Category Animal Welfare

Top 5 environmental success stories of 2016

From ocean protections to climate action to eco-activism, 2016 was a big year for the environment.

circus-elephant

Why is Ringling Bros. retiring its circus elephants early?

The largest circus in the United States announced that it will retire all of its performing elephants. How has the animal rights movement changed public perception of large performing animals?

sea-turtle-hatchling-costa-rica

For Costa Rican sea turtles, the second time’s the charm

In early September, a crowd of selfie-crazed tourists prevented thousands of sea turtles from nesting in Costa Rica. But when the turtles returned weeks later, things had changed.

shark-fin-soup-yao-ming

For Yao Ming, saving sharks is a slam dunk

Thanks to education and outreach efforts on the part of Yao Ming and WildAid, public perception of shark fin soup in China is changing for the better.

cecil-the-lion-trophy-hunting

7 drawbacks to trophy hunting as conservation

Trophy hunters, African governments, and even some scientists support widespread trophy hunting as a form of conservation. However, the use of trophy hunting as a conservation tool has some major drawbacks.