Bezos Fund CEO joins calls for reboot of development banks for climate
* Andrew Steer calls for governments to offer more guarantees
* Says development banks need to undergo "disruptive change"
* System currently "not big enough" to play its needed role
Simon Jessop and Noemie Olive
Thu, November 11, 2021
GLASGOW, Nov 11 (Reuters) - The head of Amazon chief Jeff Bezos' $10 billion Bezos Earth Fund has joined calls for governments to take on more of the risk of financing climate action, and help the world's development banks become more flexible in their approach.
Policymakers at the U.N. climate conference in Scotland are pushing private sector investors to use their trillions of dollars in capital to help drive the transition to low-carbon economies in emerging markets.
In developing economies, those projects often carry more risk than in more developed markets, and require the assistance of supranational development banks - whose lending processes may not have been updated for the challenges of climate change.
"We need, occasionally, to think about systemic change, and I believe the time is now," Earth Fund CEO Andrew Steer, a former World Bank executive, said on the sidelines of the COP26 talks.
"There tends to be a certain inertia ... a certain path dependency and we need to ... have a little more disruptive change."
He said one "very good" option could be to use government guarantees, which could be provided as quasi capital to the banks, allowing them to leverage up their investable funds.
Larry Fink, chief executive of BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, has also previously urged governments to rethink the role of the multilateral lenders.
Fink said he wanted the banks to be allowed to take on more risk, which would give private sector investors more protection.
Steer's call follows news last week that banks, asset managers and insurers with $130 trillion at their disposal had pledged to align their investments with the U.N. goal of reaching 'net zero' greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Currently, very little of that capital is likely to be allocated to emerging market countries, Steer said.
He said the development banking system was "not big enough to play the role it needs to play", and more innovative thinking was required.
"At the moment, we aren't getting the leverage from public funds into the multilateral development banks the way we need to," Steer said. "We need ... to convene some very serious thoughts about this."
The Earth Fund last week pledged $2 billion towards projects aimed at restoring land and bolstering food systems, adding to a $1 billion pledge in September to help protect biodiversity and fund conservation projects. (Reporting by Simon Jessop; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
Friday, November 12, 2021
Inflation puts White House on defensive as Manchin raises concerns about new spending
BALTIMORE - The White House was thrown on the defensive Wednesday by an inflation report that showed the largest annual increase in prices in three decades, triggering fresh criticisms of President Joe Biden's legislative plans on Capitol Hill and raising questions about what the administration can do to stem the politically perilous tide of rising prices.
High inflation risks undercutting one of Biden's central messages - that he has made life better for average Americans by creating millions of jobs, overseeing a jump in wages, creating new social programs and delivering millions of vaccines. That may be a harder case to make if many Americans see the prices of their groceries and other goods continue to climb.
In an appearance at the Port of Baltimore to promote his freshly passed bipartisan infrastructure bill, Biden took a distinctly sympathetic tone, noting the pain that consumers feel when they see rising costs for a gallon of gas or a loaf of bread. He suggested his agenda is the best way to lower costs for American families.
"We still face challenges, and we have to tackle them. We have to tackle them head on," Biden said. "Many people remain unsettled about the economy, and we know why. They see higher prices. They go to the store or go online and can't find what they want."
But in the meantime, inflation presents a growing political problem. Polling suggests voters are anxious over growing costs. Sen. Joe Manchin III, D-W.Va. - whose vote, like that of 49 other Senate Democrats, is key to enacting Biden's social spending bill - cited rising inflation as a reason to pause on some parts of the White House's agenda.
"By all accounts, the threat posed by record inflation to the American people is not 'transitory' and is instead getting worse," Manchin said in a statement Wednesday. "From the grocery store to the gas pump, Americans know the inflation tax is real and D.C. can no longer ignore the economic pain Americans feel every day." Manchin was making a cutting reference to earlier claims by the White House that rising prices were a transitory side effect of the economy's emergence from the pandemic.
His comments signaled a concern that more government spending could exacerbate inflation, alarming some Democrats that he would pull back from supporting the $1.75 trillion social safety net and climate package that is currently pending in Congress.
The new flurry of reactions was prompted by a Bureau of Labor Statistics report Wednesday that prices in October rose 0.9% from September - and more than 6% over the past year, the largest annual rise in 30 years. In a written statement released soon after that report, Biden said "inflation hurts Americans' pocketbooks, and reversing this trend is a top priority for me."
Senior White House officials were greatly disappointed by Wednesday's report and surprised at how serious the inflationary problems are throughout the economy, according to people familiar with the matter. The report also fueled mounting concerns about supply chain bottlenecks.
For weeks, administration officials have been scrambling to try to alleviate the economic problems, frequently convening meetings across agencies and searching for solutions. But many administration officials have conceded they have few policy options to bring immediate relief to Americans, and the White House is concerned about ongoing political fallout, especially around the holiday season.
Republicans are ramping up their efforts to tie inflation to Biden's spending policies, and they seized on Wednesday's report.
"This will be the most expensive Thanksgiving in the history of the holiday," tweeted Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y. "The American people don't deserve Biden's #ThanksgivingTax!"
Such comments are part of a broader GOP effort to paint a picture of a Biden economy that is out of control, despite notable job growth and wage increases.
Most economists say there is a limited amount presidents can do to control inflation, especially when an economy is emerging from a drastic slowdown like the one imposed by the pandemic. But Biden, who likes to talk about the concerns of working-class Americans like his former neighbors in Scranton, Pa., is acutely aware of the political perils of pocketbook issues.
Biden's trip to the Port of Baltimore was intended to provide a backdrop for his argument that the bipartisan infrastructure bill recently approved by Congress would ease transportation bottlenecks that are holding up goods and driving up their cost. "This bill is going to reduce the cost of goods to consumers, businesses and get people back to work," Biden said.
The White House has been increasingly focused on trying to clear backlogs in the U.S. supply chain, with teams of administration officials looking for ways to expand the capacities of ports and waterways.
The inflationary headaches have proven a political and economic challenge for the White House since soon after it led passage of a $1.9 trillion covid relief package in March.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and other White House officials initially said inflation would prove "transitory," rejecting criticism from some economists that the relief plan would lead to an overheating of the economy. They have been largely consistent in sticking to their message that inflation would fade with time, but have been forced to adjust that argument as inflation has continued to dominate voters' concerns throughout the year.
A Fox News poll in October found that 53% of registered voters were extremely concerned about inflation and higher prices, exceeding 11 other concerns including unemployment, the federal deficit and crime. More broadly, an NBC News poll in late October found 57% of Americans disapproved of Biden's handling of the economy, while 40% approved.
White House officials remain optimistic the inflationary pressures will eventually subside. Jared Bernstein, a member of the White House Council on Economic Advisers, said in a speech earlier this week that the average forecast saw inflation eventually falling from 4-5% to 2-3%.
Like other economists and administration officials, Bernstein noted that many Americans spent less on services during the pandemic - when many establishments were closed, from restaurants to massage parlors - and shifted their spending to goods, driving up their prices. Eventually those spending patterns will return to normal, he added.
"The pandemic has opened up an historically large gap between demand for goods and services," Bernstein said. "And that strong goods demand, partially due to fiscal relief, has interacted with covid to temporarily juice price growth."
But it is not clear whether inflation will slow in time to prevent Democrats from suffering political damage in the 2022 midterm elections, where they already face a difficult landscape. Even if prices come down in coming months, political analysts say, many voters may retain an image of costs climbing during Biden's administration.
Economists are divided on what the rise of inflation means for Biden's broader economic agenda, which has been tied up for months in Congress. Since the president's infrastructure bill recently won approval, the focus has been on the $1.75 trillion climate and family bill that Biden calls Build Back Better.
Larry Summers, the former treasury secretary who has been warning about rising inflation for months, said Wednesday's report shows the problem is "becoming more entrenched."
"It seems to me unlikely inflation will return to 2 percent target levels without strong monetary policy action or some kind of interference with economic growth," he said in an interview.
Summers attributes the persistent inflation to Biden's covid relief package, but said he supports the infrastructure and social spending bills. "Together, they are smaller over 10 years than this past year's stimulus was over a single year, and in addition they are substantially paid for," Summers said.
Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, disagreed, attributing the inflation rate to the impact of covid-19, particularly the delta variant, rather than the relief package.
"This surge in inflation we're observing is a direct result of the pandemic. And if that diagnosis is correct, as the Delta wave wanes, inflation will moderate," Zandi said. "I think we're seeing the worst of the inflation right now."
Zandi said the inflation is not transitory in the sense that it will disappear in the next month or the next quarter, but it will continue to wane in the coming months and "be gone by the next year." For that reason, he argued current inflationary trends should not factor into the debate over Biden's economic agenda.
"I don't think we can take any lessons from high inflation now to what it means for the efficacy of passing that legislation," he said of the Build Back Better framework. "They're not connected."
A senior administration official said the White House had always expected the recovery from the pandemic to be uneven, given the unprecedented nature of reopening an economy after it was so thoroughly shut down during the pandemic.
The official disputed any notion that the president's economic agenda - either the recently passed bipartisan infrastructure deal or the pending Build Back Better legislation - would exacerbate the inflationary problems. Instead, the official argued Biden's agenda would help alleviate the problem because both pieces of legislation are focused on increasing economic capacity.
The White House Council of Economic Advisers and Office of Management and Budget have published analyses arguing the Build Back Better legislation would actually lower prices for most American families by cutting the cost of prescription drugs, child care and housing.
"Going forward, it is important that Congress pass my Build Back Better plan, which is fully paid for and does not add to the debt, and will get more Americans working by reducing the cost of child care and elder care, and help directly lower costs for American families by providing more affordable health coverage and prescription drugs," Biden said in a statement.
Others are skeptical. Ben Ritz, director of the Center for Funding America's Future, a D.C. think tank, cited concerns that the Build Back Better agenda would add significantly to next years's deficit because money for new programs would be spent before the taxes to pay for them could be collected.
That, in turn, could drive up prices further, Ritz suggested. "I don't see how we can do that when inflation is two to three times our target," he said.
- - -
Stein and Pager reported from Washington. The Washington Post's Scott Clement contributed to this report.
India Sends Thousands More Troops To Restive Kashmir
#KASHMIR IS #INDIA'S #GAZA
By AFP News
11/10/21
India has sent thousands more paramilitary troops into its section of Kashmir, already one of the world's most militarised zones, after a string of targeted killings by suspected rebels in recent weeks, officials said Wednesday.
New Delhi has for decades stationed at least 500,000 soldiers in the divided Himalayan territory, which is also claimed and partially controlled by arch-rival Pakistan.
"Around 2,500 troops have arrived and they were deployed all over Kashmir valley," Abhiram Pankaj, a spokesman for the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), told AFP.
More were on their way to the restive territory, he added.
Around 5,000 extra paramilitaries in all were being deployed from this week, including from India's Border Security Force (BSF), according to a police officer speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity.
Some of the troops are housed in civilian community halls that have been fortified with new sandbag bunkers, reminiscent of the early 1990s when an armed insurgency against Indian rule was at its peak.
That rebellion has significantly waned in the years since tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians, were killed in the conflict.
Copyright AFP. All rights reserved.
By AFP News
11/10/21
India has sent thousands more paramilitary troops into its section of Kashmir, already one of the world's most militarised zones, after a string of targeted killings by suspected rebels in recent weeks, officials said Wednesday.
New Delhi has for decades stationed at least 500,000 soldiers in the divided Himalayan territory, which is also claimed and partially controlled by arch-rival Pakistan.
"Around 2,500 troops have arrived and they were deployed all over Kashmir valley," Abhiram Pankaj, a spokesman for the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), told AFP.
More were on their way to the restive territory, he added.
Around 5,000 extra paramilitaries in all were being deployed from this week, including from India's Border Security Force (BSF), according to a police officer speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity.
Some of the troops are housed in civilian community halls that have been fortified with new sandbag bunkers, reminiscent of the early 1990s when an armed insurgency against Indian rule was at its peak.
That rebellion has significantly waned in the years since tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians, were killed in the conflict.
Indian paramilitary troops stand guard on a street in Srinagar
Photo: AFP / TAUSEEF MUSTAFA
A dozen people have been gunned down since last month in what appeared to be targeted assassinations, including police, migrant workers from northern Indian states and local members of the Sikh and Hindu communities.
Rebel groups, who have since 1989 fought for Kashmir's independence or merger with Pakistan, are believed to be responsible for the attacks.
Some of those killed were accused by the Resistance Front, a local rebel group, of being in the employ of security forces.
Police and paramilitary troops in bulletproof gear and wielding automatic rifles have intensified frisk searches of residents, including children, on the streets.
Newly deployed troops are now visible around many new checkpoints set up in recent weeks across the main city of Srinagar.
Muslim-majority Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence from British rule in 1947.
Anger has simmered in the region since August 2019 when New Delhi revoked its partial autonomy and brought its section of Kashmir under direct rule.
A dozen people have been gunned down since last month in what appeared to be targeted assassinations, including police, migrant workers from northern Indian states and local members of the Sikh and Hindu communities.
Rebel groups, who have since 1989 fought for Kashmir's independence or merger with Pakistan, are believed to be responsible for the attacks.
Some of those killed were accused by the Resistance Front, a local rebel group, of being in the employ of security forces.
Police and paramilitary troops in bulletproof gear and wielding automatic rifles have intensified frisk searches of residents, including children, on the streets.
Newly deployed troops are now visible around many new checkpoints set up in recent weeks across the main city of Srinagar.
Muslim-majority Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence from British rule in 1947.
Anger has simmered in the region since August 2019 when New Delhi revoked its partial autonomy and brought its section of Kashmir under direct rule.
Copyright AFP. All rights reserved.
Lionfish -- An Invasive Menace Terrorizing Venezuela's Coast
By Patrick FORT
11/11/21
The dazzling, colorful lionfish is a must for any exotic aquarium, but it has also become a major threat to the western Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean.
"It's beautiful, but you have to kill it," says Mavi Escalona, a Venezuelan nurse and amateur spearfisher.
"It causes a lot of damage, and it's delicious!"
The spectacular, stripey lionfish with its venemous spines is a carnivore originally from the Indian and Pacific oceans that has now become an invasive species in the Atlantic and Caribbean, posing a threat to their ecosystems.
Known by many other names such as zebrafish, tastyfish and butterfly-cod, the lionfish can now be found from Florida to northern Brazil.
And it has a voracious appetite: eggs, small fish, crustaceans, molluscs. It is at least partly responsible -- alongside over-fishing, pollution and climate change -- for a drop in the numbers of other fish in the area.
By Patrick FORT
11/11/21
The dazzling, colorful lionfish is a must for any exotic aquarium, but it has also become a major threat to the western Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean.
"It's beautiful, but you have to kill it," says Mavi Escalona, a Venezuelan nurse and amateur spearfisher.
"It causes a lot of damage, and it's delicious!"
The spectacular, stripey lionfish with its venemous spines is a carnivore originally from the Indian and Pacific oceans that has now become an invasive species in the Atlantic and Caribbean, posing a threat to their ecosystems.
Known by many other names such as zebrafish, tastyfish and butterfly-cod, the lionfish can now be found from Florida to northern Brazil.
And it has a voracious appetite: eggs, small fish, crustaceans, molluscs. It is at least partly responsible -- alongside over-fishing, pollution and climate change -- for a drop in the numbers of other fish in the area.
Fisherman William Alvarez cuts off the poisonous spines from a lionfish while cleaning it to prepare ceviche that he sells to tourists on the beach of Chichiviriche de la Costa, Vargas state, Venezuela, on October 30, 2021 Photo: AFP / Yuri CORTEZ
"It's an invasive fish. It doesn't have competitors or predators," said Laura Gutierrez, a Venezuelan biologist now based in the Canary Islands of Spain but who studied lionfish for many years in her homeland.
The lionfish was first spotted in the Caribbean in 1985.
"People that had them in their aquarium released them because they ate their other fish or it was difficult to feed them," said Gutierrez.
"It is eating all the commercial fish, crustaceans, fish and molluscs that keep reefs and corals clean, fish that eat algae."
What happens in an aquarium takes place on a much larger scale in the Caribbean, and could do so, too, in the Mediterranean, which lionfish have started to colonize.
"We're not talking about eradicating them, you can't. It's very difficult but we're talking about minimizing their impact," said Gutierrez.
"It's an invasive fish. It doesn't have competitors or predators," said Laura Gutierrez, a Venezuelan biologist now based in the Canary Islands of Spain but who studied lionfish for many years in her homeland.
The lionfish was first spotted in the Caribbean in 1985.
"People that had them in their aquarium released them because they ate their other fish or it was difficult to feed them," said Gutierrez.
"It is eating all the commercial fish, crustaceans, fish and molluscs that keep reefs and corals clean, fish that eat algae."
What happens in an aquarium takes place on a much larger scale in the Caribbean, and could do so, too, in the Mediterranean, which lionfish have started to colonize.
"We're not talking about eradicating them, you can't. It's very difficult but we're talking about minimizing their impact," said Gutierrez.
Fisherman William Alvarez comes out of the water with a lionfish, an invasive species that is terrorizing Venezuela's coast Photo: AFP / Yuri CORTEZ
Venezuelan authorities have organized fishing competitions and promoted eating lionfish to try to stymy their inexorable spread.
"The only ones that can control them are us: fishermen," said Willy Alvarez, 35, a dreadlocked spearfisher in Chichiviriche de la Costa, a small village between the sea and the mountains, around 60 kilometers west of Caracas.
Alvarez, with his permanent smile, heads out to sea every day with his mask, snorkel and harpoon.
"The first time I saw one was in 2008 or 2009 ... I caught it to put in an aquarium," he said after climbing back on board his boat, a lionfish skewered on the end of his spear.
Venezuelan authorities have organized fishing competitions and promoted eating lionfish to try to stymy their inexorable spread.
"The only ones that can control them are us: fishermen," said Willy Alvarez, 35, a dreadlocked spearfisher in Chichiviriche de la Costa, a small village between the sea and the mountains, around 60 kilometers west of Caracas.
Alvarez, with his permanent smile, heads out to sea every day with his mask, snorkel and harpoon.
"The first time I saw one was in 2008 or 2009 ... I caught it to put in an aquarium," he said after climbing back on board his boat, a lionfish skewered on the end of his spear.
A tourist eats ceviche prepared with lionfish on the beach of Chichiviriche de la Costa, Vargas state, Venezuela
Photo: AFP / Yuri CORTEZ
"Their reproduction is incredible: 30,000 to 40,000 eggs every three to four days."
He catches one every day and turns it into a ceviche -- a marinated raw fish dish -- to sell on the beach to passers by.
It's not a very profitable business. To produce one kilogram of ceviche, which sells for $20, he needs to catch three kilograms of lionfish, meaning dozens of free dives -- each one lasting around 40 seconds. And then there's the time taken to prepare the dish.
"It's a lot of effort. I can't live off that but one lionfish less is thousands of little fish it won't eat. It's satisfying to help the ecosystem," he said.
A decade ago, the lionfish was still unknown off the Venezuelan coast and its sudden appearance caused fear amongst many locals.
It's curious beauty and venemous spines that can cause sharp pain or even paralysis have contributed to the mystery around what many locals call the devilfish.
Some even think they are spirits.
Unsurprisingly, it is little eaten here.
"We have to involve the local community," said Gutierrez.
"We have to explain what the fish is. We have to explain that it's edible, that it's tasty."
The spines and skin can also be used to make jewelry.
"If we create demand, we'll ensure more are taken out of the sea and that will help limit the population," she added.
"Delicious" exclaimed Genesis Palma, a 20-year-old cashier, tasting lionfish for the first time in Chichiriviche.
"Lionfish is the best," added Juan Carlos Gutierrez, one of Alvarez's clients.
"It's better than lobster, better than caviar!"
"Their reproduction is incredible: 30,000 to 40,000 eggs every three to four days."
He catches one every day and turns it into a ceviche -- a marinated raw fish dish -- to sell on the beach to passers by.
It's not a very profitable business. To produce one kilogram of ceviche, which sells for $20, he needs to catch three kilograms of lionfish, meaning dozens of free dives -- each one lasting around 40 seconds. And then there's the time taken to prepare the dish.
"It's a lot of effort. I can't live off that but one lionfish less is thousands of little fish it won't eat. It's satisfying to help the ecosystem," he said.
A decade ago, the lionfish was still unknown off the Venezuelan coast and its sudden appearance caused fear amongst many locals.
It's curious beauty and venemous spines that can cause sharp pain or even paralysis have contributed to the mystery around what many locals call the devilfish.
Some even think they are spirits.
Unsurprisingly, it is little eaten here.
"We have to involve the local community," said Gutierrez.
"We have to explain what the fish is. We have to explain that it's edible, that it's tasty."
The spines and skin can also be used to make jewelry.
"If we create demand, we'll ensure more are taken out of the sea and that will help limit the population," she added.
"Delicious" exclaimed Genesis Palma, a 20-year-old cashier, tasting lionfish for the first time in Chichiriviche.
"Lionfish is the best," added Juan Carlos Gutierrez, one of Alvarez's clients.
"It's better than lobster, better than caviar!"
‘Ugly History’: The Battle To Restore Japan’s Iconic Brothel Building
WASHINGTONNEWSDAY.COM -- NOV 12
An unusual architectural jewel stands at the corner of a red-light district in the Japanese city of Osaka: a century-old former brothel at the center of a restoration operation.
Although Taiyoshi Hyakuban hasn’t been used as a brothel in decades and is now a restaurant, it is nonetheless considered as a symbol of the surrounding area, which is still linked with the sex business.
According to experts, the timber two-story structure is an unique authentic example of Taisho era architecture from 1912 to 1926.
“Most Japanese building from a century or more was destroyed in WWII air raids or large flames,” said Shinya Hashizume, an architectural historian at Osaka Prefecture University.
On a visit to the site, he observed, “Old brothel houses, in particular, have rarely survived.”
Taiyoshi Hyakuban contains dozens of Japanese and Western-style party rooms, some with ornately inlaid ceilings and beautifully painted sliding doors.
The apartments, which surround a garden with towering “yin and yang” rocks representing men and women, are adorned with murals of festivals, goddesses playing traditional instruments, and Dutch merchants dressed in period attire.
“What is so great about it is that the art is part of the architecture,” Masakazu Rokuhara, an architect engaged in the restoration effort, said.
Swinging red lanterns strung along the outside of the building’s second floor add a nostalgic elegance to the edifice at night, gently illuminating its red wooden siding.
However, sunlight reveals the urgent need for restoration, such as cracks in a massive wooden plaque over the entrance door and fading paint.
India's Born-again Elephants Repel Four-legged Rampages
By Laurence THOMANN
11/11/21
Moorthy killed 21 people and terrorised entire villages in southern India for years before he was captured and retrained to repel similar attacks by other wild elephants starved due to deforestation.
The 58-year-old grey beast, recognisable from the bright pink spots that pockmark his face, was already spared a death sentence after trampling nearly a dozen people in the southern state of Kerala.
Despite an official order to shoot him, Moorthy escaped across state lines into neighbouring Tamil Nadu, where he proceeded to kill 10 more people.
By Laurence THOMANN
11/11/21
Moorthy killed 21 people and terrorised entire villages in southern India for years before he was captured and retrained to repel similar attacks by other wild elephants starved due to deforestation.
The 58-year-old grey beast, recognisable from the bright pink spots that pockmark his face, was already spared a death sentence after trampling nearly a dozen people in the southern state of Kerala.
Despite an official order to shoot him, Moorthy escaped across state lines into neighbouring Tamil Nadu, where he proceeded to kill 10 more people.
Human encroachment on elephants' forest homes has put them in conflict with humans Photo: AFP / Manjunath Kiran
But state authorities there "forbade harming the elephant" and in 1998 he was instead taken into the Theppakadu camp for taming, said Kirumaran M., his trainer.
"Ever since I've been training Moorthy, for so many years, he is like an innocent child and doesn't hurt anybody," the diminutive 55-year-old told AFP.
"He is so calm that even if a small child goes and plays with him or hugs him, he won't ever hurt them."
But state authorities there "forbade harming the elephant" and in 1998 he was instead taken into the Theppakadu camp for taming, said Kirumaran M., his trainer.
"Ever since I've been training Moorthy, for so many years, he is like an innocent child and doesn't hurt anybody," the diminutive 55-year-old told AFP.
"He is so calm that even if a small child goes and plays with him or hugs him, he won't ever hurt them."
Mahouts bathe an elephant at the Theppakadu elephant camp Photo: AFP / Manjunath Kiran
Established in 1927, the Theppakadu elephant camp is India's largest.
Semi-wild but brought to heel by human hands, "Kumkis" like Moorthy are brought there by their minders every morning for a thorough wash, and released every evening back into nearby forests.
They have been trained to assist with manual labour -- their ability to carry up to 150 kilograms (330 pounds) makes them valuable workers.
Established in 1927, the Theppakadu elephant camp is India's largest.
Semi-wild but brought to heel by human hands, "Kumkis" like Moorthy are brought there by their minders every morning for a thorough wash, and released every evening back into nearby forests.
They have been trained to assist with manual labour -- their ability to carry up to 150 kilograms (330 pounds) makes them valuable workers.
More than 2,300 people were killed in elephant attacks in the five years to 2019, according to Indian government data Photo: AFP / Manjunath Kiran
The herbivores are also "ecosystem engineers" who spend up to 16 hours a day foraging in their surroundings, leaving a trail of debris that sows seeds and helps forests to flourish.
But most importantly for the communities surrounding the camp, they help thwart increasingly frequent and aggressive incursions by wild elephants who venture into settled areas in search of food, leaving their inhabitants fearful of attack.
The herbivores are also "ecosystem engineers" who spend up to 16 hours a day foraging in their surroundings, leaving a trail of debris that sows seeds and helps forests to flourish.
But most importantly for the communities surrounding the camp, they help thwart increasingly frequent and aggressive incursions by wild elephants who venture into settled areas in search of food, leaving their inhabitants fearful of attack.
"Kumkis" -- tamed elephants -- are trained to assist with manual labour Photo: AFP / Manjunath Kiran
"Wild elephants come to the village and our children are vulnerable," said Shanti Ganesh, a woman living near the Theppakadu camp.
"They (the children) have to come to the main road to get to school, so we are always worried that they might be attacked."
Working hand-in-trunk with their "mahouts", or handlers, the Theppakadu herd are trained to physically confront and drive away outside elephants from the villages.
"Wild elephants come to the village and our children are vulnerable," said Shanti Ganesh, a woman living near the Theppakadu camp.
"They (the children) have to come to the main road to get to school, so we are always worried that they might be attacked."
Working hand-in-trunk with their "mahouts", or handlers, the Theppakadu herd are trained to physically confront and drive away outside elephants from the villages.
Graphic on Asian elephant populations. Photo: AFP / STAFF
Sometimes they also help surround and catch the interlopers so they can be brought into the camp and trained to serve the surrounding community.
"Sankar here had attacked and killed at least three people in the village and so we were ordered to capture him," said Vikram, an elephant handler at Theppakadu, gesturing to the beast behind him.
"We captured him with the help of other kumkis and now we are training Sankar too."
India is home to around 25,000 elephants, according to the Worldwide Fund for Nature -- around 60 percent of the wild Asian elephant population.
But human encroachment on their forest homes has put them in conflict with humans.
"The reason an elephant attacks humans or property is solely because of habitat loss," said Kirumaran, the trainer.
"All of the forests where they used to live have now turned into human residential towns or villages -- they attack because they are hungry."
More than 2,300 people were killed in elephant attacks in the five years to 2019, according to Indian government data.
In the same period more than 500 elephants died, including 333 from electrocution and around 100 from poaching and poisoning, the figures show.
Ananda Kumar of India's Nature Conservation Foundation said that any elephant involved in a fatal trampling had likely been provoked by violent confrontations with humans trying to drive the creatures away.
"That elephant may have been chased and driven for months," he told AFP.
"It's a kind of torture that elephants go through that has to be stopped."
He said he had personally seen one elephant which had been shot so many times that a veterinarian was able to extract nearly 100 bullets from its body once it finally died.
Experts say that stopping human-elephant conflict depends on protecting and expanding elephant habitats and linking up isolated patches of forest to create corridors that give them greater space to roam.
"When a developmental project is planned, it has to consider the effect on... species like elephants, and the people depending on these forest areas," Kumar added.
Sometimes they also help surround and catch the interlopers so they can be brought into the camp and trained to serve the surrounding community.
"Sankar here had attacked and killed at least three people in the village and so we were ordered to capture him," said Vikram, an elephant handler at Theppakadu, gesturing to the beast behind him.
"We captured him with the help of other kumkis and now we are training Sankar too."
India is home to around 25,000 elephants, according to the Worldwide Fund for Nature -- around 60 percent of the wild Asian elephant population.
But human encroachment on their forest homes has put them in conflict with humans.
"The reason an elephant attacks humans or property is solely because of habitat loss," said Kirumaran, the trainer.
"All of the forests where they used to live have now turned into human residential towns or villages -- they attack because they are hungry."
More than 2,300 people were killed in elephant attacks in the five years to 2019, according to Indian government data.
In the same period more than 500 elephants died, including 333 from electrocution and around 100 from poaching and poisoning, the figures show.
Ananda Kumar of India's Nature Conservation Foundation said that any elephant involved in a fatal trampling had likely been provoked by violent confrontations with humans trying to drive the creatures away.
"That elephant may have been chased and driven for months," he told AFP.
"It's a kind of torture that elephants go through that has to be stopped."
He said he had personally seen one elephant which had been shot so many times that a veterinarian was able to extract nearly 100 bullets from its body once it finally died.
Experts say that stopping human-elephant conflict depends on protecting and expanding elephant habitats and linking up isolated patches of forest to create corridors that give them greater space to roam.
"When a developmental project is planned, it has to consider the effect on... species like elephants, and the people depending on these forest areas," Kumar added.
Russian prosecutors move to shut down respected human rights watchdog 'Memorial'
AFP
AFP
Issued on: 12/11/2021 -
Oleg Orlov, head of "Memorial" human rights watchdog, is pictured at his office in Moscow, September 19, 2012. © Maxim Shemetov, REUTERS
Russian prosecutors are moving to shutter the country's most respected rights group Memorial, it announced Thursday, in the latest legal effort to silence independent voices critical of President Vladimir Putin.
Memorial, founded in 1992 in Moscow, said it was notified by Russia's supreme court that prosecutors had filed a demand to dissolve the group over systematic violations of "foreign agent" legislation.
The group is among several investigative news outlets, journalists and rights organisations to have been hit with the label this year in what observers have described as a historic crackdown on independent organisations.
Memorial said there was "no legal basis" for the case, saying it had been accused of failing to identify itself publically as a designated foreign agent.
"This is a political decision aimed at destroying the Memorial Society, an organisation dedicated to the history of political repression and the protection of human rights."
"We have repeatedly stated that the law was originally conceived as a tool to crack down on independent organisations, and insisted that it should be abolished," Memorial said in a statement.
A hearing is scheduled for November 25 at 11:00 Moscow time (0800 GMT) according to the court website.
A term with Soviet-era undertones, the status forces individuals or organisations to disclose sources of funding and label all their publications, including social media posts, with a tag or face fines.
Memorial said late last month that the number of political prisoners in Russia had risen sharply in recent years in a trend that recalls late Soviet-era repression.
It listed at least 420 political prisoners, including top Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny who survived a poisoning attempt with Novichok nerve agent last year, compared to 46 in 2015.
Russia earlier this week declared the country's main group defending LGBTQ rights a foreign agent as well as several lawyers close to the Russian opposition.
Putin himself said that the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Russian newspaper editor Dmitry Muratov would not "shield" him from being branded a foreign agent if he breaks the law.
(AFP)
Oleg Orlov, head of "Memorial" human rights watchdog, is pictured at his office in Moscow, September 19, 2012. © Maxim Shemetov, REUTERS
Russian prosecutors are moving to shutter the country's most respected rights group Memorial, it announced Thursday, in the latest legal effort to silence independent voices critical of President Vladimir Putin.
Memorial, founded in 1992 in Moscow, said it was notified by Russia's supreme court that prosecutors had filed a demand to dissolve the group over systematic violations of "foreign agent" legislation.
The group is among several investigative news outlets, journalists and rights organisations to have been hit with the label this year in what observers have described as a historic crackdown on independent organisations.
Memorial said there was "no legal basis" for the case, saying it had been accused of failing to identify itself publically as a designated foreign agent.
"This is a political decision aimed at destroying the Memorial Society, an organisation dedicated to the history of political repression and the protection of human rights."
"We have repeatedly stated that the law was originally conceived as a tool to crack down on independent organisations, and insisted that it should be abolished," Memorial said in a statement.
A hearing is scheduled for November 25 at 11:00 Moscow time (0800 GMT) according to the court website.
A term with Soviet-era undertones, the status forces individuals or organisations to disclose sources of funding and label all their publications, including social media posts, with a tag or face fines.
Memorial said late last month that the number of political prisoners in Russia had risen sharply in recent years in a trend that recalls late Soviet-era repression.
It listed at least 420 political prisoners, including top Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny who survived a poisoning attempt with Novichok nerve agent last year, compared to 46 in 2015.
Russia earlier this week declared the country's main group defending LGBTQ rights a foreign agent as well as several lawyers close to the Russian opposition.
Putin himself said that the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Russian newspaper editor Dmitry Muratov would not "shield" him from being branded a foreign agent if he breaks the law.
(AFP)
Beijing Olympic sponsors must speak up on rights in China: HRW
Thu, 11 November 2021,
Activists rallied in front of the Chinese consulate in Los Angeles earlier this month (AFP/Frederic J. BROWN)
Corporate sponsors of February's Beijing Winter Olympics must speak up on rights abuses in China or risk being tainted by association, Human Rights Watch said on Friday.
Preparations for the Games have been overshadowed by the Covid-19 pandemic and calls from rights groups for a partial or full boycott.
New York-based Human Rights Watch is now urging sponsors, which include Intel, Omega, Panasonic, Samsung, Toyota, Visa, Airbnb, Coca-Cola, Allianz and Alibaba, to do more.
HRW said they wrote to sponsors earlier this year but received only one response.
"There are just three months until the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, but corporate sponsors remain silent over how they are using their influence to address China’s appalling human rights record," said Sophie Richardson, HRW's China director.
She accused Games sponsors of "squandering the opportunity to show their commitment to human rights standards" and said they "risk instead being associated with an Olympics tainted by censorship and repression".
The Olympic flame arrived in China last month after a lighting ceremony in Greece which was disrupted by a small number of activists who brandished a Tibetan flag and a banner saying "no genocide".
Human rights campaigners and exiles have accused Beijing of religious repression against the Uyghur minority in Xinjiang, as well as massively curtailing rights in Hong Kong and Tibet.
Beijing has consistently railed against what it calls the "politicisation" of sport, while the International Olympic Committee says that it is not within its remit "to go into a country and tell them what to do".
bys-rox/pst
Thu, 11 November 2021,
Activists rallied in front of the Chinese consulate in Los Angeles earlier this month (AFP/Frederic J. BROWN)
Corporate sponsors of February's Beijing Winter Olympics must speak up on rights abuses in China or risk being tainted by association, Human Rights Watch said on Friday.
Preparations for the Games have been overshadowed by the Covid-19 pandemic and calls from rights groups for a partial or full boycott.
New York-based Human Rights Watch is now urging sponsors, which include Intel, Omega, Panasonic, Samsung, Toyota, Visa, Airbnb, Coca-Cola, Allianz and Alibaba, to do more.
HRW said they wrote to sponsors earlier this year but received only one response.
"There are just three months until the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, but corporate sponsors remain silent over how they are using their influence to address China’s appalling human rights record," said Sophie Richardson, HRW's China director.
She accused Games sponsors of "squandering the opportunity to show their commitment to human rights standards" and said they "risk instead being associated with an Olympics tainted by censorship and repression".
The Olympic flame arrived in China last month after a lighting ceremony in Greece which was disrupted by a small number of activists who brandished a Tibetan flag and a banner saying "no genocide".
Human rights campaigners and exiles have accused Beijing of religious repression against the Uyghur minority in Xinjiang, as well as massively curtailing rights in Hong Kong and Tibet.
Beijing has consistently railed against what it calls the "politicisation" of sport, while the International Olympic Committee says that it is not within its remit "to go into a country and tell them what to do".
bys-rox/pst
Sponsors asked to defend support for Beijing Winter Olympics
Exiled Tibetans use the Olympic Rings as a prop as they hold a street protest against the holding of 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing in Dharmsala, India on Feb. 3, 2021. Leading sponsors of the Beijing Winter Olympics should explain publicly why they remain silent about alleged human rights abuses in China with the Games opening there in just under three months, Human Rights Watch said Friday, Nov. 12, 2021 in a statement.
Exiled Tibetans use the Olympic Rings as a prop as they hold a street protest against the holding of 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing in Dharmsala, India on Feb. 3, 2021. Leading sponsors of the Beijing Winter Olympics should explain publicly why they remain silent about alleged human rights abuses in China with the Games opening there in just under three months, Human Rights Watch said Friday, Nov. 12, 2021 in a statement.
(AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia, File)More
STEPHEN WADE
Thu, November 11, 2021
Leading sponsors of the Beijing Winter Olympics should explain why they remain largely silent about alleged human rights abuses in China with the Games opening there in just under three months, Human Rights Watch said Friday.
The rights group said in an on-line briefing that it had reached out to all but one of the IOC's so-called TOP sponsors — and leading broadcast rights holder NBC — in lengthy letters almost six months ago.
The only reply came from sponsor Allianz, which it wrote only last month.
“We stand behind the Olympic Movement and our longstanding support for its ideals will not waver,” Allianz said.
The Beijing Games open Feb. 4.
The letters asked sponsors to be aware of the rights climate in China, and to scrutinize supply chains and other operations to assure they do not “contribute to human rights violations.”
“There are just three months until the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, but corporate sponsors remain silent over how they are using their influence to address China’s appalling human rights record,” Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.
The statement said sponsors risk "being associated with an Olympics tainted by censorship and repression.”
The TOP sponsors, at the time of the letter, included: Airbnb, Alibaba, Allianz, Atos, Bridgestone, Coca-Cola, Dow, General Electric, Intel, Omega, Panasonic, Procter & Gamble, Toyota, and Visa.
Two sponsors — Dow and General Electric — have completed contracts with the IOC that ended with the recent Tokyo Olympics.
In total, TOP sponsors paid about $1 billion in cash and in-kind payments to the IOC in the 2013-2016 Olympic cycle, a figure that was expected to double when complete figures are released for the 2017-2020 cycle. This cycle has been delayed by the one-year postponement of Tokyo due to the pandemic.
The American network NBC accounted for about 40% of IOC income in the 2013-2016 cycle.
“The time for quiet diplomacy is over," said Minky Worden of Human Rights Watch during the briefing. “It's time for the TOP sponsors to urge the International Olympic Committee to adopt human rights. It's time for them to disclose their own supply chains in China, particularly any products that have the five rings of the Olympics.”
In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin denounced the sponsor accountability calls from Human Rights Watch.
“To politicize sports by fabricating lies and rumors and undermining the Olympic cause is unpopular and will never succeed,” Wang told media at a daily briefing.
The statement from the rights group comes just three days after a global trade union group issued a scathing report that questioned the propriety of China holding the Games in the face of alleged genocide and crimes against humanity reportedly taking place in the Xinjiang in northwestern China.
The report from the International Trade Union Confederation is titled “ China: A gold medal for repression.”
China has repeatedly denied that a genocide is taking place, terming it the “lie of the century.” It has said camps in northwestern China are for education, not arbitrary internment of a reported 1 million Uyghur Muslims and other religious and ethnic minorities.
American and European lawmakers and activist groups have asked the Games be postponed or moved from China. Center Enes Kanter of the NBA's Boston Celtics, a Muslim with roots in Turkey, has criticized China's rights record and called General Secretary Xi Jinping a “brutal dictator.”
For its part, the IOC says its only focus is sports and has no remit to act on the polices of a sovereign state. The IOC does, however, hold an observer seat at the United Nations, unlike any other sports business.
“We have a lot of respect for other organizations that have other purposes in life,” Juan Antonio Samaranch, the IOC member in charge of Beijing preparations, said earlier this week in responding to the ITUC report. “But we believe that our responsibility is what it is — celebrate the Olympic Games as a celebration of humanity, altogether, despite our differences."
Most of the IOC sponsors have signed on to the so-called United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. They spell out the obligation of states and businesses to “respect, protect and fulfil human rights and fundamental freedoms.”
However, the IOC did not include these guidelines in its host city contract for the Beijing Olympics, but did add it to the contract for the 2024 Paris Olympics and other future Games.
When the IOC awarded Beijing the 2008 Summer Olympics it said they would improve human rights in China.
“The failure of Chinese authorities to uphold the rights-related commitments they made to win the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, and their deepening repression since that time, make clear that the government cannot be expected to respect human rights around the 2022 Winter Games,” Human Rights Watch said.
___
More AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/winter-olympics and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
___
More AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/olympic-games and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
STEPHEN WADE
Thu, November 11, 2021
Leading sponsors of the Beijing Winter Olympics should explain why they remain largely silent about alleged human rights abuses in China with the Games opening there in just under three months, Human Rights Watch said Friday.
The rights group said in an on-line briefing that it had reached out to all but one of the IOC's so-called TOP sponsors — and leading broadcast rights holder NBC — in lengthy letters almost six months ago.
The only reply came from sponsor Allianz, which it wrote only last month.
“We stand behind the Olympic Movement and our longstanding support for its ideals will not waver,” Allianz said.
The Beijing Games open Feb. 4.
The letters asked sponsors to be aware of the rights climate in China, and to scrutinize supply chains and other operations to assure they do not “contribute to human rights violations.”
“There are just three months until the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, but corporate sponsors remain silent over how they are using their influence to address China’s appalling human rights record,” Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.
The statement said sponsors risk "being associated with an Olympics tainted by censorship and repression.”
The TOP sponsors, at the time of the letter, included: Airbnb, Alibaba, Allianz, Atos, Bridgestone, Coca-Cola, Dow, General Electric, Intel, Omega, Panasonic, Procter & Gamble, Toyota, and Visa.
Two sponsors — Dow and General Electric — have completed contracts with the IOC that ended with the recent Tokyo Olympics.
In total, TOP sponsors paid about $1 billion in cash and in-kind payments to the IOC in the 2013-2016 Olympic cycle, a figure that was expected to double when complete figures are released for the 2017-2020 cycle. This cycle has been delayed by the one-year postponement of Tokyo due to the pandemic.
The American network NBC accounted for about 40% of IOC income in the 2013-2016 cycle.
“The time for quiet diplomacy is over," said Minky Worden of Human Rights Watch during the briefing. “It's time for the TOP sponsors to urge the International Olympic Committee to adopt human rights. It's time for them to disclose their own supply chains in China, particularly any products that have the five rings of the Olympics.”
In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin denounced the sponsor accountability calls from Human Rights Watch.
“To politicize sports by fabricating lies and rumors and undermining the Olympic cause is unpopular and will never succeed,” Wang told media at a daily briefing.
The statement from the rights group comes just three days after a global trade union group issued a scathing report that questioned the propriety of China holding the Games in the face of alleged genocide and crimes against humanity reportedly taking place in the Xinjiang in northwestern China.
The report from the International Trade Union Confederation is titled “ China: A gold medal for repression.”
China has repeatedly denied that a genocide is taking place, terming it the “lie of the century.” It has said camps in northwestern China are for education, not arbitrary internment of a reported 1 million Uyghur Muslims and other religious and ethnic minorities.
American and European lawmakers and activist groups have asked the Games be postponed or moved from China. Center Enes Kanter of the NBA's Boston Celtics, a Muslim with roots in Turkey, has criticized China's rights record and called General Secretary Xi Jinping a “brutal dictator.”
For its part, the IOC says its only focus is sports and has no remit to act on the polices of a sovereign state. The IOC does, however, hold an observer seat at the United Nations, unlike any other sports business.
“We have a lot of respect for other organizations that have other purposes in life,” Juan Antonio Samaranch, the IOC member in charge of Beijing preparations, said earlier this week in responding to the ITUC report. “But we believe that our responsibility is what it is — celebrate the Olympic Games as a celebration of humanity, altogether, despite our differences."
Most of the IOC sponsors have signed on to the so-called United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. They spell out the obligation of states and businesses to “respect, protect and fulfil human rights and fundamental freedoms.”
However, the IOC did not include these guidelines in its host city contract for the Beijing Olympics, but did add it to the contract for the 2024 Paris Olympics and other future Games.
When the IOC awarded Beijing the 2008 Summer Olympics it said they would improve human rights in China.
“The failure of Chinese authorities to uphold the rights-related commitments they made to win the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, and their deepening repression since that time, make clear that the government cannot be expected to respect human rights around the 2022 Winter Games,” Human Rights Watch said.
___
More AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/winter-olympics and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
___
More AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/olympic-games and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Olympic gold medalist Suni Lee says she was pepper-sprayed in racist attack
ESPN News Services
American gymnast and Olympic gold medalist Suni Lee said she was pepper-sprayed in a racist attack last month while out with a group of friends in Los Angeles.
Lee, the first Hmong American to represent the U.S. in the Olympics, told PopSugar she was waiting for a ride when a car drove by with people shouting racial slurs.
According to Lee, who said she was with a group of friends who were all of Asian descent, one of the passengers sprayed her arm with pepper spray before the car drove away.
"I was so mad, but there was nothing I could do or control because they skirted off," Lee told PopSugar as part of a cover story on the gymnast. "I didn't do anything to them, and having the reputation, it's so hard because I didn't want to do anything that could get me into trouble. I just let it happen."
Anti-Asian incidents have risen sharply in the United States since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Stop AAPI Hate, a national coalition that became the authority on gathering data on racially motivated attacks related to the pandemic, has received more than 9,000 incident reports from March 19, 2020, through this June.
Lee, 18, won gold in the individual all-around at the Tokyo Olympics.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this story.
ESPN News Services
American gymnast and Olympic gold medalist Suni Lee said she was pepper-sprayed in a racist attack last month while out with a group of friends in Los Angeles.
Lee, the first Hmong American to represent the U.S. in the Olympics, told PopSugar she was waiting for a ride when a car drove by with people shouting racial slurs.
According to Lee, who said she was with a group of friends who were all of Asian descent, one of the passengers sprayed her arm with pepper spray before the car drove away.
"I was so mad, but there was nothing I could do or control because they skirted off," Lee told PopSugar as part of a cover story on the gymnast. "I didn't do anything to them, and having the reputation, it's so hard because I didn't want to do anything that could get me into trouble. I just let it happen."
Anti-Asian incidents have risen sharply in the United States since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Stop AAPI Hate, a national coalition that became the authority on gathering data on racially motivated attacks related to the pandemic, has received more than 9,000 incident reports from March 19, 2020, through this June.
Lee, 18, won gold in the individual all-around at the Tokyo Olympics.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this story.
Cheetahs fast running to extinction as cub trade thrives
Cheetahs fast running to extinction as cub trade thrives
Fighting the criminal trade in cheetah cubs is particularly challenging because it revolves around Somaliland, a self-declared republic without international recognition, and one of the world's poorest regions (AFP/EDUARDO SOTERAS)
Cheetahs fast running to extinction as cub trade thrives
The cheetah cubs seized from the illegal wildlife trade in Somaliland are often in poor health, and about half succumb to illness (AFP/EDUARDO SOTERAS)
Cheetahs fast running to extinction as cub trade thrives
Fighting the criminal trade in cheetah cubs is particularly challenging because it revolves around Somaliland, a self-declared republic without international recognition, and one of the world's poorest regions (AFP/EDUARDO SOTERAS)
Cheetahs fast running to extinction as cub trade thrives
The cheetah cubs seized from the illegal wildlife trade in Somaliland are often in poor health, and about half succumb to illness (AFP/EDUARDO SOTERAS)
Cheetahs fast running to extinction as cub trade thrives
Cheetah have been sought after as exotic pets for centuries but today demand for cubs is placing enormous strain on the vulnerable species (AFP/EDUARDO SOTERAS)
Cheetahs fast running to extinction as cub trade thrives
The number of cheetahs sheltered at safe houses run by the Cheetah Conservation Fund in Somaliland has soared as the government has cracked down on the illegal cub trade (AFP/EDUARDO SOTERAS)
Cheetah have been sought after as exotic pets for centuries but today demand for cubs is placing enormous strain on the vulnerable species (AFP/EDUARDO SOTERAS)
Cheetahs fast running to extinction as cub trade thrives
The number of cheetahs sheltered at safe houses run by the Cheetah Conservation Fund in Somaliland has soared as the government has cracked down on the illegal cub trade (AFP/EDUARDO SOTERAS)
Cheetahs fast running to extinction as cub trade thrives
Snatched from their mothers, shipped out of Africa to war-torn Yemen and onward to the Gulf, a cheetah cub that survives the ordeal can fetch up to $15,000 on the black market (AFP/EDUARDO SOTERAS)
Snatched from their mothers, shipped out of Africa to war-torn Yemen and onward to the Gulf, a cheetah cub that survives the ordeal can fetch up to $15,000 on the black market (AFP/EDUARDO SOTERAS)
Cheetahs fast running to extinction as cub trade thrives
Somaliland is expanding intelligence sharing with neighbouring countries and Yemen to better tackle the illegal trade (AFP/EDUARDO SOTERAS)
![]()
Cheetahs fast running to extinction as cub trade thrives
Every year an estimated 300 cheetah cubs are trafficked through Somaliland to wealthy buyers in the Middle East seeking exotic pets (AFP/EDUARDO SOTERAS)
Nick Perry
Thu, 11 November 2021
Tiny, weeks-old cheetah cubs suckled from baby bottles and purred weakly, their condition still dangerously precarious after their rescue from the Horn of Africa's illegal wildlife trade.
Around half the cubs saved from traffickers do not survive the trauma -- and there are real concerns for the smallest of this lot, a frail infant nicknamed "Green" weighing just 700 grams (25 ounces).
"It was very touch and go with Green," said Laurie Marker, founder of the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF), inspecting the mewling cub at the non-profit organisation's rescue centre in Somaliland.
They are the lucky ones -- every year an estimated 300 cheetah cubs are trafficked through Somaliland to wealthy buyers in the Middle East seeking exotic pets.
Snatched from their mothers, shipped out of Africa to war-torn Yemen and onward to the Gulf, cubs that survive the ordeal can fetch up to $15,000 on the black market.
It is a busy trade, one less familiar than criminal markets for elephant ivory or rhino horn, but equally devastating for Africa's most endangered big cat.
- Loved to death -
A century ago, there were an estimated 100,000 cheetahs worldwide. Today barely 7,000 remain, their numbers slashed by human encroachment and habitat destruction.
The steady plunder of cubs from the wild to satisfy the pet trade only compounds this decline.
More than 3,600 live cheetahs were illegally traded worldwide in the decade to December 2019, according to research published this year that documented hundreds of advertisements for cubs on social media platforms including YouTube and Instagram.
"If this keeps going... that kind of offtake causes the population to go extinct in a very short time," said Marker, a leading authority on cheetahs.
Cheetahs have been prized as pets and hunting companions since the Roman Empire and breeding them in captivity is notoriously difficult, making wild-caught cubs the only option.
Part of the campaign to stop the modern-day trade has focused on changing attitudes in prosperous Gulf states, the main buyer market where cheetahs are still coveted status symbols.
Marker said wealthy owners liked to show off their cheetahs in selfies as much as their cars and cash.
"There's kind of a one-upmanship on it, and there's bragging power. One of our messages is do not 'like' this kind of thing on social media," Marker said.
- Cruel trade -
Combatting this criminal trade is particularly challenging because it revolves around Somaliland, a self-declared republic without international recognition, and one of the world's poorest regions.
Roughly the size of Syria, with 850 kilometres (530 miles) of coastline facing Yemen, the breakaway region between Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somalia is stretched thin policing its porous borders.
Somaliland's interior minister Mohamed Kahin Ahmed told AFP that a small coastguard unit was doing its best but apart from patrolling for cheetahs they had human traffickers and gun runners to contend with.
The cubs that slip through the net suffer terrible mistreatment along the smuggling route, fed improperly and confined to tiny cages, sometimes with their legs bound with zip ties.
Marker said one particular seizure in 2019 illustrated the cruelty: "When they dumped them out, there were live ones dying on top of dead ones... It was just horrible," she said.
In recent years, confiscations have soared as the government has cracked down on the trade.
From just a handful of cubs in 2018, today CCF shelters 67 rescued cheetahs across three safe houses in the Somaliland capital Hargeisa.
Laws criminalising the sale of cheetahs have also started being enforced.
In October 2020, a smuggling ring was shattered and a high-profile trafficker prosecuted in a landmark trial.
- Future generations -
Through a UK government-funded programme, Somaliland is expanding intelligence sharing with neighbouring countries and Yemen to fight the criminals robbing Africa of the iconic species.
But the government is also working with impoverished rural communities, whose conflict with cheetahs is another driver in the trade.
Of the 13 cubs confiscated between September and November, at least four were taken by farmers hoping to sell them and recoup losses after claiming their livestock were killed by cheetahs.
"The next generation may never see a cheetah if this illicit trade continues," Edna Adan Ismail, Somaliland's former foreign minister, told an anti-poaching conference in September.
Local veterinarian Ahmed Yusuuf Ibrahim is determined this grim prophecy does not pass.
The 27-year-old has been learning how to nurse sickly cubs back to health and has developed a close fondness for the cheetahs under his care.
They cannot fend for themselves, and eventually will be relocated to a larger natural enclosure outside Hargeisa.
But for now, Ibrahim is their doting custodian -- right down to making sure cheetahs young and old get their fair share of camel meat.
"I care for them. I feed them, I clean them. They are my babies," he said.
np/txw/oho
Somaliland is expanding intelligence sharing with neighbouring countries and Yemen to better tackle the illegal trade (AFP/EDUARDO SOTERAS)
Cheetahs fast running to extinction as cub trade thrives
Every year an estimated 300 cheetah cubs are trafficked through Somaliland to wealthy buyers in the Middle East seeking exotic pets (AFP/EDUARDO SOTERAS)
Nick Perry
Thu, 11 November 2021
Tiny, weeks-old cheetah cubs suckled from baby bottles and purred weakly, their condition still dangerously precarious after their rescue from the Horn of Africa's illegal wildlife trade.
Around half the cubs saved from traffickers do not survive the trauma -- and there are real concerns for the smallest of this lot, a frail infant nicknamed "Green" weighing just 700 grams (25 ounces).
"It was very touch and go with Green," said Laurie Marker, founder of the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF), inspecting the mewling cub at the non-profit organisation's rescue centre in Somaliland.
They are the lucky ones -- every year an estimated 300 cheetah cubs are trafficked through Somaliland to wealthy buyers in the Middle East seeking exotic pets.
Snatched from their mothers, shipped out of Africa to war-torn Yemen and onward to the Gulf, cubs that survive the ordeal can fetch up to $15,000 on the black market.
It is a busy trade, one less familiar than criminal markets for elephant ivory or rhino horn, but equally devastating for Africa's most endangered big cat.
- Loved to death -
A century ago, there were an estimated 100,000 cheetahs worldwide. Today barely 7,000 remain, their numbers slashed by human encroachment and habitat destruction.
The steady plunder of cubs from the wild to satisfy the pet trade only compounds this decline.
More than 3,600 live cheetahs were illegally traded worldwide in the decade to December 2019, according to research published this year that documented hundreds of advertisements for cubs on social media platforms including YouTube and Instagram.
"If this keeps going... that kind of offtake causes the population to go extinct in a very short time," said Marker, a leading authority on cheetahs.
Cheetahs have been prized as pets and hunting companions since the Roman Empire and breeding them in captivity is notoriously difficult, making wild-caught cubs the only option.
Part of the campaign to stop the modern-day trade has focused on changing attitudes in prosperous Gulf states, the main buyer market where cheetahs are still coveted status symbols.
Marker said wealthy owners liked to show off their cheetahs in selfies as much as their cars and cash.
"There's kind of a one-upmanship on it, and there's bragging power. One of our messages is do not 'like' this kind of thing on social media," Marker said.
- Cruel trade -
Combatting this criminal trade is particularly challenging because it revolves around Somaliland, a self-declared republic without international recognition, and one of the world's poorest regions.
Roughly the size of Syria, with 850 kilometres (530 miles) of coastline facing Yemen, the breakaway region between Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somalia is stretched thin policing its porous borders.
Somaliland's interior minister Mohamed Kahin Ahmed told AFP that a small coastguard unit was doing its best but apart from patrolling for cheetahs they had human traffickers and gun runners to contend with.
The cubs that slip through the net suffer terrible mistreatment along the smuggling route, fed improperly and confined to tiny cages, sometimes with their legs bound with zip ties.
Marker said one particular seizure in 2019 illustrated the cruelty: "When they dumped them out, there were live ones dying on top of dead ones... It was just horrible," she said.
In recent years, confiscations have soared as the government has cracked down on the trade.
From just a handful of cubs in 2018, today CCF shelters 67 rescued cheetahs across three safe houses in the Somaliland capital Hargeisa.
Laws criminalising the sale of cheetahs have also started being enforced.
In October 2020, a smuggling ring was shattered and a high-profile trafficker prosecuted in a landmark trial.
- Future generations -
Through a UK government-funded programme, Somaliland is expanding intelligence sharing with neighbouring countries and Yemen to fight the criminals robbing Africa of the iconic species.
But the government is also working with impoverished rural communities, whose conflict with cheetahs is another driver in the trade.
Of the 13 cubs confiscated between September and November, at least four were taken by farmers hoping to sell them and recoup losses after claiming their livestock were killed by cheetahs.
"The next generation may never see a cheetah if this illicit trade continues," Edna Adan Ismail, Somaliland's former foreign minister, told an anti-poaching conference in September.
Local veterinarian Ahmed Yusuuf Ibrahim is determined this grim prophecy does not pass.
The 27-year-old has been learning how to nurse sickly cubs back to health and has developed a close fondness for the cheetahs under his care.
They cannot fend for themselves, and eventually will be relocated to a larger natural enclosure outside Hargeisa.
But for now, Ibrahim is their doting custodian -- right down to making sure cheetahs young and old get their fair share of camel meat.
"I care for them. I feed them, I clean them. They are my babies," he said.
np/txw/oho
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