{"id":49688,"date":"2014-11-17T12:00:35","date_gmt":"2014-11-17T12:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=49688"},"modified":"2015-05-05T21:29:31","modified_gmt":"2015-05-05T20:29:31","slug":"migratory-birds-fish-and-mammals-get-new-un-protection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2014\/11\/migratory-birds-fish-and-mammals-get-new-un-protection\/","title":{"rendered":"Migratory Birds, Fish and Mammals Get New UN Protection"},"content":{"rendered":"
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End of the line: A Minke whale and her 1-year-old calf are hauled aboard the Nisshin Maru, the world’s only whale-factory ship, in the Southern Ocean in February 2008. In this case, Japan’s ‘legal research’ advertised on the ship’s stern left a large wound from an explosive harpoon in the calf’s belly. | AUSTRALIAN CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION SERVICE<\/p><\/div>\n

10 Nov 2014 – <\/em>Polar bears, whales, sharks and gazelles were among 31 new species granted new protection status by the UN conservation body, following six days of “intense” talks by leading conservationists.<\/p>\n

The UN Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) said on Sunday [9 Nov 2014] that six days of “intense negotiations” led to new protection for scores of bird, fish and mammal migratory species.<\/p>\n

A record 21 species of shark, ray and sawfish were added to the list.<\/p>\n

The polar bear, which is found in the Arctic, and the widely-distributed Cuvier’s beaked whale made the list too.<\/p>\n

Also newly protected are the red-fronted gazelle, common in Africa, and the great bustard, found in Europe and Asia.<\/p>\n

Protecting these animals is key for overall environmental conservation.<\/p>\n

“Migratory animals have become the global flagships for many of the pressing issues of our time,” said CMS executive secretary Bradnee Chambers.<\/p>\n

“From plastic pollution in our oceans, to the effects of climate change, to poaching and over-exploitation, the threats migratory animals face will eventually affect us all.”<\/p>\n

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Dolphin killing in Taiji, Japan. Photo: Robert Gilhooly.<\/p><\/div>\n

More than 900 experts from 120 countries met for the six-day meeting, approving all but one proposed species to be included on the protected wildlife list.<\/p>\n

The African lion did not make the final cut because there was not enough information from the countries where it lives.<\/p>\n

The conference was the best-attended in the body’s 35-year history, and CMS hailed the “unprecedented” level of attention to the topic.<\/p>\n

The director of the UN Environment Program, which administers CMS, said global interest in animal protection was crucial.<\/p>\n

“The responsibility for protecting wildlife is a shared one, and that the threats to wildlife can be tackled most effectively through global cooperation,” said UN Undersecretary-General Achim Steiner, who heads the UNEP.<\/p>\n

The next CMS meeting will be held in the Philippines in 2017.<\/p>\n

Go to Original \u2013 afp.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

10 Nov 2014 – Polar bears, whales, sharks and gazelles were among 31 new species granted new protection status by the UN conservation body, following six days of “intense” talks by leading conservationists. A record 21 species of shark, ray and sawfish were added to the list.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[170],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49688","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-animal-rights-vegetarianism"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49688","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49688"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49688\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49688"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49688"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49688"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}