News

Poaching of Turtles Skyrockets as Demand for them as Pets Rises

Published

1 year ago

2022-11-10

Poaching of turtles, driven by rising demand for pets in the United States, Asia, and Europe, according to wildlife trade experts, is contributing to a worldwide decline of rare freshwater turtles and tortoises.

According to one study, over half of the 360 surviving turtle and tortoise species face extinction.

Such concerns have prompted proposals to strengthen freshwater turtle protection at the International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora meeting in Panama.

Precise figures on the turtle trade, particularly illegal, can be difficult. Tara Easter, a doctoral candidate at the University of Michigan who studies the trade, estimated the commercial export trade for mud turtles in the United States increased from 1,844 in 1999 to nearly 40,000 in 2017 and for musk turtles from 8,254 in 1999 to more than 281,000 in 2016.

The United States and several Latin American countries cited data from Mexico in their CITES proposal to ban or limit commercial trade in more than 20 mud turtle species, finding that nearly 20,000 were confiscated, mostly at the Mexico City airport, between 2010 and 2022.

Freshwater turtles are among the world’s most trafficked animals, targeted by criminal networks connecting with buyers on the internet before transporting them to black markets in Hong Kong and other Asian cities. They are then sold as pets, collectors, commercial breeding, food, and traditional medicine.

The Turtle Trade is poorly regulated.

The lucrative business — some turtle species prized for their colourful shells or unusual appearance can fetch thousands of dollars in Asia.

Poachers are especially dangerous, according to experts, because they target rare turtle species and adult breeding females.

Many turtle species, which can live for decades, do not reach reproductive maturity for at least a decade.

“The loss of large numbers of adults, particularly females, can send turtles into a spiralling decline from which they cannot recover,” said Dave Collins, Turtle Survival Alliance’s director of North American turtle conservation. “Turtles reproduce at an extremely low rate, producing only a few eggs per year.”

The United States Association of Reptile Keepers, which advocates for responsible private ownership and trade in reptiles and amphibians, stated that “limiting captive breeding and legal trade is counterproductive in addressing reductions in wild populations.”

“If there aren’t enough of a species on Earth,… the solution should be to create more of them,” Daniel Parker, the group’s Florida chapter’s director of media, said in a statement. “By cracking down on breeding and trade, authorities are missing out on potentially effective free market conservation solutions.”

Since 2018, the Collaborative to Combat the Illegal Trade in Turtles, a group of mostly state, federal, and tribal biologists dedicated to combating North American turtle poaching, has documented at least 30 major smuggling cases in 15 states. Some involved only a few dozen turtles, while others involved thousands.

Over the last 20 years, Easter at the University of Michigan has identified 59 cases involving approximately 30,000 illegally traded turtles in the United States.

Earlier this year, a federal judge in North Carolina sentenced a man to 18 months in prison and fined him $25,000 for violating the Lacey Act by trafficking turtles. The law prohibits the illegal taking, possessing, transporting, or selling of fish, wildlife, or plants.

Through a middleman, the man trafficked 722 eastern box turtles — North Carolina’s state reptile — as well as 122 spotted turtles and three wood turtles for markets in Asia. The turtles are worth $1.5 million in Asia, and the man received more than $120,000 for them.

After previously pleading guilty to financing a nationwide smuggling ring that sent 1,500 turtles worth more than $2.2 million from the United States to China, a Chinese national was sentenced to 38 months in prison and fined $10,000 for money laundering in 2021.

The man used PayPal to buy the turtles from American buyers, advertised them on social media and reptile websites, and sold them to reptile markets in Hong Kong.

A New Jersey man was sentenced to two years probation and ordered to pay $350,000 in restitution and fines in 2020 for transporting 1,000 three-toed and western box turtles from Oklahoma to New Jersey in candy wrappers and socks.

The illegal trade has prompted governments to propose listing 42 turtle species under CITES for the first time, including North American musk turtles.

Although some species, such as the eastern musk turtle, are common, a listing means that traders will need a permit to sell them internationally.

Commercial sales of other species, such as alligator snapping turtles, which can weigh up to 200 pounds and are found in the Gulf states of the United States, would be restricted.

Proposals would also tighten regulations on 13 others who are already protected.

“We think that’s important because of the trends that we’ve seen over the last couple of decades in international reptile and particularly turtle trade,” said Matthew Strickler of the U.S. Department of the Interior, who will lead the American delegation at CITES.

“There is significant demand from Southeast Asia for food and the pet trade, but there is also demand from Europe for pets,” he said. “We’ve seen a pattern of turtles being depleted in one location, followed by poachers, traffickers, and traders moving to another.” Southeast Asia had been depleted. They relocated to Africa. They are now relocating to the Americas.”

A Rhode Island Environmental Police intern discovered the tiny musk turtles for sale online. They only cost $20 each. The turtles are brown or black with a white or yellow line down the middle of their heads and can live for decades.

In September, police arrested the seller after arranging an undercover purchase at his home. The seller paid a $1,600 fine for illegally possessing a reptile. The turtles, now quarantined at the Providence Zoo, are expected to be healthy and disease-free when released back into the wild.

“When native species are removed even for pets, it has a significant impact,” said Harold Guise, an environmental police detective who handled the case. “Wildlife commercialization impacts wildlife that we can’t measure until it’s too late.” We must get ahead of these issues.”

It reminded Perrotti, the conservation director, that illegal trade, which was previously focused in Asia, is increasingly occurring in his backyard.

“I couldn’t believe there was a market for it and that someone was mass producing or mass collecting these to make a few dollars,” he said. “It’s a $20 turtle.” That is absurd… Wildlife is not a commodity that can be profited from.”

The Associated Press, VOR News

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News

China Launches Long March-5 to the “Dark Side of Moon”

Published

20 hours ago

2024-05-04

Geoff Thomas

China Launches Long March-5 Spacecraft: Getty Images

China has launched an unmanned spacecraft on a nearly two-month journey to gather rocks and soil from the moon’s far side, becoming the first country to undertake such an ambitious task.

China’s heaviest rocket, the Long March-5, lifted off at 5:27 p.m. Beijing time (0927 GMT) from the Wenchang Space Launch Center on the southern island of Hainan, carrying the Chang’e-6 probe weighing more than 8 metric tons.

China’s Chang’e-6 is entrusted with landing in the South Pole-Aitken Basin on the moon’s far side, which is continuously facing away from Earth, and retrieving and returning samples.

The launch is another significant milestone in China’s lunar and space exploration mission.

“It is a bit of a mystery to us how China has been able to develop such an ambitious and successful programme in such a short time,” said Pierre-Yves Meslin, a French researcher working on one of the Chang’e-6 mission’s scientific objectives.

In 2018, Chang’e-4 made China’s first unmanned moon landing on the far side. Chang’e-5 returned lunar samples for the first time in 44 years in 2020, and Chang’e-6 has the potential to make China the first country to retrieve samples from the moon’s “hidden” side.

Scientists, diplomats, and space agency officials from France, Italy, Pakistan, and the European Space Agency all attended the launch, which carried moon-study payloads on Chang’e-6.

However, no US groups requested for a payload place, according to Ge Ping, deputy director of the China National Space Administration’s (CNSA) Lunar Exploration and Space Program.

U.S. law prohibits China from collaborating with the United States’ space agency, NASA.

The Dark Side of the Moon

The far side of the moon, also known as the “dark side of the moon” despite receiving sunlight, is the hemisphere that always faces away from Earth. The Soviet Luna 3 spacecraft made the first observation of this strange region in 1959.

Unlike the near side, the far side lacks enormous, dark basins known as marias. Instead, hundreds of craters produced by asteroid collisions over billions of years blanket it.

The South Pole-Aitken Basin, an immense crater more than 1,500 miles wide and several miles deep, is one of the most visible landforms on the far side. This ancient impact basin is among the largest known crater formations in our solar system. The far side likewise has many mountains, ridges, and other harsh topography formed by cosmic collisions.

Studying the far side provides insights into the moon’s genesis and early history because it maintains impact records from the solar system’s turbulent childhood.

Scientists also intend to investigate it for potential resources and future lunar bases. With no atmosphere or magnetic field, the far side displays the wounds of endless meteor bombardments, exposing information about Earth’s only natural satellite that the near side lacks.

Source: Reuters

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News

Canada’s RCMP Charge 3 Indian Men Over Sikh Leaders Murder

Published

2 days ago

2024-05-03

Geoff Thomas

Canada’s Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) have charged three Indian men with the murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar last year, saying they were looking into whether the suspects had any ties to the Indian government.

Nijjar, 45, was killed in June outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, a Vancouver suburb with a sizable Sikh community. A few months later, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged Indian government participation, sparking a diplomatic crisis with New Delhi.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police identified the three individuals as Karanpreet Singh, 28, Kamalpreet Singh, 22, and Karan Brar, 22.

“We’re investigating their ties, if any, to the Indian government,” said Mandeep Mooker, an RCMP superintendent, during a televised press conference. The Indian mission in Ottawa did not reply to calls for comment from Reuters.

Nijjar was a Canadian citizen who campaigned for Khalistan, an autonomous Sikh country formed out of India.

The presence of Sikh separatist groups in Canada has long irritated New Delhi, which has dubbed Nijjar a “terrorist”.

Last Monday, the White House expressed worry over the apparent involvement of the Indian intelligence service in murder plans in Canada and the United States.

The RCMP claimed they coordinated with US law enforcement authorities, but did not provide any other information, and warned that more detentions might be forthcoming.

“The probe does not end here. We are aware that others may have been involved in this homicide, and we are committed to discovering and arresting each of these individuals,” said assistant RCMP commissioner David Teboul.

Canada-India Ties Strained

The three Indian nationals were arrested in Edmonton, Alberta, on Friday, according to police. They will arrive in British Columbia on Monday.

Trudeau revealed in September that Canadian officials were looking into accusations linking Indian government agents to the murder. New Delhi dismissed Trudeau’s allegation as ludicrous.

“We welcome the arrests, but this raises a lot of new questions,” said Balpreet Singh, legal counsel and spokeswoman for the Canada-based World Sikh Organization advocacy group.

“Those who have been arrested are part of a hit squad but it’s clear that they were directed,” he added in a telephone interview.

Canada had pressed India to participate with its probe. Last November, US authorities said that an Indian government officer orchestrated the plot to assassinate Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a Sikh separatist and dual citizen of the United States and Canada.

“While today’s action… is a step forward, it only scratches the surface,” Pannun said in a statement, calling for action to “dismantle the networks that enable and perpetuate such crimes against Canadians on Canadian soil”.

Trudeau’s Presence at Separatist Sikh Rally Enrages India: Getty Images

India Angered Over Trudeau

Meanwhile, analysts say Prime Minister Justin Trudeau‘s move shown “no appreciation of Indian concerns in Canada,” with the apparently ill-advised travel expected to discourage New Delhi from improving relations with Ottawa.

Relations between the two sides have deteriorated in recent months as a result of allegations by Trudeau’s administration that Indian intelligence agents were involved in the 2023 murder of Canadian citizen and Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

Nijjar was involved in the 1980s and early 1990s Khalistan movement, which sought to establish an independent Sikh nation in northern India’s Punjab state. Today, the activists are largely from the Punjabi overseas diaspora, many of whom have migrated in the North American country. India has often complained to Canada about the actions of Sikh hardliners.

According to The Times of India, Indian intelligence officials were particularly concerned about the presence of “Modi Wanted” posters purportedly placed at the Toronto rally by the secessionist group Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) in retaliation to Nijjar’s murder.

While New Delhi has frequently criticized Trudeau for failing to rein in Khalistani separatists and engaging in “vote bank politics” with the Punjabi diaspora, experts disagreed on whether the government overreacted in order to acquire votes in the ongoing Indian elections.

World

Good News: The Worst Could Be Over For Gas Prices This Spring

Published

2 days ago

2024-05-03

Kiara Grace

ABC - VOR News Image

Israel and Iran have engaged in open conflict. Ukrainian drones have routinely targeted Russian oil refineries. And OPEC continues to restrict oil production.

These frightening occurrences sparked concerns about $4 gas, harming the US economy and exacerbating inflation.

However, this has not occurred, at least yet. Gas prices in the United States have stopped growing and dropped temporarily recently.

The national average was $3.66 per gallon on Monday, down from $3.68 a week ago, according to AAA.

There is growing anticipation that gas prices will peak in the spring, if not the entire year.

Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, predicts that drivers will find relief at the pump in the coming weeks.

“I’m hoping the worst is behind us,” De Haan told CNN. Unless something drastic happens, there are increasing odds the national average has hit the projected spring peak.”

Tom Kloza, worldwide head of energy analysis at the Oil Price Information Service, believes gas prices will fall in the coming weeks.

“Most of the worries from the year’s first half have been resolved. “I think we’re safe until hurricane season,” Kloza remarked.

‘Could have been far worse.’

Of course, none of this implies that gas costs are cheap. They were lower in April 2021 and spring 2020, when Covid-19 kept many Americans off the roadways.

National – VOR News Image

The Worst Could Be Over For Gas Prices This Spring

Nonetheless, a springtime peak of less than $3.70 a gallon would be a win for consumers, considering the real risk of significantly higher gas costs.

“It could have been much worse,” said Andy Lipow, owner of the consultancy firm Lipow Oil Associates.

According to AAA, drivers in just seven US states pay $4 or more per gallon for gas. All those states are in the Western part of the country, followed by California, where the average is $5.40 per gallon, up from $4.88 last year.

The national average is nowhere near the record increase above $5 per gallon in June 2022.

“It seems evident that this will not be a record-setting year. “Filling your tank will feel much more normal this year,” said De Haan.

Economic and political ramifications.

Officials in Washington would most certainly breathe a sigh of relief.

Rising gasoline costs earlier this year led to lower-than-expected inflation readings, casting uncertainty on when the Federal Reserve will be able to decrease interest rates.

A rise in petrol prices is the last thing President Joe Biden wants as he works to persuade voters of his economic message before November. According to a new CNN poll, Biden’s support rating for the economy is 34%, and for inflation, it is even lower (29%).

The Biden administration backed off plans to buy crude oil for the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve, an emergency oil stockpile, earlier this month, adding to White House concerns over petrol costs.

Global – VOR News Image

Some economists expect gas prices to rise further.

Lipow believes the national average will reach $3.75 per gallon this year.

Still, that would be lower than last year’s top of $3.88 per gallon in September.

“I’m not expecting a spike in gasoline prices,” Lipow added.

There are several reasons why gas prices are now holding steady.

First, oil prices have stopped rising. On April 12, US crude oil nearly reached $88 per barrel as investors braced for Iran’s reprisal against Israel over a suspected attack on an Iranian diplomatic complex in Syria.

However, oil prices fell when Israel and its allies effectively averted the reprisal. For now, fears of a larger confrontation in the Middle East have subsided, albeit this might alter quickly. US crude fell below $83 a barrel on Monday.

There are other seasonal aspects to consider.

The transition to more expensive summer-grade gasoline at US refineries is now complete. Similarly, the reopening of refineries that had been closed for normal maintenance has aided gasoline supplies.

Record-breaking US crude output continues to increase the oil supply. All of that US oil, headed by the Permian Basin in West Texas and New Mexico, is countering OPEC+’s production cuts, which Saudi Arabia and Russia lead.

Meanwhile, gasoline demand has remained relatively low despite other indications that American consumers are spending rapidly.

USA TODAY – VOR News Image

The Worst Could Be Over For Gas Prices This Spring

The hurricane season looms.

Gas prices are at risk of reaching a double peak. That’s what happened last year, when gas prices peaked in April, fell, and then returned late in the summer as excessive heat hampered US refineries.

“Weather can wreak havoc,” said Kloza, an OPIS analyst.

A major hurricane that destroys oil facilities along the US Gulf Coast is the greater risk.

Forecasters warn that the hurricane season (which normally begins on June 1) will be extremely active. Colorado State University predicts more hurricanes and named storms than ever before.

“Hurricane season is the next major hurdle,” Kloza stated.

SOURCE – (CNN)