Our Wild World

Traditional conservation models developed decades ago are in much need of a modern twist, one that both attracts and engages youth- the X, Y and Me generations, who have from their infancy been immersed in an advanced and technological world. These generations understand connectivity on entirely new planes, and thus are able and willing to take conservation to new heights. Monty Marsh, his company Guerilla Filmworkx, and his project ElephantUprising, is just the kind of reimagining and facelift conservation needs: A digital platform that connects boots-on-the-ground to the world-wide-web, and all levels of society to be stakeholders in our future. With creativity and out of the box thinking, ElephantUprising digitally accesses the global village, and the multitude of stewards that will take what we know of the world today, and turn it into solutions for the world we will have tomorrow.

My guest today is Nanette Wheeler Carter, Researcher, Activist, Advocate, Lobbyist, President, Founder and Matriarch of CA 4 Elephants.org. Nanette brings a multitude of experiences and activism to bring focus to the tipping points and challenges we , endangered species, and our world are facing. From shifting social norms, to on the ground activities. CA 4 ELEPHANTS focuses spreading understanding of what bioenvironmental diversity and sustainable conservation Means in the real world, and backs it up by working with legislators- state, federal and international- to challenge and dismantle the ivory trade, ‘sport’ hunting of at risk species populations through the platform of policy change, the Lobby Campaign actions to effect worldwide governments and corporate decision-makers to improve the human condition through sustainable, environmentally conscious, organic economic & business development, both in the US, Africa and beyond.

I’ve just returned from a conference on Captive Wildlife by the Performing Animal Welfare Society, PAWS: 3 days filled with eye opening education on the cascades of its resultant issues. Today’s conversation will touch upon all that lives under the big top umbrella of captive animals: from wild caught to breeding to stress and veterinary issues; from zoo vs. sanctuary; and the legal battles from defense to rights and welfare to personhood. Facts: humans keep and breed exotic animals for captivity. Why? The answers and justifications surrounding this tower of power are as astonishing as they are layered, and multi-faceted in what it says about us- their captors. What we have done, could, and have the ability to, do. Ultimately the conference reinforced the point that we humans have some serious ethical adjustments to make, much to be learned about how we behave, and what we value- because of living with non-human beings.

Friday March 13, 2015 Australian Environment Minister Greg Hunt made world history by taking the lead and announcing the immediate ban of the import and export of African Lion trophies and body parts. The S. African Gov’t and professional hunting bodies around the world prefer the euphemism ‘captive hunts’ to ‘canned’, but Donalea Patman and Ian Michler, and the proponents against Canned Hunting say Captive Hunting is still Canned Hunting. The facts are, lions and other wildlife, are being bred in captivity to be killed in captivity. If an animal bred for the bullet cannot be imported into a hunter’s home nation, then perhaps we can roar across the world that profiteering through the industrialized farming of wildlife and canned hunting is not conservation, and brings under question whether that type of industry and business model is an effectual human relationship to wildlife and our wild world.

A lot seems to be happening around the world in terms of crisis and human- animal connections. From heightened awareness and social programs. My guest, clinical social worker, Philip Tedeschi returns with news and updates as to how the Denver University, Institute for Human Animal Connection (IHAC) looks for, provides real-world situations for graduate students and offers programs and presentations to the public, offering solutions that provide for healthy avenues to recognize challenges and grow the social skills of our communities, which helps youth and adults better understand the relationships and benefits of living with our pets and our wild world. With work focused in Green Care and the significance of living systems and animals in human health and wellness, specific animal welfare and conservation activity, research, education and One Health, and ColoradoLINK, IHAC operates both nationally and internationally.

A cycle of cruelty, Canned Hunting is the industrialized farming of lions, bred by the thousands for no other purpose than to be killed for thrill and entertainment by the animal trophy collector. A very profitable business model, canned hunting is supported by externalizing costs via spin-off commercial enterprises that outright bilk tourists and naïve volunteers into hand-rearing these living targets, while further supplying the dark underbelly of international trade in lion parts and products. Amazingly, the industry is so popular that in 2012, in South Africa alone, it generated the equivalent of 70 million US dollars. Today, with my guest Chris Mercer, founder of the Campaign Against Canned Hunting (CACH), we alert you to help expose the cruelty and abuse to these lions, and the harm and threat this industry poses to the world’s remaining wild lions and conservation efforts to protect them. Become part of the Global March for Lions and ban canned hunting, wherever it exists.

Wouldn’t it be great if today’s headlines were : It’s okay. We can all come out now! the Extinction and Global crises are over, and We’ve Won! We don’t have to worry about environmental collapse or losing our polar bears and elephants, and our world turning into one big corporate machine, because humanity came to its senses the other day - we all pulled together and turned our wild world around! Each of us one day said to the other, well… here’s what I did today, and I’m going to do it every day from now on, and it caught on.

Wildlife Medicine, Conservation and One Health is the focus of the 21st Annual Wildlife Medicine Symposium at UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. April 11-12th, 2015 at UC Davis and via webinar, and open to all who are interested. These symposia are the training ground of the future, and the critical understanding of the connectivity of the health of the overall web of life from human, ecosystems, wildlife and crossovers between veterinary and human medicine and species conservation. My guests today are Julie Sheldon, President of the Wildlife and Aquatic Animal Medicine Club , Center for Continuing Professional Education at UC Davis SVM; Dr. Sharon Deem, Director of the Saint Louis Zoo Institute for Conservation Medicine; and Dr. David Jessup, Executive Manager of the Wildlife Disease Association. Today’s episode is a sneak preview of the expertise and wide range of topics that will be available at the Symposium

Humans and lions have coexisted for tens of thousands of years but rapid expansion of livestock farming in Africa has led to greater conflicts, with large numbers of lions killed in retaliatory and preemptive conflicts with livestock. Wild lion populations have declined 50% in the last 20 years, with an estimated 23,000 remaining. Listed by the ICUN as Vulnerable, reducing conflict between large predators, people and agriculture requires new tools with an understanding that accounts for both agricultural practices and predatory behavior. Conditioned Taste Aversion is a non-lethal, humane conservation tool that can modify large predator’s behavior powerfully and permanently dissuading them from predating upon domestic livestock, while leaving entirely unchanged their social and environmental dynamics to continue to play their essential role in the natural ecosystem, also creating the critical buffer between predators and farmers.

In our previous episode we learned the interesting history of cats becoming our pets, yet barely covered the tip of the iceberg of feral cats and their impacts on our world. Today we continue the conversation about cats with Dr. John Hadidian and Katie Lisnik. Feral cats are not only an abuse or cruelty issue, a health issue but they are also a conservation issue. From TNR programs to euthanasia, how do we respond to cats gone wild in our wildlands, and more so, what we can do to prevent this, solve the problem, and reach the ultimate goal, that cats have homes and our birds and other wildlife are safe from predation. From Shelters to sanctuaries there are a lot of resources the cat lover can find from the Humane Society of the US. Learn more http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/?credit=web_id212453451

We’re not talking about the furry loveable housecat. There are currently an estimated 30-40 million cats in the US alone, living in our neighborhoods, our wildlands and in their own communities. With Dr. John Hadidian and Katie Lisnik of the Humane Society of the US we’re talking about the cats that are not owned, live in your community, and are feral, and what the differences are. A stray cat is a pet who has been lost or abandoned, used to contact with people and tame enough to be adopted. A feral cat is the offspring of stray or feral cats and is not accustomed to human contact, we often see them everyday, but don’t know they are feral. From the community cat to the feral cat, there is an interesting history and quite a story. And then there are the impacts all these cats have on our wildlife and environs, and what we can do about it. Learn More http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/feral_cats/qa/feral_cat_FAQs.html

With my Guests Tim Snow in S. Africa and Mark Paxton in Namibia, we discuss the consequences of negative actions on wildlife and their environs through poisoning, and the upcoming workshop to address the issues. Over the past 50 years, the human population has doubled and global agricultural production has risen in tandem. With Increased use of pesticides, we largely do not understand the full impact of unintended side effects on wildlife. We know also that poachers seek quick, quiet and easy methods, so poisoning with pesticides is escalating exponentially. Similarly, predator and wildlife conflicts cost money, damage crops and sometimes endanger human lives so farmers may resort to indiscriminate illegal poisoning, upsetting environmental balances and leading to unexpected consequences. Today we must link our knowledge about the cascade of consequences of pesticide use and misuse in a rapidly changing world

“Under the bright lights, elephants perform tricks for excited humans who never wonder what happens to these massive animals after the show ends. Earnest knows.” The only things captive born elephants may ever know are zoo paddocks and circus rings. What we do know is that elephants are complex intelligent, emotive and social beings, and we know they talk to each other. Have we considered what captive born elephants might learn from their wild-born captive friends? With my guest, Debbie McFee, author of Through the Eyes of Earnest, we travel on a journey of this consideration.. that of “Earnest”, the elephant in the book who represents every elephant, we are taken on a somber but hopeful tale from an elephant’s point of view, which asks us to consider why we continue to keep such intelligent social animals in captivity when we know now, how and why we must provide for and protect them in the wild.

Wildlife Medicine, Conservation and One Health is the focus of the 21st Annual Wildlife Medicine Symposium at UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. April 11-12th, 2015 at UC Davis and via webinar, and open to all who are interested. These symposia are the training ground of the future, and the critical understanding of the connectivity of the health of the overall web of life from human, ecosystems, wildlife and crossovers between veterinary and human medicine and species conservation. My guests today are Julie Sheldon, President of the Wildlife and Aquatic Animal Medicine Club , Center for Continuing Professional Education at UC Davis SVM; Dr. Sharon Deem, Director of the Saint Louis Zoo Institute for Conservation Medicine; and Dr. David Jessup, Executive Manager of the Wildlife Disease Association. Today’s episode is a sneak preview of the expertise and wide range of topics that will be available at the Symposium

How we treat and relate to animals in captivity has everything to do with how we will protect them in the wild. Ed Stewart has dedicated his life to providing sanctuary and protection to abused, abandoned and retired performing animals and efforts to enforce the best standards of care for all captive wildlife, to the preservation of wild species and their habitat, and promoting public education about captive wildlife issues. Ed is a multi-talented and skilled man who with humor and aplomb, has carried PAWS from it’s humble beginnings, to an international organization that is shifting our human mind-set and legislation that surrounds the landscape and very human and state of affairs of how and why we humans must reevaluate our relationships to animals and curb our appetitesfor keeping wildlife in captivity. I would like to greatly thank Ed and PAWS for opening my eyes to the critical issues discussed at the 30th Annual Conference.

When we think captive wildlife in crisis, our focus stays on the large charismatic mammals. Our conservation landscape has expanded to those places that flow where land ends, to our oceans, rivers, lakes, and forests. But there is an immense space that ties all this together- the skies above us, and the multitude of exotic birds that inhabit them, that are now available as pets and companions. Spectacular birds have become a part of the human landscape to inhabiting our living rooms, often with little knowledge by their owners of their unique needs. Societies value birds for economic, cultural, ethical and spiritual reasons, which lead to aspects of avian conversation that almost invisibly goes over our heads- not only the decline of wild avian populations, but the growing trend of keeping birds in captivity-not just zoos, but as companions. Knowing what birds need, is the focus of The Gabriel Foundation.

The illegal trafficking and exploitation of wildlife is now one of the world’s largest criminal industries, with repeated links to terrorism networks. The animals most difficult to protect are also high target species: elephant and rhino, which are being hunted to extinction by poachers who go to extreme lengths to kill them. Inspiring urgent political action toward safekeeping of the planet cannot be overstated, and this responsibility must transcend all levels of industry, business and society. But the reality of winning the hearts and minds of the people living directly on the frontlines of this war is critical, where both rangers and villagers daily risk their lives, direct action is a vital for successful conservation. Results there will only be accomplished by providing viable in situ alternatives to address poverty and daily realities found in the crosshairs on the thin green line where people and wildlife and money meet.

How we treat and relate to animals in captivity has everything to do with how we will protect them in the wild. Ed Stewart has dedicated his life to providing sanctuary and protection to abused, abandoned and retired performing animals and efforts to enforce the best standards of care for all captive wildlife, to the preservation of wild species and their habitat, and promoting public education about captive wildlife issues. Ed is a multi-talented and skilled man who with humor and aplomb, has carried PAWS from it’s humble beginnings, to an international organization that is shifting our human mind-set and legislation that surrounds the landscape and very human and state of affairs of how and why we humans must reevaluate our relationships to animals and curb our appetitesfor keeping wildlife in captivity. I would like to greatly thank Ed and PAWS for opening my eyes to the critical issues discussed at the 30th Annual Conference.

We humans are not the only species with complex communications or awareness of self and others. Elephants are highly cognitive and communicate not only through and sounds that we can hear, but through sounds that we cannot hear and through gestures. Joyce Poole of ElephantVoices has been deciphering their language through documenting, recording and photographing their society and movements for more than thirty years. Individual elephants not only know each other’s voices but they also recognize ours. They know we’re here. And while we continue to use and abuse them in captivity for our amusement, we have barely evolved to provide them with proper sanctuary and security whilst in our custody, nor can we curb our appetites to stop the massive trade for their ivory and their young for our entertainment. Elephants have survived life on earth for eons, but are no longer safe in the wild. The only question that remains is: Will they survive us?

Free: as in not under the control or in the power of another; the ability to act or be or do as one wishes. Albert Camus wrote Humans are the only creatures who don't want to be what they are. And what we absolutely don’t want to be is an animal. We are face to face with the absolute need to reevaluate our relationship to every other living being on earth, particularly as companions or entertainment- be it zoo or sanctuary or pet. Today with my guest Adam Roberts of Born Free USA, we discuss the enormous implications and interconnectedness of our actions on those around us. As complex and innumerable as these connections are, the concept is simple: Will we accept that each choice we make has an impact, that for better and for worse, we each can make a difference? From how we choose to entertain ourselves to how we do business we have the knowledge and ability to act differently, the big question remains- Are we willing to change our behavior and actions?