Experts clueless on Marine deaths, Konkan coast, India

The alarming number of marine deaths off the Konkan coast in the past few days, with two whales and several turtles found beached in separate incidents, could be natural or fishing-related, said experts.

A 35-foot whale identified as a Baleen whale was found beached at Priyadarshini Park at Napean Sea Road on Saturday. A similar whale was found dead at Uran on Thursday. Both were found in a highly decomposed state. There were unconfirmed reports of a third whale being beached off the Raigad coast on Monday. Meanwhile, many turtle deaths were reported over the last few days from the Raigad coast with 11 turtles found dead on the Shrivardhan coast on Saturday.

“We have got queries from Mantralay and Fisheries department and have been trying to find out the cause of the whale deaths for the past two days, but have been unable to do so. We are studying the migrational routes of the whales along the Indian coast and gathering information on it,” said Dr Vinay Deshmukh, principal scientist, Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute. However, he offered a possible explanation for the whale deaths. Read More

Beached minke whale dies despite rescue effort in North Berwic

A stranded whale in East Lothian has died after a huge rescue effort failed to save its life.

The 15ft (4.5m) minke whale was found by the coastguard at North Berwick's east beach, near the harbour, at 09:00.

The waves were too strong for the whale to be refloated out to sea and it was in poor health.

RNLI volunteers, who spent hours in freezing conditions keeping its blow hole clear of water, said nothing more could be done. Read More

Mutated bird flu okay to publish, says U.S biosecurity panel

Two controversial papers on bird flu will be published by scientific journals this year after the go-ahead was given by a U.S biosecurity panel.

The National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) took a stand over the papers last year out of concerns that details of the studies - which induced mutations in the H5N1 avian flu virus that made it transmissible among mammals by air rather than by close physical contact - could be used for bioterrorism.

Explaining its decision, announced last Friday, the NSABB said in a statement that ‘the data described in the revised manuscripts do not appear to provide information that would immediately enable misuse of the research in ways that would endanger public health or national security’. Read More

Egypt reports two new cases of human infection with bird flu

Egypt has reported the seventh and eighth cases of human infection with H5N1 avian influenza in 2012 according to a World Health Organization (WHO) Global Alert Response (GAR).

The Ministry of Health and Population of Egypt notified the WHO Monday of two children, a 2-year-old and a 15-year old, infected with the potentially fatal virus.

According to the GAR:

The first case is a 2 year-old female from Demiatta Governorate. She developed symptoms on 19 March 2012 and was admitted to a hospital on 20 March 2012 where she received oseltamivir. She is still under treatment and in good medical condition. The case was laboratory confirmed by the Central Public Health Laboratories (NIC) on 22 of March 2012.

The second case is a 15 year-old female from Giza Governorate. She developed symptoms on 25 March 2012 and was admitted to a hospital in critical condition on 29 March 2012. She received oseltamivir on admission. She died on 31 March 2012. The case was laboratory confirmed by the Central Public Health Laboratories (NIC) on 31 March 2012. Source

Coast Guard plans for Arctic drilling protests

The U.S. Coast Guard is expecting an aggressive protest effort as Shell Oil drills for oil in the Chukchi Sea this summer, and is planning a very active response of its own.

Protests would likely take place in Seattle or Dutch Harbor, two staging areas for the summer offshore oil exploration effort in the Arctic.

“We’re going to have what we call ‘deployable specialized forces,’ a force of small boats that will be staged in Dutch Harbor during the month of June,” said Capt. Buddy Custard, chief of staff for the Coast Guard in Alaska.

Custard was speaking to the Alaska Legislature’s Northern Waters Task Force at the Capitol March 16.

Custard and Fran Ulmer, chair of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission, spoke about some of challenges coming with what she called the “industrialization of the Arctic.” Read More

Oil Could have caused death of 3000 dolphins this year in Peru

In Lambayeque. Worrying figure belongs to the first three months of the year and attribute it to the 'bubble marina' that is formed by using sonar to search for oil.

So far this year, more than three thousand dolphins have been found dead in various parts of the coast of Lambayeque , according to the president of the Association of Fishermen of Puerto Eten, Niquen Francisco.

The representative of the Ecological Reserve Chaparrí , Heinz Plengue, indicated that only in recent days, 481 copies appeared stranded along 36 kilometers of the beach of Palo Parado area, opposite the island Lobos de Tierra, in Mórrope.

Yaipen Carlos Llanos, Director of Science of ORCA , said the death of mammals is due to the 'bubble marina' that occurs during mining exploration . Refers to a stock sound that forms when using sonar depth to the search for oil.

"Oil companies use different sound wave frequencies , and the effects of these bubbles are not visible to the naked eye, they generate after effects in animals. That can cause death, noise impact, not only dolphins, but also sea lions and whales, "he said. Read More

Dead horse dumped in Swilly stream, Donegal County

Animal welfare groups have appealed to Donegal County and Letterkenny Town Councils for urgent action to deal with a dead horse which has been dumped just off the Neil T Blaney Road this week.

The full sized animal has been lying in a tributary just off the River Swilly between Bonar Engineering and new Aldi premises.

Indeed it has become something of a weird visitor attraction with vehicles pulling up on this busy road to view the remains. The smell alone has attract much adverse comment too with several callers ringing ‘Donegal on Sunday’ to complain about it.

It is not known if anyone has come forward to claim the carcass but animal welfare groups have expressed concern and annoyance that the authorities have left the animal rotting all week.

One source, who did not wish to be named, said not only did the animal pose a health threat but it was unsightly and not a great advertisement for the town. Read More

Egypt: foot and mouth disease spreading among cattle stocks

Up to 100,000 Egyptian cattle are suspected to have been infected by a new strain of foot and mouth disease that is sweeping the country, according to Agence France Presse. Based on numbers provided to AFP by Egyptian farm authorities, about one tenth of the suspected infected population has already died.

Foot and mouth disease affects cloven-hooved animals such as cows, sheep, and pigs. It does not spread to humans, but it does render animal milk and meat unfit for consumption, threatening regional food supplies and the livelihood of the farmers who depend on animal husbandry for their income.

"Although foot-and-mouth disease has circulated in the country for some years, this is an entirely new introduction of a virus strain known as SAT2, and livestock have no immune protection against it," the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said in Rome, according to Reuters. Read More

Tons of fish die as contractors poison water bodies in Badin, Pakistan

Fishermen in Badin are complaining about some influential contractors who have sprayed toxic material in freshwater bodies. Around 35,000 small scale fishermen, depending on these waters for their livelihood, have been affected directly. The number of affected families is even more as the impact of poison is spreading in the nearby ponds and drains.

Ghulam Hussain Mallah, a local fisherman, said when they reached the nearby ponds and drains linked to the main Left Bank Outfall Drain near Kadhan town on Thursday morning, they found hundreds of kilogrammes of dead fish on the banks of the canal. However, some outsiders were busy collecting the dead fish to sell it in the local markets.

A villager of the Seengari Sim Nali, Mallah said, “It is shocking that fishermen from the neighbouring villages had experienced the same and had started inquiry. It is yet to be ascertained how much fish has perished due to poison and how many fishermen have been affected.” Read More

Large numbers of dead fish wash up on N. Lhohi beach, Maldives

Large numbers of dead fish have been washing up on the shore of Noonu Atoll lhohi.

Lhohi council Vice-President Hussain Niyaz said that many dead fish have been gathering in the lagoon and are being washed up ashore polluting the beach for the past two days.

Councilor stated that some fish are not dead when they wash up ashore but are injured and he added that many species of dead fish are being observed out in the ocean.

“We have travelled to some nearby islands to observe, but very few amounts of dead fish are washed up the shores in other islands. Lhohi beach is completely polluted by the dead and rotting fish.” Niyaz said.

He added that the issue had been notified to the Marine Research Centre and that similar issues came up from time to time. Read More

Bird flu leaves one child dead, Cambodia

A six-year-old girl from Kampong Chhnang province’s Kampong Tralach district died on Friday in the year’s second H5N1 fatality, Health Ministry and World Health Organisation officials said yesterday.

Morm Malay, deputy director of the provincial health department, said officials from the Health Ministry’s communicable disease control department had confirmed that Noy Makara had died of the virus, otherwise known as bird flu.

Noy Makara had fallen ill after eating the meat of a sick chicken, and her family had attempted to treat her with medicine and injections, he said.

“She did not get better and her family sent her for treatment at the Kuntha Bopha hospital on March 28, and she died on March 30,” he added.

This was the first case of H5N1 influenza ever recorded in Kampong Chhnang province, he said. Read More

Dead rats suspected in mystery deaths of New York City hawks

Twitchers turning their hands to detective work after mystery unfolded which prompted fear a bird poisoner might be at large.

Six birds have been found dead in and around Manhattan parks in recent weeks.

Parks Department officials said they are careful not to load up parks with rat poison but bird-watchers are more suspicious of the rats themselves.

They are worried the hawks may have eaten poison second-hand by chowing down on sick rodents or pigeons.

‘It’s easy prey,’ said Bobby Horvath, a licensed wildlife rehabilitator. ‘They see a mouse stumbling or a pigeon flopping and don’t realize it’s weak because it ate poison.

‘It’s a cluster, and that’s a concern. These are birds that just died. They were not hit by a car or flew into a building.’ Read More

Rare white rhino dies by the roadside after being hit by truck on South African wildlife park

A rhino has been killed after it was hit by a truck in South Africa, it was revealed today.

The white rhino died in a crash in the Dinokeng Game Reserve north of the country's capital Pretoria.

Reserve boss Dawn Robertson said the park's staff had been left saddened by the loss of the animal, whose species is classified as 'near threatened'.

She said: 'This is a tragic accident and we are deeply saddened by the loss of another endangered white rhino.

'Animal and nature conservation is at the heart of our work in the DGR and the loss of any animal is a cause for major concern.' Read More

FBI is investigating a report of an anonymous email received by anti-trapping group Footloose Montana warning advocates will 'be the target next'.

A debate about the ethics of hunting wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountains has taken a threatening turn after gruesome images of the animals, dead and maimed by traps, swept the internet.

The FBI is investigating a report of an anonymous email received by anti-trapping group Footloose Montana warning advocates will 'be the target next'.

The group says it was likely singled out because it had criticised and widely circulated a snapshot of a smiling trapper posed with a dying wolf whose leg was caught in the metal jaws of a foothold trap on a patch of blood-stained snow. Read More

Rat-poison sandwiches being left in a small area of Chichester in West Sussex with Purpose of Killing Dogs

A poisoner is believed to be stalking an idyllic stretch of coastline seeking to kill dogs with contaminated sandwiches.

Police have confirmed at least three have been struck down this year after eating poison, all within a small area.

Now patrols are being stepped up in an attempt to catch the poisoner, and local residents – including the animal-loving Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards – have been put on their guard.

The incidents have all taken place near Chichester, West Sussex, with the latest sandwiches – laced with rat poison – reportedly found on the beach at East Wittering.

Others have been found at Bosham further down the coast and at Lavant, near Chichester. The poison, sandwiched between slices of buttered bread, is being left on beaches, and there are fears an animal could be killed if the poisoner strikes over Easter when families flock to the coast.

In the first incident, in January, Judy Peeters’s dog Rusty ate a poisoned sandwich while they were walking in Bosham. Read More

Health officials plan 20000-turkey cull after bird flu found, Israel

The Agriculture Ministry plans to slaughter 20,000 turkeys from the same coop after avian flu was discovered there.

The coop, on Moshav Zavdiel, near Lachish in the lower Judean plain, is the third farming community discovered in Israel in recent weeks with an avian flu outbreak.

Officials hope they can stem the spread of the disease by killing the birds.

A number of cats were found dead before the last cull, with signs pointing to them having eaten the carcasses of infected turkeys near Shalva, in the south, according to a report by the World Organization for Animal Health. Read More

Can malaria be stopped by British-bred genetically modified mosquitoes?.....Or are we Making it Worse?

This tiny insect has just feasted on human blood and one bite from it can infect you with malaria, the disease that kills 650,000 people every year. So why are British scientists playing God by breeding genetically modified mosquitoes? And are we prepared for the consequences?

It’s the middle of the day and the genetically modified mosquitoes are feeding.

The females of the species are ingesting what is known in mosquito parlance as their ‘blood meal’.

The tiny-winged insects cluster in their thousands on the small plastic dispensers of sugar solution, or hang upside down from a thin layer of transparent plastic attached to the top of their cage.

The plastic is designed to simulate human or animal skin, and trapped behind it is a film of horse blood.

There are hundreds of thousands of the insects in the small white plastic cages on the laboratory shelves in a south Oxfordshire industrial park.

The air in the laboratory is warm and there’s a smell of chemicals.

In plastic and glass containers thousands more mosquitoes are hatching in water that has a yellowish tint to it: they swarm together and move with the light every time a hand is passed over the surface of the container.

On strips of brown paper curled around inside plastic beakers and Tupperware-like boxes, there are hundreds of thousands of minuscule black dots stuck together: these are mosquito eggs.

‘This is our mosquito factory,’ says Hadyn Parry. ‘Here we practise birth control for mosquitoes.’

Parry is chief executive officer of Oxitec, a British bio-research company that pioneers innovative methods of controlling insects that damage crops and spread diseases.

Standing with Parry is zoologist Dr Luke Alphey. They are working on a new method of fighting one of the deadliest killers mankind has ever known: malaria. Read More

Whale Rescued In Southern California, Now Dead?

(ANIMAL RESCUE) Last weekend, a young gray whale named Bart finally swam free after rescuers spent seven hours disentangling him from a large fishing net. However, a similar gray whale was found dead in Long Beach Harbor on Tuesday afternoon. Found with black rope attached to the fluke and injuries at the base of the tale, wildlife authorities are investigating whether this gray whale could be Bart.

Wildlife authorities are investigating whether a gray whale found dead off Long Beach is the same animal that was cut free from a fishing net off the Orange County coast over the weekend.

The young, thin whale was found floating belly up near Port J in Long Beach Harbor on Tuesday afternoon, said Monica DeAngelis, a marine mammal biologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s fisheries service. Read More

Japanese fleet catches 267 Antarctic whales....all in the Name of Research of Course

The Japanese fleet caught a total of 267 whales in the latest season of the country's research whaling program in the Antarctic Ocean, the Fisheries Agency said Saturday.

Of the total, up from 172 in the previous season, 266 were minke whales and one was a fin whale, the agency said.

Females accounted for 168 of the total, of which 107 were adults and 92.5 percent were pregnant, the agency noted, indicating the breeding season for Antarctic whales has been favorable.

The fleet, which left Japan on Dec. 6, has already returned home. Source

Seal found shot dead on riverbank ‘after anglers blamed it for eating all the fish’, River Wyre in Great Eccleston, near Fleetwood

A seal has been found shot dead on a river bank after anglers complained it had been 'making hay with the fish'.

Police confirmed they had launched an investigation into the seal's death amid fears it could have fallen victim to a disgruntled fisherman, furious that it had been eating his catch.

The young male common seal was first spotted on the River Wyre in the Lancashire village of Great Eccleston in early January after two of the animals were apparently blown in from the Irish Sea.

Within weeks of their arrival, the angling association in nearby St Michaels posted on its website: 'As you may have read by now there are a pair of seals making hay with the fish in the river at St Michaels and upstream.'

The dead seal was found on Wednesday under a footbridge.

Officers said a vet would be carrying out a post-mortem examination to recover the bullet and determine what type of gun was used.

Seals are protected species under the Conservation of Seals Act 1970 and it is illegal to shoot them without a licence.

Wildlife officer PC Mark Thomas, of Lancashire Constabulary, said he was 'appalled and disgusted' by the shooting. Read More