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What is the purpose of zoos? And, are they fulfilling their primary objective? I have been mulling over these questions for several years now. The first ‘modern’ zoo opened in Paris in 1793. The idea quickly spread to cities throughout Europe and beyond. The question which I have found myself reflecting on more-and-more, after reading the IPBES report into the extinction crisis is, “Given zoos have had over 200 years to enlighten us to the importance of non-human animals, how come so few people care about wildlife and the natural world?” In this task, zoos have obviously failed, as it is our purchasing behaviour that is driving the extinction crisis. The May 2019 IPBES report into global biodiversity [...]

Apex predators and iconic species decimated by a handful of men who can’t control their urge to kill. It is far too easy to find examples of bloodlust. Spanish trophy hunter, Marcial Gómez Sequeira, who said in a news article, “Three years ago I tried to calculate the time I have spent hunting. I worked out that I had been shooting for 24 hours a day over the course of 11 years and three months of my life. Firing bullets non-stop.” Wisconsin hunters killing 216 wolves in less than 60 hours, exceeding the state quota of 119 and prompting Wisconsin to end a one-week hunt four days early. Wildlife killing competitions, where the level of slaughter is too [...]

Not Dealing With Climate Change Is Dumb, Not Dealing With Biodiversity Loss Is Even Dumber.  In watching the run up to CoP26, what has been very apparent is the pressure put on world leaders to attend. Together with the host, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the other world leaders confirmed as going include Prime Minister Mario Draghi (Italy), President Joe Biden (United States), First Minister Nicola Sturgeon (Scotland), Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Canada), President Emmanuel Macron (France), President Nana Akufo-Addo (Ghana), President Alberto Fernandez (Argentina), Prime Minister Naftali Bennett (Israel), President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Turkey), Prime Minister Stefan Löfven (Sweden), President Guy Parmelin (Switzerland), President Muhammadu Buhari (Nigeria), President Ivan Duque (Colombia), Prime Minister Scott Morrison (Australia). [...]

A map went up on the CITES website recently; it shows which of the 183 CITES signatory parties have some form of electronic permitting already in place (14 signatories, colour amber) and how many parties are developing/planning an electronic CITES permit system (30 parties, colour green). Maybe the first thing to mention is, why would CITES invert the normal project management ‘traffic light colour’ convention, making amber ‘implemented’ and green ‘in progress’. Cynically, I would say that at a glance this makes the project’s progress look better than it truly is. The map shows there has been a small increase in the number of countries who have upgraded their permit system, compared to when we [...]

Countries worldwide are easing their COVID lockdowns or outlining the road map to reopening social contact and the economy. All of this is possible because of the humble QR Code, which enables people to demonstrate their vaccine or COVID status. First introduced by Israel, Covid passports go by a variety of names, including COVID Certificate, health pass and green pass. Our smart phone carries our personal QR code, providing proof we are fully vaccinated against Covid, have recovered from the virus, or have recently tested negative. Within the EU for instance, some countries have developed national Covid passes compatible with the European digital Covid certificate, which is designed to facilitate travel [...]

As with the IPBES report published 2 years ago, the recent IPCC report is a stark reminder that we are heading into a much less livable world, not just for humans, but for most living species. With the release of both reports (and the many others that have the same conclusions) we need to be honest that the result is nothing has been actioned. The question is why? As governments, industries and businesses blame each other and wait for the other to do something, this ongoing blame game undermines the collective action needed. Those who should be shouldering the blame have perfected the art of distraction. Like the magician they misdirect the eye and give themselves [...]

For two decades, or more, some of the world’s leading scientists have been telling us to expect a pandemic. They knew that humans are vulnerable because the line between us and exotic animals has long been breached for trade. Too few people were listening. As a result, and with no real monitoring, a trillion-dollar trade in birds, animals and plants flourishes. According to the United Nations, before the pandemic this trade was growing at two to three times the rate of the global economy. The scale of legal, unchecked over-exploitation, which has been going on for decades, means we have walked blindly into the High Risk Zone of Uncertainty, outlined in the Planetary Boundaries model. [...]