to live side-by-side as long as there is enough vegetation for both species.
“In Karimun Jawa, the villagers plant guava trees in the outskirts of their villages for the monkeys,” Pramudya said.
“Our other concern is that Indonesia does not have a record of how many long-tailed macaques are left in the wild,” Pramudya continued.
“With unorganized exploitations and cases where the monkeys are viewed as pests and captured, it is harder to find out.”
Teresa Cerojano Associated Press Google News 5 Jan 12;
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine authorities have seized large shipments of anteater and turtle parts in a sign that the illegal trade in the endangered animals is booming, officials said Wednesday.
Fifty-eight pounds (26.5 kilograms) of Philippine pangolin, or anteater, about to be smuggled to Manila as goat meat was confiscated Wednesday at the Puerto Princesa city airport in southwestern Palawan province, said Alex Marcaida, an environment official.
On Monday, 209 pounds (95 kilograms) of pangolin scales and 200 pounds (90.5 kilograms) of scutes from endangered hawksbill and green turtles were seized at the same airport, he said. That shipment, which had a market value of nearly 1 million pesos ($23,000), was declared as dried fish.
Pangolin is a Chinese delicacy. Its scales are used in Chinese traditional medicine.
Turtle scutes — the plates that cover the shells — are used to decorate guitars and other products.
Marcaida said it's possible traders are increasingly turning their attention to Palawan, home to many exotic wildlife, for pangolin meat because the animal's population has been vanishing in other parts of Southeast Asia due to hunting and deforestation.
The International Union of Conservation of Nature said rising demand for pangolins, mostly from mainland China, and lax laws are wiping out the unique toothless anteaters from their forest habitat in Southeast Asia.
The animals are protected by laws in many Asian nations, and an international ban on their trade has been in effect since 2002. But these measures have had little impact on the illicit trade, the IUCN said.
The IUCN lists the Philippine pangolin, which is endemic to Palawan, as close to becoming a threatened species.
But Marcaida, who is from the government's Palawan Council for Sustainable Development, said the Philippines considers the mammal a threatened species because of the continuing illegal trade.
He said the strict monitoring of trading in live pangolin may have prompted traders to try to smuggle them as meat and scales. A kilogram (2.2 pounds) of pangolin scales sells for 5,000 pesos ($114).
The same traders may be behind the two shipments, Marcaida said, adding that no arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.
The shipper of Wednesday's haul left the cargo with an airport porter, while Monday's shipment, which was bound for central Cebu city, went through a courier company, he said.
AFP Yahoo News 5 Jan 11;
A seven-pronged starfish, a mysterious pale octopus and a new kind of yeti crab are among a teeming community of previously undiscovered life on the sea floor near Antarctica, British researchers said.
The species, described this week on the online journal PloS Biology, were first glimpsed in 2010 when researchers lowered a robotic vehicle to explore the East Scotia Ridge deep beneath the Southern Ocean, between Antarctica and the tip of South America.
The dark and remote area is home to hydrothermal vents, which are deep-sea springs that spew liquid at temperatures of up to 382 degrees Celsius (720 Fahrenheit), and have previously been found to host unusual life forms in other parts of the world.
"Hydrothermal vents are home to animals found nowhere else on the planet that get their energy not from the Sun but from breaking down chemicals, such as hydrogen sulphide," said lead researcher Alex Rogers of Oxford University.
"The first survey of these particular vents, in the Southern Ocean near Antarctica, has revealed a hot, dark, 'lost world' in which whole communities of previously unknown marine organisms thrive."
Hydrothermal vents were first discovered in 1977 off the Galapagos Islands.
The latest discoveries 2,400-2,600 meters deep include several new types of sea anemones, stalked barnacles and unidentified octopi, and a new kind of starfish that was observed feeding on the fauna around the vents.
A new type of blond, furry-legged yeti crab, a species formally known as Kiwa hirsuta which was first seen at hydrothermal vents in the South Pacific in 2005, was also found to have different DNA than those already known to man.
Fish were uncommon, and only seen on the peripheries of the hot zones.
Researchers were equally intrigued by what they did not find -- including many of the giant worms, vent mussels, crabs, clams and shrimp that have been found before at other deep sea vents in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
The differences in species suggest that the geographic conditions of the area may make it a distinct province for certain forms of life, which have been unable to migrate to other parts of the globe's sea floor.
"These findings are yet more evidence of the precious diversity to be found throughout the world's oceans," said Rogers.
"Everywhere we look, whether it is in the sunlit coral reefs of tropical waters or these Antarctic vents shrouded in eternal darkness, we find unique ecosystems that we need to understand and protect."
Researchers on the project came from the University of Oxford, University of Southampton and the British Antarctic Survey. Their research appears online in the January 3 issue of PLoS Biology.
AFP Yahoo News 5 Jan 12;
Harp seal pups off the coast of eastern Canada are dying at alarming rates due to a loss of winter ice cover, according to US scientists who questioned on Wednesday if the population will be able to recover.
The study by researchers at Duke University shows that seasonal ice cover in the harp seal breeding regions of the North Atlantic Ocean has declined about six percent per decade since 1979, when satellite data began.
The result has been entire generations of newly born seal pups dying due to their disappearing habitat, said the study published in the open access science journal PLoS ONE.
"The kind of mortality we're seeing in eastern Canada is dramatic," said co-author David Johnston, a research scientist at the Duke University Marine Lab.
"Entire year-classes may be disappearing from the population in low ice years -- essentially all of the pups die," he said. "It calls into question the resilience of the population."
For recent data, researchers looked at satellite images of winter ice from 1992 to 2010 in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, a prime breeding region off the east coast of Canada, and compared them to yearly reports of dead seal pup strandings in the region.
They also compared stranding rates to records of a climate phenomenon known as the North Atlantic Oscillation, which controls the intensity and track of westerly winds and storms and exerts a major influence on sea ice formation.
They found that years of weaker NAO and lighter ice cover showed higher death rates among seal pups.
While harp seals have adapted to the earlier spring melts in recent years by developing shorter 12-day nursing periods, it remains unclear if their population can sustain itself against sea ices losses over time.
"As a species, they're well suited to deal with natural short-term shifts in climate, but our research suggests they may not be well adapted to absorb the effects of short-term variability combined with longer-term climate change and other human influences such as hunting and by-catch," Johnston said.
The team also looked back at data from 1950 to 1972 which showed that NAO weather changes were tied to big declines in the seal population, followed by period of recovery from 1973 to 2000.
"But there's a caveat: regardless of NAO conditions, our models show that sea ice cover in all harp seal breeding regions in the North Atlantic have been declining by as much as six percent a decade over the study period," added Johnston.
"The losses in bad years outweigh the gains in good years."
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