CalifoRnia—a los angeles Superior Court ordered the City
of los angeles to halt its trap-neuter-Release (tnR) program
for feral cats until the city has completed a review and analysis
of the environmental impact of the cat colonies on water, human
health, and other wildlife species. in December the court found
that the Department of animal Services had unofficially been
implementing a tn R program since 2005, before conducting
an environmental analysis under the California environmental
Quality act. in effect the program helped sustain feral cat colonies in los angeles. any future tnR programs in the city will be
subject to scientific review. Source: American Bird Conservancy
neVaDa—in December the Department of interior announced
a controversial plan that resulted in the roundup of 1,922 feral
horses in nevada for placement into private care or for relocation to pastures in the Midwest. the two-month roundup, which
began December 28, is an effort to manage the increasingly
large population of feral horses and burros in the West, currently estimated at 37,000 individuals— 10,000 more than the
ideal population size that the Bureau of land Management has
determined can thrive in balance with other rangeland uses and
resources. numerous animal rights groups have opposed the
roundup and referred to the transfer and placement of tens of
thousands of horses in holding facilities as inhumane and a violation of the Wild free-Roaming Horses and Burros act of 1971.
Source: Bureau of Land Management
General
More than a third of members of the U.S. House of Representatives cosponsored a bill that would help raise funds to protect
endangered species around the world. Passed by the House
excess feral horses are proving destructive to western wildlife habitats. to address
the problem, the Department of interior recently held a roundup to gather about
1,900 feral horses from a 550,000-acre area in nevada’s Calico Mountains. the
horses will be shipped to holding corrals or pastures in the Midwest. animal
activists opposed the action.
Credit: S. nystrom/n PS
in December, the Multinational Species Conservation funds
Semipostal Stamp act of 2009 would require the U.S. Postal
Service to sell the special stamp at a premium of at least 25
percent more than a regular first class stamp. the additional
funds would be transferred to the U.S. fish and Wildlife Service,
to be divided equally among the asian elephant Conservation fund, african elephant Conservation fund, Marine turtle
Conservation fund, Rhinoceros and tiger Conservation fund,
and Great ape Conservation fund. the stamp would depict
images of conservation flagship species around the world. the
bill is pending in the Senate. Currently the only other semipostal
stamp is the 55 cent Breast Cancer Research stamp, which
has raised over $70 million since it was introduced in 1998.
Source: GOP.gov, WWF
General
Because of a growing need for wildlife veterinarians in state,
tribal, and federal wildlife agencies, U.S. Representative
alcee Hastings (D-fl) recently introduced legislation called
the Wildlife and Zoological Veterinary Medicine enhancement act. the federal legislation—designed to attract and
retain more individuals in the field of wildlife and zoo veterinary science—will not only develop the current curriculum in
veterinary schools but also improve current job opportunities.
the legislation will reduce the amount of debt that veterinary
students tend to accrue during their course work, introduce
new training programs in wildlife and zoological medicine,
and create new funded positions for specialized vets.
Source: U.S. Congressman Alcee L. Hastings official site, American
Veterinary Medical Association
General
the U.S. fish and Wildlife Service recently determined that the
american pika (Ochotona princeps)—by now one of the more
popular mascots of climate change—does not warrant protection under the endangered Species act (eSa). the decision
was based on an extensive review of the species’ current
status. f WS assessed threats to the pika—of which climate
change was found to be the most significant—and teamed up
with the national oceanic and atmospheric administration to
develop climate change predictions and identify its impact on
species’ survival in the foreseeable future. Basing its analyses on climate projections centered on the year 2050, f WS
found that even as temperatures rise in the pika’s alpine and
subalpine range, the lower mean temperatures of these higher
elevations will not exceed the tolerance of the species to the
point of extinction. f WS did find that pikas at lower elevations
could be affected by warming temperatures, but not enough
to eliminate the species, subspecies, or distinct population
segments. the review was a result of a petition filed by the
Center for Biological Diversity, which asked that f WS list the
species under the eSa and conduct a status review of each
of the five recognized subspecies of the american pika.
Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
