NEVADA PREDATOR CONTROL PROGRAM HARMS WILD HORSES AND BURROS

Each year, the federal government kills over 100,000 native carnivores, including mountain lions, coyotes, bears and wolves, for the benefit of private livestock producers. Kill methods include aerial hunting, trapping, snaring and poisoning. The program is another form of”welfare ranching," which also allows commercial producers to graze livestock on public lands at below-market rates.

A classic example of government waste, the federal predator control program spends far more to kill native carnivores than the actual value of the damage they cause.

Citizens concerned about wild horses and wildlife have an opportunity to voice opposition to this wasteful, destructive and inhumane federal program. The USDA is accepting comments on an Environmental Assessment for Predator Damage Management in Nevada. The predator-killing efforts in Nevada focus on 19.6 million acres of BLM land, including Herd Management Areas, which are utilized extensively for livestock grazing at the expense of wild horses and burros.

Please take a moment to personalize and submit the sample letter below to comment on this damaging and wasteful federal program in Nevada.

http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/6931/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=5036

Four lions imported 'illegally' to Karachi

A Pakistani exotic animal dealer is battling to recover four lions which were impounded in Karachi Zoo after he had them flown in from South Africa.

Wildlife officials said it was illegal to import big cats and that the buyer, Irfan Ahmed, did not have valid import papers. He denies this.

The lions arrived in Karachi on Wednesday after being flown from Johannesburg to Frankfurt in November.

Zoos have often imported lions to Pakistan, where the cats are extinct.

Fahmida Firdous, chief conservation officer at Sindh province's Wildlife Department, told the BBC that Mr Ahmed's import permit had expired in June 2008.

"It has not been renewed since then. Besides, there has been a ban on the import of large wild cats since October 2008."

But Mr Ahmed, owner of Osaka Traders, which imports and exports animals and birds, told the BBC: "If I did not have the required documents, how could I fly these animals from South Africa to Germany and then to Pakistan?"

The dealer, who has previously imported elephants for Karachi Zoo, said he had not yet found a buyer for the big cats.

The BBC's Riaz Sohail in Karachi says there are several privately owned mini-zoos in Karachi, which might be interested in buying the animals.

Karachi Zoo already has an Asiatic lion, a subspecies thought to survive only in western India.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-12074775