Scale of environmental damage attributed to huge number of dogs globally as well as ‘lax or uninformed behaviour of dog owners’
Dogs have “extensive and multifarious” environmental impacts, disturbing wildlife, polluting waterways and contributing to carbon emissions, new research has found.
An Australian review of existing studies has argued that “the environmental impact of owned dogs is far greater, more insidious, and more concerning than is generally recognised”.
Continue reading...North-east Atlantic mackerel in decline and Good Fish Guide says shoppers should look for other options
Mackerel stocks are nearing a “breaking point”, experts have said as the fish is downgraded as a sustainable option.
People should be eating herring instead, the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) said, because mackerel continues to be overfished by countries including Norway and the UK.
Continue reading...A three-yearly environmental update issues stark warning over biodiversity – and reports air pollution has improved in some areas
A major new report on New Zealand’s environment has revealed a worrying outlook for its unique species and highlighted declining water health, while also noting some improvements in air quality.
The ministry of the environment’s three-yearly update, Our Environment 2025, collates statistics, data and research across five domains – air, atmosphere and climate, freshwater, land, and marine – to paint a picture of the state of New Zealand’s environment.
Continue reading...Zoos Victoria wildlife detection dogs uncovered the ‘bloody gorgeous’ reptiles in return for treats and cuddles
Wildlife detection dogs successfully sniffed out 13 critically endangered earless dragons in previously unknown burrows in Melbourne’s west, after a training program launched by Zoos Victoria in 2023.
The Victorian grassland earless dragon – Australia’s most imperilled reptile – had not been seen for 50 years and was thought extinct before its remarkable rediscovery on privately owned grassland in 2023.
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Continue reading...About 57,000 people participated in the Aussie Bird Count, with the lorikeet joining the noisy miner and magpie in the top three spots
The rainbow lorikeet and its colourful plumage has topped Australia’s largest citizen science event as the most numerous bird recorded across the country.
More than 4.1m birds were counted as part of BirdLife Australia’s annual Aussie Bird Count, a week-long event which involved 57,000 participants across the country last October.
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Rainbow lorikeet
Noisy miner
Australian magpie
Sulphur-crested cockatoo
Welcome swallow
Galah
Silver gull
Australian white ibis
House sparrow
Little corella
Continue reading...About 57,000 people participated in the Aussie Bird Count, with the lorikeet joining the noisy miner and magpie in the top three spots
The rainbow lorikeet and its colourful plumage has topped Australia’s largest citizen science event as the most numerous bird recorded across the country.
More than 4.1m birds were counted as part of BirdLife Australia’s annual Aussie Bird Count, a week-long event which involved 57,000 participants across the country last October.
Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter
Rainbow lorikeet
Noisy miner
Australian magpie
Sulphur-crested cockatoo
Welcome swallow
Galah
Silver gull
Australian white ibis
House sparrow
Little corella
Continue reading...Animals affected by domoic acid are known to exhibit erratic behavior and poisonings are becoming frequent
A teenager was attacked by a sea lion in southern California, raising concerns that a recent increase in algae-induced poisonings among marine mammals could have elicited the erratic behavior.
Phoebe Beltran initially feared it was a shark when she was bitten repeatedly during a 1000-yard swim test for the Junior Lifeguards cadet program in Long Beach on 30 March. Relatives onshore saw the sea lion pop its head out of the water before it swam away, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Continue reading...More than half of Britain’s 59 native species are in long-term decline, UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme finds
Last summer was the fifth worst in nearly half a century for butterflies in Britain, according to the biggest scientific survey of insect populations in the world.
For the first time since scientific recording began in 1976, more than half of Britain’s 59 native species are in long-term decline.
Continue reading...Land speculation to blame for lack of progress amid Labour drive to build 1.5m new homes, says Wildlife Trusts head
Housebuilders in the UK are failing to supply much-needed new homes not because of restrictive planning laws, but because they are “very bad” at building houses, the head of one of the UK’s biggest nature charities has warned.
“There’s planning permission today for a million new houses,” said Craig Bennett, chief executive of the Wildlife Trusts. “So why aren’t they being built? Why is it that volume housebuilders in this country are actually very bad at building houses, even when they’ve got planning permission?”
Continue reading...This immense worm moves slowly and gracefully underground and can grow to the length of an outstretched arm
The giant Gippsland earthworm already has an upbeat campaign song.
“I am a real worm, I am an actual worm,” bangs the chorus of Doctor Worm, a late-90s novelty hit by the American indie rock band They Might Be Giants.
Continue reading...The Labor Environment Action Network says it won’t ‘sugar coat’ its reaction after working ‘so hard’ on obtaining commitment for EPA
Labor’s grassroots environment action network has told its members it does not support legislation that Anthony Albanese rushed through parliament this week to protect salmon farming in Tasmania, describing it as “frustrating and disappointing”.
In an email on Thursday, the Labor Environment Action Network (Lean) said it would not “sugar coat” its reaction to a bill that was introduced to end a formal government reconsideration of whether an expansion of fish farming in Macquarie Harbour, on the state’s west coast, in 2012 was properly approved.
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Continue reading...Exclusive: Cost blow-out has experts worried people will use ‘huge’ volumes of pesticides to protect themselves from ‘tiny killers’
Australian households will spend $1.03bn every year to suppress fire ants and cover related medical and veterinary costs, with about 570,800 people needing medical attention and 30 likely deaths from the invasive pest’s stings, new modelling shows.
The Australia Institute research breaks down the impact of red imported fire ants (Rifa) by electorate, with the seats of Durack and O’Connor in Western Australia, Mayo in South Australia and Blair in Queensland the hardest hit if the ants become endemic.
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Blair: $1.7m in medical costs, $1.5m in vet costs and $5.1m in household pesticide costs.
Dickson: $1.4m in medical costs, $1.2m in vet costs and $4m in household pesticide costs.
Ryan: $1.5m in medical costs, $1.3m in vet costs and $3.4m in household pesticide costs.
Continue reading...People living near Kasungu national park say they are living in fear after translocation of 263 elephants by International Fund for Animal Welfare
People living on the edge of a protected area in Malawi are taking legal action against an NGO that moved more than 250 elephants into the area, which they say have killed at least 10 people.
Villagers near Kasungu national park, which is Malawi’s second largest and crosses the Zambian border, say they are living in fear for their livelihoods and safety after 263 elephants were introduced in July 2022, causing a sharp spike in human-wildlife conflict. Ten people claiming to be affected by the translocation from Liwonde national park have begun legal action against the International Fund for Animal Welfare (Ifaw), demanding that the conservation NGO construct adequate fencing to protect the 167 villages around the park and compensate local people for the damage caused by the elephants.
Continue reading...Bird of prey’s violent reign in Flamstead could soon come to an end, according to parish council
It stole two woolly hats from the head of a 91-year-old pensioner. It clawed a jogger’s scalp and left him reeling. It is said to swoop in from behind without making a sound, has a penchant for tall men’s heads and – so far – has evaded capture.
But the violent reign of the Flamstead hawk, which has made men in the Hertfordshire village of Flamstead afraid to go out without covering their heads, may soon be at an end.
Continue reading...Amendment brought by coalition of parties says wolves add to food waste due to remains of livestock they kill
The Spanish parliament has voted through a measure that will in effect lift the hunting ban on wolves that was imposed in 2021.
A coalition led by the conservative People’s party, with the support of the far-right Vox party and Basque and Catalan nationalists, added an amendment to a law aimed at reducing Spain’s estimated 1.2bn kilograms of food waste.
Continue reading...Deal will restrict fishing near colonies on Robben Island and Bird Island for 10 years, after long debate between industry and conservationists
Efforts to stop the critically endangered African penguin from going extinct took a step forward on Tuesday after South African conservationists and fishing industry groups reached a legal settlement on no-fishing zones around six of the penguins’ major breeding colonies.
Sardine and anchovy fishing will not be allowed for 12 miles (20km) around the penguin colony off Cape Town on Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned, and Bird Island, across the bay from Gqeberha, also known as Port Elizabeth. There will be more limited closures around four other colonies, according to a court order formalising the agreement.
Continue reading...Made up of blobby tissue and living deep in the ocean, the distinctive species beat the longfin eel and pygmy pipehorse in the annual contest
It was once crowned the “world’s ugliest animal” and now the disgruntled-looking gelatinous blobfish has a new gong to its name: New Zealand’s fish of the year.
The winning species of blobfish, Psychrolutes marcidus, lives in the highly pressurised depths off the coasts of New Zealand and Australia and has developed a unique anatomy to exist. Blobfish do not have a swim bladder, a full skeleton, muscles or scales. Instead, their bodies are made up of blobby tissue with a lower density than water that allows them to float above the seafloor.
Continue reading...Hunter Wildlife Rescue started receiving numerous reports of sick and dead birds on Monday, centred on the suburbs Hamilton and Carrington
New South Wales authorities are investigating the possible poisoning and mass deaths of more than 150 little corellas in Newcastle.
Kate Randolph, the acting president of Hunter Wildlife Rescue, described the incident as “extremely confronting” and said volunteers and local vets were doing everything they could to rescue surviving, severely sick birds.
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Continue reading...Village joins continental network alongside nearby Knepp estate, as birds previously extinct in Britain flourish
The Saxons knew the West Sussex village of Storrington as Estorchestone, the “abode of the storks”.
But the graceful white birds disappeared from its skies more than 600 years ago, when they became extinct in Britain.
Continue reading...Sam Jones, who left Australia on Friday, posted a 900-word statement questioning outrage in country where ‘slaughter of wombats’ is permitted
A US hunting influencer who caused outrage in Australia after grabbing a baby wombat from its mother says she is sorry for the incident but was only trying to ensure its safety by removing it from a road.
Sam Jones left the country on Friday morning after the home affairs minister, Tony Burke, said immigration authorities were checking if she had breached the conditions of her visa.
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