The United States Fish & Wildlife Services is facing yet another lawsuit over their inaction in determining whether northern grey wolves deserve to be listed under the Endangered Species Act. If you guys remember, former President Trump delisted wolves callously at the end of his term which left grey wolves in the country at risk of being hunted again. In some cases, individual states allowed hunting of up to 90% of the state's wolves, effectively undoing over 45 years of efforts to rehabilitate the species. Although the lower 48 states have seen grey wolves relisted, the decision to list Northern grey wolves hangs in the balance and it's a fight to protect them.

The Northern Rocky Region would see their wolf-management programs updated to reflect ESA protections which they argue are unnecessary as they believe their current wolf management program is adequate. However, they're selfishly trying to protect their right to hunt wolves, and to protect the animal agriculture industry which is imo, the root of the problem when it comes to wolves. Livestock are easy targets for hungry wolves which as far as animal ag is concerned, is enough of a reason to see them slaughtered. For an industry that is so heavily protected by the Government, why is there no money allocated to reinforcing enclosures and making them wolf-proof? Why is it that they are pandered to to such a degree that we'd sooner see wolf extinction to protect livestock than to address shortcomings in the industry?

We take the land away from wild animals and then execute them for being an inconvenience to us. This cycle is why we have so many species facing the possibility of extinction. I can confidently say that 95% of the species on the Endangered species list were put there as a result of human interference. When you look at wolves, they only inhabit 10% of their once historic range, and yet we have states saying there are too many wolves. This disconnect is due to selfishness and profits, nothing else. If livestock are killed, that's money out of someone's pocket. It's not that they care about the animals, it's that they're losing money from these animals being killed. Money motivates us to do things that don't always make sense if it means we're protecting our wallets. In this case, the livestock industry is profitable whereas protecting wolves is not, that basically sums up why the Northern Rockies states are against protecting wolves. 

Considering it took 45 years to rehabilitate wolves and only 3 to see them relisted in most of the United States, it's pretty obvious that without these protections, wolves be hunted to extinction. As long as the livestock industry is protected and pandered to, wolves will continue to suffer. If we do not shift our attitude towards wild animals and how to coexist with them, wolves will go extinct. It won't stop with wolves. As we continue to grow and take more land away from wild animals, more species will suffer as a result of our continued takeover of this planet.

​Our selfishness is pushing everything around us to extinction.

​#relistwolves

​www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/pythons-are-eating-alligators-everything-else-florida-snake-hunters-st-rcna36222

The Florida Python Challenge ran from August 5 - 14th, bringing professionals and novices alike together to hunt the state's most concerning invasive species - the Burmese Python. The origin of the Burmese Python in Florida is debatable, but the destruction the species has caused is apparent. These snakes are destroying Florida's native wildlife including bobcats, deer, foxes, rabbits, and even alligators. If they're not hunted and taken out of the equation, Florida's native wildlife will be decimated. 

In the case of the Burmese python, the only option is to hunt them. As I said, I don't typically support culls but when you consider how truly dangerous an invasive species like the Burmese Python is, it's the only reasonable solution to manage the population. Invasive species cause significant challenges to an ecosystem / habitat including environmental destruction and wildlife decimation. As I reported, Florida's native wildlife is being destroyed by the pythons which could push some of those species to extinction in the area. When it comes to protecting native wildlife, one must do everything possible to prevent extinction which is why the eradication of pythons is a necessary event.

Learn more about the Burmese pythons in Florida and why it's imperative that they be culled to protect Florida's precious biodiversity by clicking the link at the top of this post.

​worldanimalnews.com/259-rhinos-have-been-poached-during-the-first-six-months-of-2022-poachers-are-on-the-move-in-south-africa/

A whopping 259 rhinos have already been poached for their horns in the first half of the year in South Africa. Current population estimates range, but between the species of Rhino left, there are an estimated 25, 000 remaining in the wild. Every rhino slaughtered is one step closer to extinction and the possibility of extinction with rhinos is a real thing. In fact, in the past 25 years, 3 sub-species of rhinos have already gone extinct while the Northern White Rhino has been reduced to only two living females. At this rate, rhino extinction is possible within the next half a century if we cannot curb the illegal poaching to a degree that nearly stops it.

Poaching is a sickness fueled by greed and the promise is wealth. Poachers are literally putting their lives on the line in order to get their hands on rhino horns and in some cases, their lives are cut short as a result of their actions. Knowing the dangers involved in poaching, it's obvious that the value on rhino horns continues to be the motivating factor in poaching. Unfortunately, there is rarely any consideration for what these poachers intend to do when they've decimated the entire rhino population. Can anyone really be so naïve to believe that these animals are endlessly abundant? Do they not have access to statistics and population numbers? What do they intend to do when they've killed everything? Greed is an ugly trait, one that can push us to do even the worst things on our planet if it in some way guarantees us monetary gain.

Rhinos, elephants, tigers, leopards, lions, giraffes, all of these species are at risk of being poached for their body parts. Whether it's ivory from rhinos or elephants, body parts from giraffes to make trinkets and novelty items, or teeth / blood from tigers traditionally used in ancient medicines that are not scientifically backed, Africa's wildlife is under continued attack. Our efforts are not in vain but poaching is relentless and there must be more attention and resources funneled in to protecting our planet's most imperiled species. If we do not combat poaching aggressively, all of the animals I've listed will undoubtedly go extinct in the wild.

​www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/point-pelee-asks-public-to-stop-releasing-domestic-cats-rabbits-and-turtles-into-the-park/ar-AA10qIFp?li=AAggFp5

Point Pelee National Park in Ontario Canada, is urging people to be responsible and stop dumping their pets on the park's grounds. In the past 3 or 4 months, park employees have spotted at least 12 domestic animals that were abandoned at the park; these animals have included cats, rabbits, turtles, and even racoons. The major problem here is that the park is considered a Carolinian forest habitat; rare in Canada, and domestic animals are considered invasive and detrimental to the habitat's well being. 

On top of all of this, there's the lack of responsibility from pet owners that I think is most unfortunate. Not only is it incredibly irresponsible to abandon your animal, it's especially shameful to do so in an area where they face potential danger and can also cause irreversible danger to an ecosystem. Owning a pet is no different than having a child / adopting, you cannot just throw them away when you no longer want / can care for them. Be responsible folks! There are plenty of avenues to take when considering giving up your fur babies that don't involve selfishly abandoning them in National parks. It's disgusting and a complete disregard for our responsibility as pet owners. 

Pets are family for life. There are only a few circumstances where surrendering your pet is appropriate and abandoning them in public parks is the last thing you should ever do. It saddens me to hear that this is a continued problem and I hope with more attention, people stop doing this. It's so irresponsible and destructive to our native wildlife / habitats.

​www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/woman-seeking-justice-in-dogs-death-says-person-of-interest-photo-released-was-actually-her-partner/ar-AA10lZXA?li=AAggFp5

After a mishap in posting a photo that was incorrectly reported to be a person of interest, Windsor police are back on the hunt for a suspect in another horrific incident of animal cruelty in Windsor Ontario, Canada. The incident involved a female husky dog who was found with severe burns & bloodied paws, indicating she had likely been set on fire. The dog has since sadly passed from the injuries it sustained and now the owner is looking for answers and peace of mind.

If y'all remember, I recently posted about another case of violent animal cruelty involving a dog that was punched & kicked repeatedly. The man has since been found guilty and is now awaiting sentencing. The crime can come with anywhere from house arrest to up to 12 months in prison and a 10 year ban on owning animals. With this being said, the nature of the crime means that house arrest is simply not enough of a punishment to fit the crime and doesn't reflect the horrific cruelty that was displayed. Much is the same with this case; we cannot continue to give embarrassing sentences to people who demonstrate such a violent display of aggression towards another living creature.

In cases where an animal is violently beaten or set on fire, there is no other option but to lock these people up. They should also be subjected to anger management rehabilitation and undergo psychiatric evaluation to determine what other therapies would be ideal to rehabilitate. Jail will be the only way to not only hold them accountable for their violence, but also to set an example that this level of animal cruelty is deserving of incarceration. We're talking about unhinged individuals who clearly have no regard for life; letting them sit at home on their Playstations, eating good food, and having a great time, doesn't correlate with the violence they displayed and doesn't truly hold them accountable. We must set an example here and punish them to the full extent of what the law is capable of.

​No one learns anything from a slap on the wrist, particularly when we're talking about horrific violence and blatant cruelty hurled at an innocent animal. Think of the animal as it was set on fire or punched repeatedly in the face. Think of the horror and lack of understanding they would feel as they suffered relentless pain and abuse. These babies are why the only answer is to send them to prison.

Stop effing around with animal cruelty. Violence towards animals in this nature should not have such a wide range of possible sentencing options. As I said, we need to tighten those cruelty laws and make sure we're holding the worst of the worst accountable in the only way that makes sense; jail.

​worldanimalnews.com/the-big-cat-public-safety-act-moves-one-step-closer-to-becoming-law-bill-now-heads-to-the-house-floor-for-a-vote/

The Big Cat Public Safety Act has moved through the US House of Representatives with a vote of 278 to 134 in favour of the act. Now, it will move to the Senate for the second time after the original draft  died while awaiting a vote. This crucial bill is imperative to stop the exploitation of big cats happening throughout the United States. 

The Big Cat Safety Act would protect big cats throughout the U.S.. Let's take a quick look at what the Act would tackle!

Big cats like tigers, lions, and leopards, are wide ranging predators which means that naturally, they roam over great distances when left in the wild where they belong. When kept as pets, they are kept in cramped, small spaces that hardly compare to being in the wild. Secondly, owning these animals as pets not only jeopardizes their safety, but it also poses a significant risk to the entire neighbourhood should one of these big cats escape. No one should have a lion, tiger, or leopard as a pet. It's degrading to the animal and unsafe.

Sweet, innocent looking tiger cubs are quite the attraction and at some roadside establishments, you can actually hold them or take photos with them. This is wholly unnatural to a wild animal and causes the cubs emotional and mental turmoil. Worst of all, when the cubs begin to grow too large, they are then shipped off to other roadside establishments, shoddy zoos, or trafficked. These cubs are exploited from the minute they are bred until they meet their untimely end.