Updates: polution; hunting; animal slaughter; climate change

[Anthea]

Used cooking oil imports may boost deforestation

Imports of a "green fuel" source may be inadvertently increasing deforestation and the demand for new palm oil

Experts say there has been a recent boom in the amount of used cooking oil imported into the UK from Asia.

This waste oil is the basis for biodiesel, which produces far less CO2 than fossil fuels in cars.

But this report is concerned that the used oil is being replaced across Asia with palm oil from deforested areas

Cutting carbon emissions from transport has proved very difficult for governments all over the world. Many have given incentives to speed up the replacement of fossil-based petrol and diesel with fuels made from crops such as soya or rapeseed.

These growing plants absorb CO2 from the atmosphere and so liquid fuel made from these sources, while not carbon-neutral, is a big improvement on simply burning regular petrol or diesel.

In this light, used cooking (UCO) oil has become a key ingredient of biodiesel in the UK and the rest of Europe. Between 2011 and 2016 there was a 360% increase in use of used cooking oil as the basis for biodiesel.

Because UCO is classed as a waste product within the EU, UK fuel producers are given double carbon credits for using it in their fuels. This has sparked a boom in demand for used cooking oil that is so great it is being met in part with imports from Asia.

In the UK, the most common feedstock source of biodiesel between April and December 2018 was Chinese UCO, totalling 93 million litres. In the same period, used cooking oil from UK sources was used to produce 76 million litres of of fuel.

Now a new study, from international bioeconomy consultants NNFCC, suggests that these imports may inadvertently be making climate change worse by increasing deforestation and the demand for palm oil.

The problem arises because used cooking oil in some parts of Asia is not classed as a waste product and is considered safe for consumption by animals.

The report's authors are concerned that since it is more profitable to sell Asian UCO to Europe for fuel rather than feed it to animals, it is likely being replaced by virgin palm oil which is cheaper to buy.

"Although correlation does not necessarily equate to causation, the available evidence indicates that palm oil imports into China are increasing, in line with their increasing exports of used cooking oils," the report states.

Between 2016 and 2018, palm oil imports into China rose by 1 million tonnes, an increase of more than 20%.

"As soon as that point is reached where you can sell used cooking oil for more than you can buy palm oil, it's a no brainer," said Dr Jeremy Tomkinson who co-authored the report for NNFCC.

"What you are going to do if you're in Asia, you're going to sell as much UCO as you can to the EU and buy palm oil and pocket the difference."

Demand for palm oil has led to large-scale deforestation and the loss of natural habitats across Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. Between 2010 and 2015, Indonesia alone lost 3 million hectares of forest to continued expansion of palm oil cultivation.

Each hectare of forest that's converted to palm oil releases large amounts of carbon dioxide, equivalent to 530 people flying economy class from Geneva to New York according to a recent study.

Most of the used cooking oil that's already imported is made from palm. But it's the extra demand from Europe, say the authors, that is likely to be fuelling deforestation.

"It's irrelevant if the virgin palm is going into the biodiesel or into the animals," said Dr Tomkinson.

"If we weren't pulling that resource out of the market, no new resource would be falling into it."

The UK government rejects the idea that imports are increasing demand for palm oil. The Department for Transport says that there is no evidence showing a causative link between policies on waste-derived biofuels and increased use of virgin oils.

The department argues that they have worked hard to ensure that such indirect effects do not happen.

"Biofuels are a key way of achieving the emission reductions the UK needs and we have long been at the forefront of action to address the indirect effects of their production, including pushing the EU to address the impact of land use change," a spokesperson said.

"Last year alone biofuels reduced CO2 emissions by 2.7 million tonnes - the equivalent of taking around 1.2 million cars off the road."

One of the key elements that's making used cooking oil so valuable is the fact that producers in the EU are given double the number of carbon credits for using the waste material. While the EU allows all countries to "double count" carbon credits for UCO, the UK is one of the few countries to put this into practice.

Oil importers say the "double counting" is vital in preventing even more palm oil from entering the European market.

"Biodiesel made from waste oil is more expensive to produce; it has higher production costs," said Angel Alvarez Alberdi from the European Waste-to-Advanced Biofuels Association.

"If we don't have a policy incentive of double counting then under normal market conditions you will have the cheapest available option and that is conventional palm based biodiesel that would still be able to reach the EU."

However, the report authors say that the policy has other dangers, not just because it may be driving up demand for palm oil in Asia but because it may also be stymieing development among other alternative fuel producers, such as ethanol in the UK.

"If it comes from outside of the EU don't let it double count unless you put in increased levels of scrutiny to verify it's not having an impact on land use," said Dr Tomkinson from NNFCC.

"If you don't do that then you only get a single credit for that used cooking oil."

Environmental groups are also concerned about the potential impact that UK and EU imports of UCO are having.

"Making biodiesel from imported UCO is no longer the environmental good it was once perceived to be," said Greg Archer, UK director of the environmental group Transport and Environment.

"There are real concerns some of these oils may not be genuinely 'used' or they may be indirectly causing deforestation. Governments need to scrutinise the source of UCO far more closely and require organisations certifying biofuel feedstocks to undertake far more rigorous and extensive checks."

Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-48828490

[Piling]

I use mostly French olive oil. But I suppose that olives are not abundant in UK… Just wait for 10 years with the global warming. Our French wine makers are starting to buy English lands for champagne.

I boycott palm-oil. Now it is an obligation for industries to mention in the composition they use it. Recently I bought chocolate and checked their ingredients : ALL famous brands like Lindt, Nestlé, Côte d'Or are using palm oil. A cheap brand, Belle France use only sunflower oil.

So the most expensive food is not the safest.

[Anthea]

UK has:

Divine chocolate

Divine does not use any palm oil in its chocolate and aims not to use any additional ingredients that contain palm oil. This is for a number of reasons:

Rainforests are still being cut down to plant palm oil plantations and we do not want to subscribe to the impact this has on the environment and animal habitats.

Divine is also conscious that palm oil is used as a cheap oil alternative in a large percentage of the processed foods we all eat today, and so we choose not to add to that high level of consumption which may have health implications.

Lastly, as natural cocoa butter is crucial to the real flavour of chocolate we choose not to substitute it with a fat that adds nothing to the quality and fine taste of our product.

Our chocolate recipes do not include palm oil and we are working to detect any ingredient that may contain palm oil and looking for alternatives. We have recently created delicious caramel bars, and selection of praline chocolates without using palm oil.

http://ukshop.divinechocolate.com/uk/shop/

Sadly it does not taste as good as Cadbury

I almost forgot M & S their own products are palm oil free

[Anthea]

Sick couple kiss to celebrate killing
magnificent lion in horrifying picture

A sick couple kiss to celebrate killing a magnificent lion in a vile reminder of the blood lust in trophy hunting

Click to enlarge:


They call it sport. Lions and other magnificent beasts are corralled in a confined area and then slaughtered by paying customers.

Hunters are then allowed to bring the body parts back to the UK to be flaunted as sick trophies of their kills.

Today the Daily Mirror is calling for an end to the barbaric practice of trophy hunting in a campaign backed by politicians, celebrities and activists.

We are demanding the Government put an immediate ban on the import of animals shot for pleasure.

We also want an end to canned hunting – confining wild animals on small reserves just so they can be shot dead for a price.

Our campaign calls for a change in international rules so that animals slaughtered by trophy hunters are no longer exempt from strict controls on the trade, import and export of endangered species.

And we want greater protection for giraffes, whose numbers have declined dramatically due to hunting and poaching.

The Mirror’s End Trophy Hunting demand is being backed by celebrities, MPs, peers and conservation charities.

ITV star Lorraine Kelly said: “I’m appalled and disgusted by this so-called ‘sport’. I’ve been lucky enough to visit Africa many times and see these beautiful wild animals. I’d like my grandchildren to be able to do the same some day.

“I’m a supporter of the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting and I think it’s really great that the Daily Mirror is launching this campaign. It has my full support.”

The world woke up to the horrific practice of trophy hunting in 2015 when Cecil the lion was shot by American dentist Walter Palmer.

But more than 1,000 lions are still killed every year, along with thousands of bears and hundreds of elephants, rhinos and crocodiles.

In the past decade, trophy hunters have imported 2,500 animal parts into the UK, including the heads and furs from cheetahs, elephants, lions, hippos and zebras.

American dentist Walter Palmer's River Bluff Dental office in Bloomington after he admitted killing Cecil, a protected lion and one of the most famous animals at the Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe - if he had been in the UK I would have killed the shit myself

Campaigners warn the cruel trade must be outlawed at a time when species are already facing the risk of extinction.

The elephant population has fallen from 1.3million to around 400,000

Giraffes are especially at risk as they are still not classified as an endangered species. Their population has fallen by 40% in the past 30 years.

Since 2009 more than 20,000 giraffe bone carvings have been exported from Africa as well as approximately 7,000 skins and other giraffe-hunting trophies.

The Government announced in 2017 that it was in favour of a ban on trophy hunting but has failed to take any action.

This is despite calls from over 166 MPs for a ban as a “matter of urgency”.

Actress and activist Joanna Lumley is backing the Mirror's campaign.

Amazingly, despite the increasing threat to many species, there is a loophole allowing the movement of hunting trophies in the international agreement on animal protection.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species bans the trade, import and export of the body parts of endangered animals, other than in exceptional circumstances.

But animals killed by trophy hunters are exempt from these rules.

Eduardo Goncalves of the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting said: “Trophy hunting is an abomination. The fact that we have so many hunting trophies coming into Britain each year is a stain on our nation’s reputation.

“How can we claim to be a nation of animal lovers when we allow this ­colonial hangover to carry on?

“British trophy hunters shoot hippos, leopards, zebras, bears, and even primates such as monkeys and baboons for fun.

"It’s sickening to think that the law then allows these people to bring their macabre souvenirs back into the country with them. British trophy hunters love to shoot lions.

"Almost every single lion shot by a British hunter now comes from one of these disgusting lion ‘factory farms’ dotted around South Africa.

“It is like shooting a zoo animal. These are tame animals born and bred in captivity.

“There’s nothing sporting about trophy hunting, but ‘canned hunting’ is surely the lowest of the low.”

A majestic and beautiful creature, senselessly slaughtered for 'sport' by Darren and Carolyn Carter (Image: Collect Unknown)

Actress Joanna Lumley also backs our campaign. She said: “All trophy hunting is despicable; those who kill for pleasure are to be despised. What kind of sick, cruel, vain, ridiculous cowards are they, ‘tracking’ and killing drugged animals for pleasure? And when that person gets home, with the heads and carcasses, who are the people who think such killers are brave, fine, or in any way praiseworthy?”

Labour peer Angela Smith added: “It’s appalling in this day and age that people still think it’s OK to abuse, hunt, kill and display dead animals just for amusement and entertainment.

“Congratulations to the Daily Mirror for launching this campaign to bring an end to this barbaric practice which should be banned in a civilised society.”

Labour's Baroness Smith backed the Mirror's campaign

Environment Secretary Michael Gove believes trophy hunting “provokes profound moral and ethical questions about the way we treat animals”, said the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It added: “Any policy decisions must be based on robust evidence.

“The Secretary of State will hold further discussions on this critical issue to ensure we find the right solutions."

Sign our petition. Find us at https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/sto ... y-imports/
What we demand:

1. Ban all trophy hunting imports into the UK.

The Government still allows the import of heads and furs of animals shot for pleasure.

Ministers pledged a ban in 2016 but it has not happened. It is still legal to bring in parts from lions, elephants and leopards.

France, the Netherlands and Australia have banned trophy imports. We should do the same.

2. Include hunt ‘trophies’ in the ban on trading endangered species.

Body parts of endangered animals cannot be traded, imported or exported under strict international controls.

But trophy hunters’ kills are exempt from this rule under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. We want this loophole closed.

3. End canned hunting.

Canned hunting is where animals, especially lions, are kept in an enclosed area to be shot by paying hunters.

This a growing business with more than 200 centres in South Africa alone holding 8,000 lions.

It is also rife in the US, which has more than 1,000 reserves where hunters can shoot bison, deer and African antelopes.

4. Classify giraffes as an endangered species.

Giraffe numbers have fallen 40% in the past three decades and there are fewer than 100,000 today.

They are at risk from hunting, poaching and habitat loss. Of the nine subspecies of giraffe only three are on the “red list” of critically endangered animals.

We are calling for all giraffes to be given protected status.

Couple's delight at slaughter of beasts - exclusive by Rhian Lubin

A couple pose proudly with animals they have slaughtered – even kissing behind the carcass of one magnificent lion they hunted in the Kalahari desert.

Sickening pictures of Darren and Carolyn Carter were taken on a trip run by a South African company targeting hunting packages at Brits.

Legelela Safaris shared the photos on their public Facebook page and wrote under the snap of them kissing next to their kill: “Hard work in the hot Kalahari sun...well done. A monster lion.”

The couple, who own a taxidermy business, describe themselves as “passionate conservationists”.

They are pictured with a second lion on the Legelela account, captioned: “There is nothing like hunting the king of the jungle in the sands of the Kalahari. Well done to the happy huntress and the team...”

A snap on the couple’s open Instagram account shows Mr Carter in front of a black bear he shot, with the caption: “Come on bear season, wakey wakey!” And in a snap with a slain elk he wrote: “Awesome elk season.”

When confronted by the Mirror over their decision to pose kissing with the dead lion, Mr Carter said: “We aren’t interested in commenting on that at all. It’s too political.”

Eduardo Goncalves of the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting believes the lions the couple shot were bred on a lion farm and killed in an enclosure.

Linda Park, boss of Voice 4 Lions in South Africa, agreed the white lion pictured was “definitely captive” and she “strongly suspects” the second darker one was as well.

Mr Goncalves said: “There is nothing romantic about killing an innocent animal. It looks as though this lion was a tame animal killed in an enclosure, bred for the sole purpose of being the subject of a smug selfie.This couple should be utterly ashamed of themselves, not showing off and snogging for the cameras.”

Legelela Safaris was booked as an exhibitor at the Great British Shooting Show in Birmingham next year but after public outcry the NEC banned any firms that sell trips to hunt big game. Legelela offers giraffe hunts for £2,400, zebra from £2,000, with leopard, rhino, lion and elephant prices available “on request”.

Legelela Safaris declined to comment.

Link to Article and Photos:

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-new ... -0WJausxm8

[Anthea]

Giant batteries and cheap solar power
are shoving fossil fuels off the grid

This month, officials in Los Angeles, California, are expected to approve a deal that would make solar power cheaper than ever while also addressing its chief flaw: It works only when the sun shines. The deal calls for a huge solar farm backed up by one of the world's largest batteries. It would provide 7% of the city's electricity beginning in 2023 at a cost of 1.997 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) for the solar power and 1.3 cents per kWh for the battery. That's cheaper than any power generated with fossil fuel.

"Goodnight #naturalgas, goodnight #coal, goodnight #nuclear," Mark Jacobson, an atmospheric scientist at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, tweeted after news of the deal surfaced late last month. "Because of growing economies of scale, prices for renewables and batteries keep coming down," adds Jacobson, who has advised countries around the world on how to shift to 100% renewable electricity. As if on cue, last week a major U.S. coal company—West Virginia–based Revelation Energy LLC—filed for bankruptcy, the second in as many weeks.

The new solar plus storage effort will be built in Kern County in California by 8minute Solar Energy. The project is expected to create a 400-megawatt solar array, generating roughly 876,000 megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity annually, enough to power more than 65,000 homes during daylight hours. Its 800-MWh battery will store electricity for after the sun sets, reducing the need for natural gas–fired generators.

Precipitous price declines have already driven a shift toward renewables backed by battery storage. In March, an analysis of more than 7000 global storage projects by Bloomberg New Energy Finance reported that the cost of utility-scale lithium-ion batteries had fallen by 76% since 2012, and by 35% in just the past 18 months, to $187 per MWh. Another market watch firm, Navigant, predicts a further halving by 2030, to a price well below what 8minute has committed to.

Large-scale battery storage generally relies on lithium-ion batteries—scaled-up versions of the devices that power laptops and most electric vehicles. But Jane Long, an engineer and energy policy expert who recently retired from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, says batteries are only part of the energy storage answer, because they typically provide power for only a few hours. "You also need to manage for long periods of cloudy weather, or winter conditions," she says.

Local commitments to switch to 100% renewables are also propelling the rush toward grid-scale batteries. By Jacobson's count, 54 countries and eight U.S. states have required a transition to 100% renewable electricity. In 2010, California passed a mandate that the state's utilities install electricity storage equivalent to 2% of their peak electricity demand by 2024.

Although the Los Angeles project may seem cheap, the costs of a fully renewable–powered grid would add up. Last month, the energy research firm Wood Mackenzie estimated the cost to decarbonize the U.S. grid alone would be $4.5 trillion, about half of which would go to installing 900 billion watts, or 900 gigawatts (GW), of batteries and other energy storage technologies. (Today, the world's battery storage capacity is just 5.5 GW.) But as other cities follow the example of Los Angeles, that figure is sure to fall.

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/07 ... m=Facebook

[Anthea]

All Zara clothes to be sustainable by 2025

Zara - and other brands like Pull & Bear and Bershka - have promised to only sell sustainable clothes by 2025

The company that owns these shops says all cotton, linen and polyester they sell will be organic, sustainable or recycled.

Zara has 64 UK stores, and its parent company has 7,490 shops worldwide.

Reacting to the news, Friends of the Earth told Radio 1 Newsbeat it would be "better for everyone if the industry sold clothes made to last."

Over the past few years, a lot of what we buy has been criticised for being fast fashion - clothes we barely use.
What will you see in the shops?

From next year, containers will appear in Zara stores to collect your old clothes so they can be reused or recycled into new items.

Some people in the fashion industry have been calling for more clothes recycling in order to protect the environment - while politicians think brands and shops should fund clothes recycling.

People in the UK send 235 million items of clothing to landfill each year, according to the most recent figures.

A 'ridiculous amount of clothes'

Friends of the Earth told Newsbeat that high street chains can do more to tackle the environmental problems caused by fast fashion.

"Part of the problem is there are too many brands, with opaque supply chains, making a completely ridiculous amount of clothes," spokeswoman Muna Suleiman said.

"They rely on creating 'trends' so shoppers are pressured to come back to buy more stuff each season."

Zara is one of the stores not to currently use plastic bags and Inditex, the company that owns the chain, says that by 2020 it will eliminate the use of plastic bags across all of its brands.

Primark and Boots are among the big-name shops that have switched from plastic to paper bags.

By 2023 Inditex promises it will have fully eliminated single use plastic in its stores.

Inditex also has a scheme called Join Life running in its shops, which identifies clothes which are made with more environmentally friendly materials than conventional high street stores.

These are made from things like organic cotton and recycled polyester.

The boss of Inditex revealed the company's plans at its annual general meeting this week.

"Sustainability is a never-ending task in which everyone here at Inditex is involved and in which we are successfully engaging all of our suppliers," said Pablo Isla, in front of shareholders and company executives.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-49022453

[Anthea]

Huge swathes of the Arctic are ablaze

Wildfires are ravaging the Arctic, with large areas of Siberia, northern Scandinavia, Alaska and Greenland engulfed in flames

Lightning frequently triggers fires in the region but this year they have been worsened by summer temperatures that are higher than average because of climate change.

Plumes of smoke from the fires can be seen from space.

Mark Parrington, a wildfires expert at the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (Cams), described them as "unprecedented".

How bad is it?

There are hundreds of fires covering mostly uninhabited regions across eastern Russia, northern Scandinavia, Greenland and Alaska.

But smoke is affecting wider surrounding areas, engulfing some places completely.

Cities in eastern Russia have noted a significant decrease in air quality since the fires started.

The smoke has reportedly reached Russia's Tyumen region in western Siberia, six time zones away from the fires on the east coast.

In June, the fires released an estimated 50 megatonnes of carbon dioxide - the equivalent of Sweden's annual carbon output, according to Cams.

How unusual is this?

Arctic fires are common between May and October and wildfires are a natural part of an ecosystem, offering some benefits for the environment, according to the Alaska Centers website.

But the intensity of these fires, as well as the large area they have taken up, make these unusual.

"It is unusual to see fires of this scale and duration at such high latitudes in June," said Mr Parrington.

"But temperatures in the Arctic have been increasing at a much faster rate than the global average, and warmer conditions encourage fires to grow and persist once they have been ignited."

Extremely dry ground and hotter than average temperatures, combined with heat lightning and strong winds, have caused the fires to spread aggressively.

The burning has been sustained by the forest ground, which consists of exposed, thawed, dried peat - a substance with high carbon content.

Global satellites are now tracking a swathe of new and ongoing wildfires within the Arctic Circle. The conditions were laid in June, the hottest June for the planet yet observed in the instrumented era.

The fires are releasing copious volumes of previously stored carbon dioxide and methane - carbon stocks that have in some cases been held in the ground for thousands of years.

Scientists say what we're seeing is evidence of the kind of feedbacks we should expect in a warmer world, where increased concentrations of greenhouse gases drive more warming, which then begets the conditions that release yet more carbon into the atmosphere.

A lot of the particulate matter from these fires will eventually come to settle on ice surfaces further north, darkening them and thus accelerating melting.

It's all part of a process of amplification.

What is being done to tackle the fires?

Russian authorities are not tackling the majority of the fires as they argue the cost would be bigger than the damage caused by the flames.

"They do not threaten any settlements or the economy," the press service of the Krasnoyarsk Region forestry ministry told a Siberian news website.

The hashtags #putouttheSiberianfires and #saveSiberianforests are currently trending on Twitter as Russians complain the government is not doing enough to tackle the crisis.

Some argue that the Notre Dame fire in Paris received far more media attention than the forest fires.

"Remember how far the news about the Notre Dame fire spread? Now is the time to do the same about the Siberian forest fires," said one tweet.

Another said: "Let's not forget that nature is no less important than history. Numerous animals have lost their homes, and many of them are probably dead. Just thinking about this is painful."

Alaska Centers agree that "fire-suppression efforts sometimes are more damaging than the wildfire".

Link to Article - Photos:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-49125391

[Anthea]

Indigenous man killed as Brazil miners take land

Dozens of armed miners have invaded a remote indigenous reserve in northern Brazil and stabbed to death at least one of its leaders, officials say

Residents of the village in Amapá state fled in fear but a community leader said they could try to reclaim it, warning of the risk of violent clashes.

Police have been sent to the area

Tensions in the Amazon region are on the rise as far-right President Jair Bolsonaro has vowed to open some of the protected areas to mining.

Mr Bolsonaro says the indigenous territories are too big given the number of people living there. Critics accuse him of encouraging illegal mining and invasions of reserves.

On Saturday, Jawaruwa Wajãpi, a leader of the Wajãpi community, said the miners had occupied the Mariry village. He pleaded with the federal government to send in the army.

"[The miners] are armed with rifles and other weapons. We're in danger," he said in a voice message sent to Rodolfe Rodrigues, one of the state's senators. "There's risk of [more] deaths and conflict because I think the Wajãpi will act soon."

Mr Rodrigues, whose party opposes the Bolsonaro government, said 50 miners had invaded the reserve, and that the situation was "very serious".

"This [would be] the first violent invasion in 30 years since the demarcation of the indigenous reserves in Amapá," he told local newspaper Diário do Amapá, saying a "blood bath" could happen (in Portuguese).

The Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau are among groups that say Brazil's president wants to allow deforestation in protected areas

Despite the rising tensions, killings of indigenous leaders are rare. The assassinated indigenous leader has been identified as Emyra Wajãpi, whose body was found with stab marks in a river near Mariry on Wednesday.

On Saturday night, Brazil's indigenous rights agency, Funai, said the federal police and an elite force had been sent to the area to investigate. It confirmed that one person had been killed, but said the details were not yet clear.

The 1,200 members of the Wajãpi community live in dozens of villages in a 600,000-hectare reserve in Amapá, next to the French Guiana.

Speaking earlier on Saturday, Mr Bolsonaro said some of the indigenous territories were on "very rich [mineral] land" and that he was "looking for the 'first world' to explore these areas in partnership and add value," according to O Globo newspaper (in Portuguese).

"That's the reason for my decision to get closer to the US. That's why I want a person of trust in the embassy in the US," said Mr Bolsonaro, who wants to appoint his own congressman son, Eduardo, as ambassador.

He has not commented on the events in Amapá.
Map of Amapa in Brazil

Mr Bolsonaro, who took office in January, has promised to integrate indigenous people into the rest of the population and questioned the existence of their protected territories.

He has already transferred the creation and limitation of reserves from Funai to the agriculture ministry, a controversial decision that was seen as a victory for the powerful agribusiness sector.

The president has also criticised the environmental protection agency, Ibama, and accused the national space institute, Inpe, of lying about the scale of deforestation in the Amazon.

Activists say the relaxation of the protections could lead to greater deforestation of the Amazon rainforest and threaten the existence of indigenous people.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-49144917

[Anthea]

Sulaimani expands ban on plastic bags

Sulaimani's mayorship yesterday issued a widespread ban on the use of plastic bags in markets

A smaller-scale ban targeting bakeries had been issued early in May, due primarily to health concerns surrounding the packaging on freshly-baked bread in plastic.

Still widely used and with an estimated biodegradation time of 15-20 years, plastic bags also pose serious environmental concerns.

A first violation of the rule by a shop or restaurant will result in a fine, while continued violations could result in a premises being shut down altogether.

Paper bags currently available in the Kurdistan Region’s markets are imported from neighboring Iran and Turkey. To accommodate for the inevitably exponential rise in paper bag use, authorities are setting up paper bag factories, due to be up and running within the next few days.

Prompted by the announcement of the ban, some in the private sector have already begun opening factories of their own.

In efforts to dramatically cut down or even eradicate plastic bag usage, some countries, including Morocco, have issued nationwide bans, while others have imposed per-bag charges.

The spread of bans is showing no signs of relenting, with Iraq's ministries of health and environment confirming a pilot ban on their use in Baghdad this month.

Reacting to the ban on social media, Blend Karam asked when the ban will be extended to the use of plastic water bottles which “are known to be toxic.”

Ranj Talabany took to Twitter to express a wish for the ban to be expanded on, emphasizing the environmental harm plastic bag use causes.

Wish that not only bakeries but all stores were forced into getting rid of plastic bags and using paper bags instead. Kurdistan is fast becoming a big garbage dump. So sad when we have such beautiful land but no love for the land itself. https://t.co/JqHWVHlKqc
— Ranj Talabany (@ranj_talabany) July 29, 2019

https://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/290720191

[Anthea]

Stop abusing land, scientists warn

Scientists are to deliver a stark condemnation of the damage being done to the land surface of the planet

Human activities have led to the degrading of soils, expanded deserts, felled forests, driven out wildlife, and drained peatlands, they will say.

In the process, land has been turned from an asset that combats climate change into a major source of carbon.

The scientists will say this land abuse must be stopped to avoid catastrophic climate heating.

Uncultivated land covered with vegetation protects us from overheating because the plants absorb the warming gas CO2 from the air and fix it in the soil.

But the scientists meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, will say the way we farm and grow timber often actually increases emissions of carbon dioxide.

Between a quarter and a third of all greenhouse gas emissions are now estimated to come from land use.

Click to enlarge:


Carbon cycle

The scientists will warn of a battle for land between multiple competing demands: biofuels, plant material for plastics and fibres, timber, wildlife, paper and pulp - and food for a growing population.

Their report will say we need to make hard choices about how we use the world’s soil.

And it will offer another warning that our hunger for red meat is putting huge stress on the land to produce animal feed, as well as contributing to half of the world’s emissions of methane - another greenhouse gas.

What is the report?

The document’s being finalised this week among scientists and government officials on the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

It will become the most authoritative report yet on the way we use and abuse the land. Scientists hope it will give the issue of land use greater prominence in negotiations on climate change.

At its heart will be the paradox that the land can be a source of CO2 emissions, or a sink for CO2 emissions.

The question is how we use it.

Why is that an issue?

Take the fenlands in the east of England – a huge expanse of lowland peat.

In its natural state, it’s saturated with water. But over centuries, 99% of it has been drained for farming. Food crops don’t grow in peat bogs.

The remaining un-drained 1% is Wicken Fen, a plot owned by the charity the National Trust, where the soft black soil is still 4m deep.

The surrounding drained farmland is noticeably lower, because as it’s been drained the peat has shrunk to just 50cm thick.

That’s because when peat is exposed to the air, it oxidises and produces CO2.

But here’s the problem: the peaty fields are also some of the most productive cropland in the UK – they’re known as Black Gold.

Farmers want to grow food on them – not soak them to save carbon.

One young farmer, Charles Shropshire, told me he was concerned about carbon loss from his fields.

He’s already finding that existing climate change is disrupting growing patterns.

So now he’s adopting so-called “regenerative farming” techniques - such as shallow ploughing, keeping the land covered in vegetation in the winter, and using drip-feed watering.

He’s willing to experiment with National Trust ideas such as re-wetting the soil over the winter, or growing sphagnum moss for use in beauty treatments or hanging baskets.

But many other farmers don’t want to change the way they run their business.

And all round the world you’ll find similar stories as farmers strive to increase production of the food people want, which can negatively affect land in the long term.

Part of the problem is that consumption of meat and vegetable oils has doubled since the 1960s.

Can we solve the problem?

Scientists say the problem is huge. They admit it will be hard to solve, especially as conservation-style farming would involve teaching half a billion farmers to work differently.

They believe we need to:

Protect as much natural forest as we can, particularly in the tropics

Change diets to eat less red meat and more vegetables

Safeguard peatlands and restore them where possible

Grow plants and trees to produce energy… but only on a small local scale

Do more agro-forestry, where food crops are mixed in with trees

Improve crop varieties

Are the solutions agreed?

There’s still some debate. One option is to concentrate intensive farming into the smallest possible area of land, in order to leave as much natural land as possible to soak up CO2.

Another option is to farm in a less intensive, more climate-friendly way – but that means taking up more natural land to compensate.

Either way, the report will warn that the poorest farmers will be hardest hit by global warming, and they’ll be least able to afford new technologies to change the way they farm.

Kelly Levin, from the US green think tank WRI, told BBC News the report should heap pressure on politicians to cut fossil fuel emissions.

She said: “If we consider the climate problem hard now, just think about how much harder it will be without the land serving as a large sink for carbon dioxide emissions.”

Will the report change policies?

Prof John Boardman, from the Oxford Environmental Change Institute, told us climate change was already causing soil erosion in southern England through more intense rain.

But he warned: “We should recognise that in most parts of the world, a little more or less rain or heat is an irrelevance compared to human pressures.

“(In some areas) if we change the land use from winter wheat to maize, we triple the risk of erosion.”

Prof Jane Rickson from Cranfield University, UK, told us: “Increased temperatures and heavier rainfall will aggravate soil erosion, compaction, loss of organic matter, loss of biodiversity, and landslides… many of which are irreversible.

“I hope the final IPCC report will be robust enough to motivate politicians and land managers to implement policies and practices that will reverse, mitigate and adapt to the climate crisis”.

Link to Article - Photos:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-49149761

[Anthea]

Amazon Tribe Wins Lawsuit Against Big Oil
Saving Millions Of Acres Of Rainforest

The Amazon Rainforest is well known across the world for being the largest and most dense area of woodland in the world. Spanning across nine countries, the Amazon is home to millions of different animal and plant species, as well as harboring some for the world's last remaining indigenous groups.

The Waorani people of Pastaza are an indigenous tribe from the Ecuadorian Amazon and have lived in the Rainforest for many generations. However, there Home came under threat from a large oil company - they didn't take it lightly.

Ecuador Rainforest Amazon River
Legal Win

After a long legal battle with a number of organizations, the Waorani people successfully protected half a million acres of their ancestral territory in the Amazon rainforest from being mined for oil drilling by huge oil corporations.

The auctioning off of Waorani lands to the oil companies was suspended indefinitely by a three-judge panel of the Pastaza Provincial Court.

The panel simply trashed the consultation process the Ecuadorian government had undertaken with the tribe in 2012, which rendered the attempt at land purchase null and void.

This win for the indigenous tribe has now set an invaluable legal precedent for other indigenous nations across the Ecuadorian Amazon. After accepting a Waorani bid for court protection to stop an oil bidding process, the court also halted the potential auctioning off of 16 oil blocks that cover over 7 million acres of indigenous territory.

Government Corruption

While there is no evidence, some people believe that the Ecuadorian government may be accepting bribes in some roundabout way. The land in question is meant to be protected under Ecuador’s constitution that establishes the inalienable, unseizable and indivisible rights of indigenous people to maintain possession of their ancestral lands and obtain their free adjudication.

River Amazon Rainforest

Furthermore, the constitution also states that there is a need for prior consultation on any plans to exploit the underground resources, given the probable environmental and cultural impacts on tribal communities.

The government claim they did do this in 2012, however, the tribe alleges that the agreement they came to was based upon fraudulent practices in favor of the oil companies and the government was favoring their bottom line over the people the actually still live on this valuable land.

Due to this, the judges ordered the Ecuadorian government to conduct a new consultation, applying standards set by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights before anything else is agreed regarding the exploitation of the natural resources below the ground.

Nemonte Nenquimo, president of the Waorani Pastaza Organization and plaintiff in the lawsuit, remarked:

"The government tried to sell our lands to the oil companies without our permission. Our rainforest is our life. We decide what happens in our lands. We will never sell our rainforest to the oil companies. Today, the courts recognized that the Waorani people, and all indigenous peoples have rights over our territories that must be respected. The government’s interests in oil is not more valuable than our rights, our forests, our lives."

This is a major win for indigenous tribes all over the Ecuadorian Amazon rainforest, and even perhaps the Amazon as a whole! This has definitely set a new precedent regarding indigenous peoples’ rights over the land they live in and offers them a glimmer of hope in protecting their cultural heritage.

They'll definitely need plenty of support in the coming years as economical advances, such as this one will keep coming more and more as the world becomes ever growingly desperate for the natural resources that the beautiful land holds.

Link to Article - Photos:

https://www.disclose.tv/amazon-tribe-wi ... hJ4oOYY5FM

[Anthea]

New Models Point to More Global
Warming Than We Expected

Our planet’s climate may be more sensitive to increases in greenhouse gas than we realized, according to a new generation of global climate models being used for the next major assessment from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The findings—which run counter to a 40-year consensus—are a troubling sign that future warming and related impacts could be even worse than expected

One of the new models, the second version of the Community Earth System Model (CESM2) from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), saw a 35% increase in its equilibrium climate sensitivity (ECS), the rise in global temperature one might expect as the atmosphere adjusts to an instantaneous doubling of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Instead of the model’s previous ECS of 4°C (7.2°F), the CESM2 now shows an ECS of 5.3°C (9.5°F).

“It is imperative that the community work in a multi-model context to understand how plausible such a high ECS is,” said NCAR’s Andrew Gettelman and coauthors in a paper published last month in Geophysical Research Letters. They added: “What scares us is not that the CESM2 ECS is wrong…but that it might be right.”

At least eight of the global-scale models used by IPCC are showing upward trends in climate sensitivity, according to climate researcher Joëlle Gergis, an IPCC lead author and a scientific advisor to Australia’s Climate Council. Gergis wrote about the disconcerting trends in an August column for the Australian website The Monthly.

Researchers are now evaluating the models to see whether the higher ECS values are model artifacts or correctly depict a more dire prognosis.

“The model runs aren’t all available yet, but when many of the most advanced models in the world are independently reproducing the same disturbing results, it’s hard not to worry,” said Gergis.

A potential upending of a four-decade consensus

The IPCC issues comprehensive climate assessments every few years, along with interim reports on special topics in between. The IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) will be written over the next several years and released in 2021-22, based on papers being published through the end of 2019.

Back in 1979, a landmark U.S. climate study informally called the Charney Report estimated that the planet’s equilibrium climate sensitivity was between 1.5°C and 4.5°C. Each of the IPCC’s five major assessments since 1990 has largely agreed with this conclusion, although a few individual models have gone outside the range.

The consensus range of equilibrium climate sensitivity (ECS) from each of the IPCC's five assessment reports released since 2000, plus values from NCAR models

“It does indeed look like many of the latest models will have ECS values higher than the IPCC ‘likely range’ of 1.5-4.5°C,” said Peter Cox (University of Exeter) in an email. “It seems that the new models with high ECS have more low-level cloud that tends to burn off under climate change, producing an amplifying feedback on warming.”

Cox is lead author of a 2018 study in Nature that examined temperature variability around long-term warming. The study concluded that the odds of ECS going outside the long-accepted range of 1.5-4.5°C were very small. “It is worth noting that observational constraints from both the temperature trend and temperature variability still suggest ECS of around 3°C,” said Cox. “So climate science has a conundrum to solve here.”

Cloud-related effects have long been one of the biggest question marks in projecting future climate change, apart from uncertainties in future greenhouse emissions that hinge on human behavior. Low clouds—especially marine stratocumulus, which cover huge swaths of tropical and subtropical ocean—are especially crucial, as they tend to cool the climate by reflecting large amounts of sunlight.

The recent concerns about low-level clouds have been reinforced by ongoing work at NASA drawing on data from the CERES satellite program (Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System). Measuring the amount of energy entering and leaving the top of Earth’s atmosphere, CERES data shows that net energy in the atmosphere and oceans has climbed steadily with the increase of human-produced greenhouse gases—including both during and after the so-called “hiatus” in global temperature from about 2000 to 2013, when the oceans took up extra energy.

After 2013, the eastern Pacific saw a major drop in low cloud cover, global air temperatures spiked, and “there was a huge increase in sea surface temperatures,” said CERES principal investigator Norman Loeb, who outlined the changes in a 2018 paper.

Loeb is now analyzing how well the models for the upcoming IPCC report—with the higher sensitivities in place—can reproduce cloud cover and air temperature during and after the hiatus, given sea surface temperature. He discussed initial results last month at the 27th IUGG General Assembly (International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics), held in Montreal.

According to Loeb, "some of the models do really darn well” in depicting the cloud changes of the past two decades. He cautions: “I don’t know how far you can extrapolate this. There’s a danger in saying ‘you take the current record and the models nail it, therefore they have the climate sensitivity right.’ I’m cautious about making that leap, but it’s intriguing that they are nailing that post-hiatus difference.”

Changes in SST and top-of-atmosphere radiation reflected from low clouds during vs. after hiatus

A 2019 study in Nature Geoscience that used a fine-scale cloud dynamic model found that marine stratocumulus could be depleted in large amounts if carbon dioxide levels were to reach about four times their current values, possibly triggering up to 8°C in additional global warming. See the post from last May by Dr. Jeff Masters on this paper.

Clouds and pollutants

The new NCAR model is based on tests of nearly 300 model configurations, with a focus on how well the models simulated pre-industrial climate and how well they reproduced the main global temperature trends of the last century. These trends include warming from 1920 to 1940, a period of roughly steady global temperature with regional cooling in the mid-20th century, and a more sustained global warming since the late 20th century.

The model also took into account new estimates of aerosol emissions (soot and other particles and droplets). These estimates were designed to be employed by all of the latest IPCC model configurations. Aerosol pollution tends to cool the climate overall, both by blocking sunlight directly and by serving as nuclei for clouds that block sunlight more effectively.

The new data on aerosol emissions led to a stronger cooling effect in the NCAR model than previous versions. However, the stronger aerosol-related cooling also led to an unrealistic portrayal of 20th century climate. When the model was reconfigured in response, it produced a more accurate reproduction of 20th- and 21st-century climate, including cloud behavior—but with a higher ECS, which pointed to a more ominous portrayal of future change.

If the higher ECS in the new models turns out to be on the right track, “it's really bad news,” said Gettelman. “It means we are going to be on the warm end of projections, with larger impacts for any given emissions trajectory.”
A durable index

The ECS allows for apples-to-apples comparison between the bare-bones climate models of decades ago and the far more sophisticated versions now in place. The ECS calculations begin with an instant doubling of carbon dioxide, whereas in our actual atmosphere, carbon dioxide is increasing gradually rather than all at once. The warming produced by the end of a more gradual doubling of CO2 rise is called transient climate sensitivity (TCS). “While TCS may be a better metric for comparison to observations and estimating near-term climate response…ECS has a long history as a convenient metric of future climate change,” said the authors in their GRL paper.

The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased by about 45% during the rapid industrialization of the last 150 years. Since regular measurements began atop Mauna Loa, Hawaii, CO2 concentrations have increased from about 315 parts per million in 1957 to around 410 ppm today. Fossil fuel burning and other human activities generate more than 35 billion tons of airborne CO2 a year, about half of which stays in the atmosphere for more than a century.

Although other human-produced greenhouse gases warm the planet—methane molecules, in particular, are very powerful warming agents—CO2 is expected to account for most of the human-produced warming over the next few decades and beyond, as it remains in the atmosphere much longer than methane and is much more prevalent.

Link to Article - Graphs:

https://www.wunderground.com/cat6/New-M ... at6-widget

[Anthea]

Plant-based diet can fight climate change

A major report on land use and climate change says the West's high consumption of meat and dairy produce is fuelling global warming

But scientists and officials stopped short of explicitly calling on everyone to become vegan or vegetarian.

They said that more people could be fed using less land if individuals cut down on eating meat.

The document, prepared by 107 scientists for the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), says that if land is used more effectively, it can store more of the carbon emitted by humans.

It was finalised following discussions held here in Geneva, Switzerland.

"We're not telling people to stop eating meat. In some places people have no other choice. But it's obvious that in the West we're eating far too much," said Prof Pete Smith, an environmental scientist from Aberdeen University, UK.

The report calls for vigorous action to halt soil damage and desertification - both of which contribute to climate change.

It also warns that plans by some governments to grow trees and burn them to generate electricity will compete with food production unless carried out on a limited scale.

The Earth's land surface, and the way it is used, forms the basis for human society and the global economy.

But we are re-shaping it in dramatic ways, including through the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. How the land responds to human-induced climate change is a vital concern for the future.

How are climate change and food linked?

Climate change poses a threat to the security of our food supply. Rising temperatures, increased rain and more extreme weather events will all have an impact on crops and livestock.

But food production also contributes to global warming. Agriculture - together with forestry - accounts for about a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions. Livestock rearing contributes to global warming through the methane gas the animals produce, but also via deforestation to expand pastures, for example.

The environmental impact of meat production is important to many vegetarians and vegans. A UK-based group called #NoBeef lobbies caterers to take beef and lamb off student menus.

In the US, vegan burger patties are made from plant-based meat substitutes said to taste like the real thing thanks to an iron-rich compound called heme.

A quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions come from food

Climate change food calculator: What's your diet's carbon footprint?

Peter Stevenson, from Compassion in World Farming, said: "A reduction in meat consumption is essential if we are to meet climate targets."

But in some parts of the world, such as China, beef consumption is growing. This is despite attempts by the Chinese central government to promote traditional diets.

Can food waste be reduced?

The authors of the report encourage action to stop wasting food - either before or after its sale to consumers.

Waste food can sometimes be used as animal feed or, if suitable, redirected to charities to feed people in need.

One organisation here in Switzerland called Partage takes in unsold food discarded by shops and distributes it to local families.

It also collects stale bread and turns it into biscuits, dries fruit, and cans vegetables. All of this helps reduce the CO2 emissions involved in producing food.

The extra carbon that humans have put into the atmosphere is nourishing the growth of forests - especially in the Northern Hemisphere.

This can help to mitigate climate change, but it all comes down to a balance of factors. Experts say this effect on forests will be negated if the Earth heats up too much.

In fact, the report says areas near the equator may already be losing vegetation through heat stress.

Dr Katrin Fleischer, from the Technical University of Munich, Germany, warned that in some places a shortage of phosphorus in soil - a key ingredient for plant growth - would also hinder tree growth.

She said: "This would mean that the rainforest has already reached its limit and would be unable to absorb any more carbon dioxide emissions.

"If this scenario turns out to be true, the Earth's climate would heat up significantly faster."

How does soil fit in?

Soil is sometimes neglected as part of the climate system. But it's the second largest store of carbon after the oceans.

Plants absorb CO2 from the atmosphere and lock the carbon away in the soil. But deforestation and poor farming practices can damage its ability to do this. When soil is degraded, carbon is released back into the atmosphere as CO2, while further plant growth is compromised.

Climate change is expected to speed this process up. Higher temperatures can help break down the organic matter in soil, boosting greenhouse emissions.

The report says reducing and reversing soil damage provides immediate benefits to local communities. Better land management, including controlled grazing by animals and tree planting, can boost soil fertility, helping to reduce poverty and boost food security.

"It's really clear that the land's being degraded through over-exploitation - and that's making climate change worse," said Prof Smith.

"The land is part of the problem but if we wise up about the way we use it, it can part of the climate solution."

Can the problems be solved?

Changing the way humans use the land surface is a daunting challenge, especially as it will entail a major shift in farming methods.

Nevertheless, scientists say people need to:

Protect natural forest, particularly in the tropics

Eat less red meat and more vegetables

Safeguard and restore peatlands

Encourage "agroforestry", where food crops are mixed in with trees

Improve crop varieties

But one practice touted as a climate change solution - bioenergy - has been treated with caution by IPCC experts.

Bioenergy involves burning vegetation as a substitute for fossil fuels.

To some countries, it appears to be an attractive option because CO2 emissions from the process can be captured.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts bioenergy will outpace solar, wind and hydropower in the next five years.

But the authors of the IPCC report say converting land to bioenergy could deprive countries of soil to grow much-needed crops. They advise limits on the amount of land used for biofuels.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-49238749

[Anthea]

Hundreds of bees drop dead
around ‘5G towers’ in California

The superfast broadband has sparked controversy since rolling out this year, with health experts claiming it could have serious side effects on humans

And there are now claims online that bees could also be affected after a video went viral.

The clip – taken in Sierra Madre, California - shows the lifeless bodies of the bees lying on the ground.

Philip Sites claimed they were spotted between two 5G poles – about 40ft apart.
Related Articles

“They have these things and they don’t even know if they’re safe for people,” he said in his video.

“But I can tell you they’re not safe for our environment because it is killing bees all over the place.”

He later claimed that “as I got further from the radius of the poles there were no more bees”.

More than 54,000 people have seen the clip since it was posted to YouTube on July 15.

Many viewers were horrified by the sight, with one saying: “Oh my God, thank you for documenting this.”

The bees on the floor

DEAD: Hundreds of lifeless bees have been found on the floor around '5G poles' https://youtu.be/X5IhKHGDKhM

Another added: “That is not okay with me.”

But others questioned what was seen in the clip.

Some pointed out the bees could just be drone bees – which die after mating.

Others claimed the poles could not be holding 5G broadband, with one saying: “5G has only been installed in major cities, dude. It's not in Sierra Madre and it probably never will be.”

It is not the first time bees have been filmed dying on the floor under mysterious circumstances.

[Anthea]

Brit running sickening slaughter safaris for rich to kill animals in Africa

Grinning Brits pose behind the body of defenceless animals shot dead on African ­trophy hunts, in images which will yet again sicken ­animal lovers

Emily Padfield and Les Baker are two of many UK visitors having souvenir pictures taken of them with their prizes, parts of which they can bring home.

And a UK former gamekeeper is cashing in on the lust for blood by offering trips to slaughter threatened big game, under the “conservation” label.

Derek Stocker’s ProStalk specialises in trophy hunts to South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe. They include killing baboons, monkeys, elephants, giraffes, and zebras on “adventures of a lifetime”.

Click to enlarge:

ProStalk client Steve Bull

And wealthy customers have bragged about their cruel exploits during the trips, which start at £1,050 for five days.

Hunters can add more animals to kill from a list of 65 species, including £1,666 extra to shoot a giraffe, £6,422 for a hippo or just £47 for monkeys.

Experts believe ProStalk is the last remaining major UK company ­organising big game hunts in Africa.

Click to enlarge:

Ms Padfield told how the trip was “truly the stuff dreams are made of”.

But the Campaign to Ban Trophy ­Hunting’s Eduardo Goncalve branded the safaris “a festival of cruelty”.

Emily Padfield is one of many UK visitors having souvenir pictures taken of them with their prizes, parts of which they can bring home

He said of shooting monkeys: “Many of these animals live in close proximity to humans and are used to people.

“It makes it even easier to shoot them. This is as cowardly as it is disgusting.”

Eduardo added: “ProStalk boasts about the ‘thrill’ of killing animals. It may be a ‘holiday of a lifetime’ for a hunter, but it’s hell for the animal killed to satisfy their sick bloodlust

“Trophy hunting isn’t an ‘adventure’, it’s an abomination, and it needs to be abolished. The Government should implement an immediate moratorium on all hunting trophy hunting imports.

“This is the last remaining major UK company organising big game hunts in Africa. It’s a stain on our country’s ­reputation as a nation of animal lovers.

“It also has almost every iconic African animal on its hunting ‘menu’ including elephants, giraffes and zebras. All are listed as vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

“Britain has some of the laxest laws on trophy hunting. We allow hunters to kill and bring home the heads and body parts of practically any animal, including some of the most endangered wildlife.

“Trophy hunting is a horror show, where cheap ­bounties are placed on the heads of animals for fun. Britain needs to show it plans to lead the way in ­abolishing this abomination by acting now before it’s too late.”

The Mirror is calling for a ban on trophy hunting.

ProStalk insists it plays a “pivotal role” in ­conservation. It says: “Hunting is such a controversial issue and ­unfortunately the ­uninformed public and animal rights activists are unaware of how much it contributes to conservation.”

It also argues the growth of hunting since the 1960s has placed a value on wildlife and created a direct incentive to own, purchase, protect and conserve it. The firm says the ­establishment of private game ranches has helped some species recover in South Africa.

Prostalk’s website advertising hunting holidays

ProStalk is based in ­Baltonsborough, six miles from Glastonbury in Somerset. It offers hunts on a number of game reserves and concessions across Africa. On its website it boasts: “Why not build your own Safari? You can choose the required animals from the trophy list.”

The ­creatures also include elephants for £20,000 in Zimbabwe. Its website adds: “Still ­reminiscent of the ‘wild Africa’ of a bygone era, game is plentiful. Lion and leopard hunting is still open here. Cheetah can also be taken. If you come to hunt Zimbabwe for hippo or croc, you will not be disappointed.”

Ms Padfield, who took a trip with partner Mark Warner, was among the customers posting ­testimonials of a trip with ProStalk. The 36-year-old, from Warwickshire, wrote: “We travelled to South Africa for a cull package. It exceeded our ­expectations. Truly the stuff dreams are made of.”

Click to enlarge:

Another, Les Baker, told how he shot “springbok, impala and warthog”.

Steve Bull, of New Haw, Surrey, added: “I arranged with Derek to take me on a trip of a ­lifetime to Africa to hunt and what a trip. We hunted all the species that I had asked him to arrange trophies.

“My wife Lynn shot her first ever springbok. I have to say I will no doubt be returning for another great trip soon.”

Mr Stocker, 62, who claims he has killed more than 5,000 deer in Britain as part of culls, refused to comment.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/b ... s-18858959