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EmailIphone Application    Posted: 22nd May 2013
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Rhino poaching reaches crisis point
Image: Tsavo National Park rhino warden
Hopes that camera traps will turn the tide

 Reports that more than 1,000 African rhinos have been slaughtered in the last eighteen months have prompted a race to install camera traps in poaching hotspots.

Rhino slaughter as a result of the soaring demand for horns has now reached crisis point, according to the Zoological Society of London (ZSL).

It is hoped that camera traps deployed in problem areas could hold the answer. ZSL's field conservation director, Jonathan Baillie, says: "Rhinos are being massacred daily by gangs of armed poachers.

"This large-scale organised crime means law enforcers are being overpowered, but our new cameras will help turn the tide and put an end to this slaughter."

The camera trap project involves installing the cameras in Tsavo National Park, Kenya, from where they will send real-time information to rangers, allowing them to intervene.

The cameras are equipped with automated sensors and can detect passing vehicle vibrations, transmit images and even triangulate the sound of gunshots to provide accurate locations of poachers.

ZSL's camera trap project is a finalist in Google's Global Impact Challenge, which is open to public voting from May 22-31.

The project is dependent on the £500,000 Global Impact Award from Google. If successful, installation of the cameras is expected to be completed within months.

Click here for more information about the Global Impact Challenge.

Image credit: ZSL

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Birmingham Dogs Home makes urgent appeal

News Story 1
 Birmingham Dogs Home has issued an urgent winter appeal as it faces more challenges over the Christmas period.

The rescue centre has seen a dramatic increase in dogs coming into its care, and is currently caring for over 200 dogs. With rising costs and dropping temperatures, the charity is calling for urgent support.

It costs the charity £6,000 per day to continue its work.

Fi Harrison, head of fundraising and communications, said: "It's heart-breaking for our team to see the conditions some dogs arrive in. We really are their last chance and hope of survival."

More information about the appeal can be found here. 

Click here for more...
News Shorts
Avian flu confirmed at premises in Cornwall

A case of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 has been detected in commercial poultry at a premises near Rosudgeon, Cornwall.

All poultry on the infected site will be humanely culled, and a 3km protection zone and 10km surveillance zone have been put in place. Poultry and other captive birds in the 3km protection zone must be housed.

The case is the second avian flu case confirmed in commercial poultry this month. The H5N5 strain was detected in a premises near Hornsea, East Riding of Yorkshire, in early November. Before then, the disease had not been confirmed in captive birds in England since February.

The UK chief veterinary officer has urged bird keepers to remain alert and practise robust biosecurity.

A map of the disease control zones can be found here.