Tortoise home owner defies order

The owner of a tortoise sanctuary has defied council officials who told her she must get a zoo licence or face prosecution.

The Tortoise Garden, in Sticker, St Austell, Cornwall, is home to around 400 animals and has been taking in unwanted, abandoned, injured or illegally imported tortoises for 12 years.

But Joy Bloor, 63, who runs the sanctuary, has been told by council officers the tortoises are "wild animals" and need to be covered by a zoo licence.

Mrs Bloor said: "As far as I'm concerned all my tortoises are pets, they are not wild animals. They couldn't survive in the British countryside without human help, they would die in the winters, that makes it a domestic animal."

Mrs Bloor, who says she is already struggling to meet the £20,000 annual cost of feeding and caring for the animals, said she cannot afford the extra cost.

The zoo licence costs £275 for the first four years. But, as well as the initial cost of the licence, Mrs Bloor said she would have to pay fees for government-appointed inspectors to assess her site when she applies for the licence, along with any subsequent formal inspections.

Cornwall Council said after an exhaustive process it was independently established that the Tortoise Garden must be defined as a zoo under the Zoo Licensing Act because Mrs Bloor keeps "wild animals" for exhibition to the public seven or more days a year.

This means she could still keep the animals without a licence but would be barred from opening to the public for more than seven days.

In a statement, the council said: "It would not be fair to turn a blind eye to the Tortoise Garden when other specialist sanctuaries in Cornwall have obtained zoo licences.

"In the event that the Tortoise Garden reopens in the future without a zoo licence in place, the council will have little choice but to consider prosecution."

http://news.uk.msn.com/uk/tortoise-home-owner-defies-order

US oil companies prosecuted over 28 bird deaths - 400,000 wind farm deaths ignored

Wind farms kill 400,000 birds - So why no prosecution?
September 2011: Seven oil companies have been charged under America's Migratory Bird Treaty Act, for the killing of 28 migratory birds.

The oil-related bird deaths, which included members of 12 different species, happened in May and June this year. The statutory maximum sentence is six months in federal prison and a $15,000 fine. The case is due to be heard at the end of the month in North Dakota.

Birds died in oil waste pits
The birds died after landing in oil waste pits associated with the companies' oil and gas extraction facilities in North Dakota . The birds land in the pits believing they are ponds and become contaminated with the oil. Birds can become poisoned and drown as a result. Court records show that all seven companies have previously been charged with similar violations.

The birds killed in the oil pits were mostly waterfowl, including mallards, gadwall, northern pintails, a northern shoveler and blue-winged teal.

United States attorney Tim Purdon said: ‘These allegations of violations of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act by companies operating in North Dakota 's oil patch should be troubling to those interested in preserving North Dakota's rich heritage of hunting and fishing and to the many oil companies who work hard to follow the laws protecting our wildlife.

Wind farms kill 400,000 birds a year
‘We are committed to enforcing laws that protect North Dakota's outdoors and to providing companies who follow the law with a level economic playing field.'

While welcoming the prosecutions, American Bird Conservancy (ABC) - the nation's leading bird conservation organisation - reports that the wind industry has yet to face a single charge, despite being responsible for more than 400,000 bird deaths each year.

ABC president George Fenwick said: ‘I commend the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Justice Department for enforcing the law in these cases. Oil pits are a known hazard to birds and the solutions to prevent these bird deaths are straightforward to implement.

'This looks like a double standard'
‘However, it is perplexing that similar prosecutions have yet to be brought against the operators of wind farms. Every year wind turbines kill hundreds of thousands of birds, including eagles, hawks, and songbirds but the operators are being allowed to get away with it. It looks like a double standard.'

The Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) estimated in 2009 that about 440,000 birds were being killed by wind turbines. With America's ambitious wind-power project, mortality is expected to dramatically increase in the coming years, unless there are significant changes in the way wind farms are sited and operated.

Based on studies, one wind farm in California is estimated to have killed more than 2,000 eagles, plus thousands of other birds, yet no prosecution has been initiated for violations of federal laws protecting birds. The FWS is presently contemplating enacting voluntary - not mandatory - guidelines for the siting and operation of wind farms.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/bird-death-prosecution.html