Officials in France have announced plans to ban the breeding of dolphins and orcas in captivity, as well as the use of wild animals in traveling circuses.

In addition, the European nation will also start to "gradually" ban American mink farms used for fur.

[[imagecaption|| The Marineland theme park in Antibes. Credit: PA Images]]

As reported in Le Monde, Ecological Transition Minister Barbara Pompili announced the new sweeping measures today (September 29), stating that the country has to change its "attitude to wild animals".

During a press conference, Pompili said (translated): "It is time that our ancestral fascination with these wild beings no longer translates into situations where their captivity is favored over their well-being."

[[imagecaption|| A mink in captivity at a fur farm. Credit: PA Images]]

The new measures will mean that France's three dolphinariums will also no longer be able to breed new dolphins or killer whales - or have any transported in from other countries.

Pompili added that the use of wild animals in traveling circuses will cease "in the years to come".

[[imagecaption|| Minister of Ecological Transition Barbara Pompili. Credit: PA Images]]

The publication states that there are some 500 wild animals in French circuses, for which Pompeli states "solutions will be found on a case-by-case basis, with each circus, for each animal"

She also stressed that the animals can obviously not be "released".

In addition, the minister announced an aid package of eight million euros ($9.3 million) to help circuses and dolphinariums adapt to the new bans.

 

Pompili did not reveal a precise timetable for the implementation of these measures.

She told reporters: "Setting a date doesn't solve all the problems, I prefer to set up a process to make it happen as quickly as possible."

"We are asking (circuses) to reinvent themselves," she said, adding: "It will be a time when they will need support, and the state will be at their side."

[[imagecaption|| Dolphins perform at The Marineland theme park. Credit: PA Images]]

More than 20 European countries already limit or ban animals in circuses, as have about "400 communities" in France, according to Pompili.

An orca that has been kept in captivity in a "miserable" state for 50 years is set to be released as a plan to return her to "home waters" has been unveiled.

Calls for orcas, otherwise known as Killer Whales, to be released from captivity have been ongoing, particularly after the emergence of documentaries such as Black Fish on Netflix.

It would appear that calls for orcas to be released from captivity have been heard, as Lolita who has resided at the Miami Seaquarium for 50 years is set to be released.

As per NBC News, Lolita was captured in the Pacific Ocean decades ago and there are now plans in place to return her to her original home.

There have been calls for all orcas to be released from captivity. Credit: Michael Weber / Alamy

The announcement, which came on Thursday, was made at a press conference held by the Seaquarium and Florida nonprofit group Friends of Lolita and Jim Irsay, the philanthropist, and owner of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts.

Lolita is the oldest orca in captivity after she was taken from the waters around Washington State when she was four years old in 1970.

After falling unwell in recent years, an announcement was made that the whale would no longer be on display at the Whale Stadium, which is where guests can see orcas perform stunts.

NOAA Fisheries, the US agency that oversees ocean resources and the habitats of marine life, added southern resident orcas to the endangered species list in 2005.

Their website states that pods of orcas were reduced between 1965 and 1975 due to the whales being removed from their natural habitats to be put on display around the country.

The population was just 71 orcas in 1974, before peaking at 97 in 1996 and the current count notes that there are currently around 70 southern resident whales.

As per NBC, Jared Goodman, the PETA Foundation’s vice president and general counsel for animal law, released a statement on Tuesday about Lolita's imminent return to natural waters.

"If Lolita is finally returned to her home waters, there will be cheers from around the world, including from PETA, which has pursued several lawsuits on Lolita’s behalf and battered the Seaquarium with protests demanding her freedom for years," Goodman noted after animal rights activists have campaigned for years for the release of orcas from marine parks.

The whales are often seen performing in shows. Credit: Sunpix Travel / Alamy

"If the Seaquarium agrees to move her, it’ll offer her long-awaited relief after five miserable decades in a cramped tank and send a clear signal to other parks that the days of confining highly intelligent, far-ranging marine mammals to dismal prisons are done and dusted," Goodman concluded.

We hope that Lolita gets to spend the remainder of her days in her natural environment in peace.

Featured image credit: Nicolas Sánchez-Biezma / Alamy

Certain types of animal cruelty are now a federal felony thanks to the passing of a new bill in the U.S. House of Representatives, ABC news reports.

The Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act was passed unanimously on Tuesday afternoon, with the bi-partisan bill having been introduced by y Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Fla., and Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla. An accompanying bill was also introduced in the Senate.

This dog with no nose managed to find a forever home against the odds: 

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"This bill sends a clear message that our society does not accept cruelty against animals. We've received support from so many Americans from across the country and across the political spectrum," Deutch said in a statement. "I'm deeply thankful for all of the advocates who helped us pass this bill, and I look forward to the Senate’s swift passage and the President’s signature."

The bill expands the 2010 Animal Crush Video Prohibition Act, which prohibited the creation and distribution of "animal crushing" videos.

[[imagecaption|| Credit: Pexels]]

Now, the PACT Act means that it is a federal crime for "any person to intentionally engage in animal crushing if the animals or animal crushing is in, substantially affects, or uses a means or facility of, interstate or foreign commerce," a fact sheet of the bill states.

The law does not affect local animal cruelty laws or enforcement and only applies to interstate commerce and federal property.

"The torture of innocent animals is abhorrent and should be punished to the fullest extent of the law," Buchanan said.

In the heartbreaking video below, a baby elephant is forced to perform tricks: 

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The passing of the bill was praised by Sara Amundson, the president of the Humane Society Legislative Fund.

"Over the course of 30 years in animal protection, I have encountered terrible animal cruelties, but acts of intentional torture are the most disturbing because they demonstrate how some people treat the most vulnerable in our society," Amundson said in a statement. "These malicious acts deserve federal scrutiny and action. Federal prosecutors and law enforcement officials will finally have the tools they need to bring those responsible for cruelty to animals to justice."

For decades, whaling has been a controversial practice that is banned in many countries on account of it putting entire species at the risk of extinction. Despite this, many places still permit the activity - partly for research purposes, but also because whale meat tends to be a huge moneymaker for tourist industries.

In Iceland, hunting whales has been banned and re-legalised a number of times with varying regulations, and it is currently legal there - contrary to the rules that the IWC (International Whaling Commission) has tried to implement.

New outrage over the practice has emerged today, however, as it transpired that whalers in Iceland have killed what appears to be a blue whale: a species that has not been deliberately slaughtered since 1978.

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However, the owner of the company responsible for butchering the animal, Kristjan Loftsson, has denied the allegations that the creature is a blue whale. He is claiming that it is either a fin whale or a hybrid of the two species - neither of which are protected under current laws in Iceland.

"I am absolutely confident that it's a hybrid," he said. "To mistake a blue whale for a fin whale is impossible, this whale has all the characterisations of a fin whale in the ocean. There are a lot of blue whales off the Iceland coast, when we see the blows and sail to it, and we realise it is a blue and then we leave it and go and look for fin whales."

On the contrary, Arne Feuerhahn - who is part of the campaign group Hard to Port, which publicised this recent killing - says that nobody can be sure either way at this point.

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/BiologistDan/status/1017443207754539009]]

"We cannot confirm 100 per cent," she said. "We have consulted a lot of international experts, most think that it is a juvenile male blue whale but there also has been some doubts with some believing that it could be a hybrid between a blue and a fin whale."

Even so, some other experts are already confidently stating that this is definitely a pure breed blue whale.

Paul Watson, who founded a marine conservation group called Sea Shepherd, has stated with certainty: "I know a blue whale when I see one and this whale slaughtered by Kristjan Loftsson is a blue whale." He continued: "This man must be stopped from ruthlessly violating international conservation law and bringing such disrepute to the nation of Iceland. There can be no legal justification for this."

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The country's official stance is currently that the whale is of an undetermined species.

"While initial information suggests that the animal in question was not a blue whale, we take these reports seriously and the relevant authorities are investigating this matter with all urgency," said Kristján Thor Juliusson, Iceland's Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries.

"At present, Icelandic authorities are not in a position to confirm the species, although initial information from the directorate of fisheries in Iceland suggests the animal caught is not likely to be a blue whale but rather a hybrid of a fin whale and a blue whale."

A confirmation will only be possible once a DNA taste has been conducted.

 

Two Florida congressmen reintroduced a bill on Wednesday that would make animal cruelty a national felony. The Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act addresses "crushing, burning, drowning, suffocating, and impaling animals," plus bestiality. If the bill passes, those found guilty of such malicious acts could face up to seven years in prison.

"The torture of innocent animals is abhorrent and should be punished to the fullest extent of the law," said one of the bill's sponsors, Republican Rep. Vern Buchanan, per The Orlando Sentinel. His partner, Rep. Ted Deutch, a Democrat, said the measure is "commonsense, bipartisan legislation to bring some compassion to our animal laws."

The congressmen cited a 2010 law aimed at punishing those who create videos of animals subjected to torture, and argued it was not comprehensive enough. "We’ve acted in the past to stop the horrific trend of animal abuse videos," Deutch said. "Now it’s time to make the underlying acts of cruelty a crime as well."

Lawmakers previously introduced the PACT Act twice and the Senate unanimously passed the bill both times. However, Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte, the Republican Representative from Virginia, singlehandedly blocked the measure from coming to the floor of the House for a vote. Since Goodblatte is no longer serving in Congress, lawmakers are optimistic that the third time will be the charm for the PACT Act.

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The Humane Society applauded the bill's reintroduction, noting that it would close a loophole in the 2010 law, which only applies when animal cruelty is captured on video. "Decades ago, the Federal Bureau of Investigation recognized the seriousness of animal cruelty and its link to escalating violence toward humans," Sara Amundson, the president of the Humane Society Legislative Fund, told the Sentinel. She added that the law could reduce other types of crime.

The PACT Act includes exceptions for hunting, normal veterinary care, hunting, and conduct necessary to protect life or property from a serious threat caused by an animal.