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Presenters: Lawson, Marr, McGreal, Muller

Greg Lawson
Park Ranger and host of the vegan radio program ACT Radio

The bison of Yellowstone National Park, the first animal to be protected by the National Park Service, is being slaughtered to appease cattle ranchers who don't want bison wandering onto their grazing allotments.
The NPS has helped kill over three thousand bison at Yellowstone in the last decade.
One grassroots activist group, the Buffalo Field Campaign, is making a difference.

Anthony Marr
Founder, Heal Our Planet Earth (HOPE) and the Global Anti-Hunting Coalition (GAHC)

Wildlife is the Cinderella of the Animal Right's movement, as well as in law, which gives domestic animals a small through measurable amount of protection, but practically none for wild animals.  Just as tough is the Anti-Hunting movement, which few animal rights activists take on.  And even fewer ARAs work on wild habitat preservation, leaving it to the environmentalists.  Anthony Marr will speak on both killing and habitat destruction, and what is being done to counteract them.

Shirley McGreal
Founder and chairwoman, International Primate Protection League

Click here for a printable version of Shirley's outline.

The Extermination of Wild Primates

1. All over the world, our fellow primates are being wiped out, and many species are coming close to extinction. This extermination of primates is due to human activity.
2. There are many human-caused threats to primates.
1. Habitat destruction. Massive deforestation of tropical forests and dry woodlands in Africa, Asia, and South and Central America for oil palm plantations, mining, and oil exploration has severely impacted many species, including orangutans.
2. Slaughter of primates for the commercial “bushmeat” trade. As forests shrink and roads are constructed, hunters and poachers easily move in to expand their killing of primates and all wildlife. Gorillas, chimpanzees, and many species of monkeys are killed for food.
3. Traditional medicine. Many primates are killed for medical and fetish reasons.
4. Transmission of human diseases from humans to nonhuman primates. These include tuberculosis, polio, and Ebola.
5. The pet trade. The slaughter of mother primates and protective adults to obtain infants for the local and international pet or exhibition trade is contributing to the extinction of many species.
6. The international trade in live primates. This cruel trade causes the removal of huge numbers of primates from their family groups and natural homes every year. Most of these primates are used in experimentation.
7. Increasing human population. This results in the movement of humans into areas inhabited by nonhuman primates. Often monkeys are slaughtered by humans on the grounds that they are “pests.” Species especially hard hit by human occupation of more and more deforested land include baboons, macaques, and vervet monkeys.
8. Primates are not the only victims.Other species being exterminated by human activity include large and small cats (exploited for traditional medicine and the fur trade), bears (exploited for their gall bladders), cockatoos and kangaroos (shot as pests), and many others.
3. What you can do
1. Try to avoid all products containing palm oil.
2. Write letters to embassies and government officials when requested by groups like IPPL, the Committee for Orangutan Protection, and the Bushmeat Crisis Task Force.
3. Consider supporting groups that work to control human population growth.

Peter Muller
President, President of LOHV (League of Humane voters)

1. Hunting became embedded in state wildlife management agencies as the only form "recreational enjoyment of wildlife"
2. Hunting is declining very rapidly
1. Some statistics
2. Failing efforts by state wildlife management agencies to look for “non-traditional” hunters (e.g. women, children)
3. Shrinking client base and concomitant revenue is forcing state wildlife management agencies to look for an alternate client base
4. Considering Wildlife Watching as an alternate form of "recreational enjoyment of wildlife"
5. Financial and social characteristics of hunting vs. Wildlife Watching
6. Some state wildlife management agencies are moving in that direction
1. Cautions in the transition
2. Ultimately redefining the culture of the wildlife management state agencies