“Dancing” bears were a common and popular form of street entertainment in Europe and Asia in the Middle Ages. Although there were still dancing bears in Western Europe in the 20th century (the 1911 UK animal protection law forbid the practice) but the dancing bear...
Last year, WBI ran a story about the South African documentary, My Octopus Teacher and recommended it to our readers. Many then watched the documentary (on Netflix) and sang its praises to their friends and contacts. This year, My Octopus Teacher, was nominated for numerous...
Most of the dogs in India are homeless stray dogs who survive mainly on handouts from people. While the keeping of pet dogs is increasing (almost doubled in the past decade), only around 10% of households have pet dogs (compared to 35% in the US...
It is now commonplace for any new report on global sustainability to recommend that people should eat fewer animal products to help address climate change, biodiversity losses, personal health and several other challenges facing the world today. The Dasgupta Review (see related article in this...
Every now and again, a publication or report comes along that changes how we think about life. In the animal space, Ruth Harrison’s Animal Machines (1964) was such a publication. In the environmental space, Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring (1962) and the Club of Rome’s Limits...
The Idaho legislature has just sent a bill to Governor Brad Little’s desk that would authorize the killing of up to 90% of Idaho’s estimated 1,500 wolves. This bill represents a swing of the wolf pendulum back to the early part of the 20th century...
Despite the Covid pandemic (and unlike in Africa where poaching is driving rhinos toward extinction in the wild), 2021 has proved to be a good year for the Greater One-horned Asian Rhinoceros, aka Indian Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis), in Nepal. An intensive three-week census (22 March...
Everybody probably knows, or knows of, someone who apparently has a special affinity with animals. That person may be able to interact with an animal that everybody else is afraid to get near or they can quickly calm a frightened creature. In the human-animal bond...
The Kruger National Park in South Africa is home to the largest wild rhino population in the world. But a 2019 census documenting a dramatic decline in the Kruger rhino population in just ten years has shocked rhino conservation organizations. The park last conducted a...
The theme for this year’s UN World Wildlife Day, celebrated every year on the 3rd of March, was ‘Forests and Livelihood: Sustaining People and Planet’. The day is facilitated by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). In...
