Vegan News 4.18.13

Pine marten numbers recovering according to survey. “One of Scotland’s rarest carnivores is showing signs of recovery after years of declining populations, a new report has suggested. Much of the growth has been attributed to pine martens being given full legal protection in 1988 and the expansion of plantation forest cover during the last century.”

Monkeys can identify human hunters. “Poeppig’s woolly monkeys live in the rainforests of Ecuador, Peru and Brazil but are vulnerable to hunting by the local Amazonian people. Scientists investigating how the monkeys respond to threats found that they acted differently depending on the behaviour of humans in the forest. But the long term value this offers to species may be limited. To avoid being hunted, woolly monkeys have to avoid being seen by hunters all the time. Whereas the hunter only has to be successful once.”

Feeding children a vegan diet is growing in popularity. “In 2010, about 3 percent of children and adults in the United States were vegan, according to the Baltimore-based Vegetarian Resource Group. Two years later, vegan adults comprised 5 percent of the population, and though the group didn’t count vegan kids then, John Cunningham, the organization’s consumer research manager, suspects the children’s count also jumped 2 percent because the youth poll typically tracks the adult one.”

Queens firefighter can continue saving wildlife in his Long Island home. “Bobby Horvath, who was in danger of getting shut down for violating town codes, said he was happy with the compromise. And animal rescuers throughout New York City and Long Island were relieved the respected rehabilitator can continue his work. The Horvaths are known to venture out day and night to assist injured hawks, possum, owls and just about every other four-legged or winged creature.”

Stray animal extermination to safeguard Sochi Olympics. “‘The stray animals will be exterminated to ensure the safety of visitors and improve the city’s image, Sergei Krivonosov, a government official from Sochi, said in an interview with RBC Daily, a Russian business newspaper.’It’s obvious that there should be no animals on the streets. We have responsibilities to the international community,’ the lawmaker said. ‘Killing (the animals) is just a faster way to solve this task,’ he said.”

Photo credit: Johnragai via Flickr