Howick wildlife centre cared for over 1000 animals in 2023:
The FreeMe Wildlife foundation took in over a thousand rescued wild animals lastyear.
“FreeMe Wildlife has seen over a thousand sick, injured, or orphaned wildlife come through its doors in 2023. While many of these cases are more common species, there are some unusual admissions that stand out,” said Tammy Caine, the raptor specialist at the Howick-based wildlife rehabilitation centre.
Among the list of firsts, Caine said, FreeMe saw the first Marabou Stork admitted to the centre’s care, as well as other rare animals including a lesser flamingo, lesser honeyguide, Narina Trogon and the endangered secretary bird.
“We have also seen an increase in admissions of African wildcat, and have also admitted a Grant’s golden mole, two striped polecats and a thicktailed bushbaby. Our most challenging reptile admission for the year was an enormous four metre Southern African python,” she said.
She added that while they deal with wild and wondrous animals, the help they receive from the public is astronomical.
“We are grateful to all the members of the public who assisted with rescues and transport, and supported the
organisation through donations and fundraising events.
“We are also immensely grateful to those members of the public who attended talks and presentations, subscribed to our monthly custodian newsletter, and helped spread information and awareness on the work we do with wildlife,” she said.
Caine added that they were not alone in the business of helping animals and work closely with other important
stakeholders and conservation authorities such as Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, the SAPS Stock Theft Unit and various SPCAs, and other conservation organisations.
“There are a number of collaborative projects we were involved in, including the increase in wildlife poaching and
trafficking cases and confiscations that took place through- out the year,” she said.
Poaching has been a prolific factor in their rescue and rehabilitation efforts, Caine said.
“Sadly, there is an increase in the persecution of wildlife in our country, and the illegal wildlife trade is driving many species to extinction.
“It is not just rhinos that are targeted, but many other species where body parts form part of the black market trade in wildlife,” said Caine.
This article was first published by The Witness.
Somali pirates are back in action, but a full scale return isn’t likely:
Iranian fishing vessel Almeraj 1 was reportedly hijacked by Somali pirates in November 2023 and, according to media reports, the pirates demanded US$ 400,000 in ransom and threatened to use the ship for additional hijackings if the payment was not made.
Two days later, other Somali pirates hijacked a tanker, Central Park, off the Yemeni coast. The tanker sent a distress signal during the attack. Forces from a nearby American warship captured the pirates as they tried to flee in a small boat.
The two attacks have led the Somali government to call for greater international support to deter a resurgence of piracy in the Horn of Africa. Similar fears that Somali piracy was on the rebound surfaced after five previous attacks in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020.
We have been studying the rise and fall of Somali piracy, and have tracked the problem for years. We do not regard a major rise in Somali piracy as likely.
Addressing the threat
Following previous threats, local authorities, experts and organisations tracking piracy globally warned that Somali pirates retained the capacity to launch attacks. This is also the current assessment of the International Maritime Bureau’s Piracy Reporting Centre, which acts to suppress piracy and armed robbery at sea.
The concern is not surprising.
Somali piracy was a major threat to the region and the world economy at its height in 2011. That year alone, Somali pirates carried out 212 attacks. The World Bank estimated that these cost the world economy US$ 18 billion.
In a recent analysis, we concluded that a range of anti-piracy measures had put a stop to Somali piracy. The measures fall into four main categories:
- anti-piracy naval operations by the world’s most capable navies
- costly self-protection measures, including the use of armed guards, by most flag states and shipping owners
- a legal toolbox enabling pirate prosecution and imprisonment
- capacity-building and the ability to imprison pirates regionally and in Somalia.
Anti-piracy measures
These measures remain largely in place.
Measure 1: The size of anti-piracy naval operations may have shrunk but some international forces remain active. Nato – an intergovernmental military alliance between 29 European and two North American member states – terminated its anti-piracy mission in 2016. However, the European Union retains its mission, as does a US-led coalition. Together they seek to suppress piracy outside the territorial waters of Somalia and other coastal states in the region. In addition, independent deployers like China have warships on patrol.
Measure 2: Most commercial ships sailing through the Gulf of Aden, the Somali basin and the Indian Ocean follow many of the self-protection measures recommended by flag states and the main maritime industry organisations. While the number of ships carrying armed guards has dropped considerably, most commercial ships report to the maritime security centres, follow the recommended transit corridor protected by international naval forces and join group transits.
Measure 3: The legal toolbox and the post-trial transfer system making it possible to prosecute pirates and imprison them in Somalia remains in place. This makes jail the most likely destination for the five pirates recently apprehended by US forces following their hijacking of Central Park. Successful prosecution and imprisonment would signal to other pirates that piracy remains an unprofitable undertaking off the Somali coast.
Measure 4: International efforts continue to increase the capacity of Somalia and other regional states to patrol their national waters. The EU’s capacity building mission in Somalia, for instance, still supports Somalia’s maritime security sector. It seeks to strengthen the sector’s capacity to deter, capture and prosecute pirates. The successful operations undertaken by the Puntland Maritime Police Force – including securing the release of hostages – indicate that these efforts are paying off.
These anti-piracy measures continue to be implemented by a broad coalition of state and private actors. They include states from outside the region, regional nations, Somali authorities and the international shipping industry. As long as these actors continue to invest in maintaining these measures, Somali piracy will remain unprofitable.
High risks, few rewards
It remains to be seen if the ransom demand for the Iranian fishing vessel Almeraj 1 will succeed. However, pirates don’t appear to have made any money from any of the other five attacks launched in the 2017-2023 period. We haven’t been able to ascertain if any ransom was paid to secure the release of a Panama-flagged ship captured in August 2020. In the other four instances, the attacks either failed or didn’t result in ransom payments.
Even if the US$ 400,000 ransom demand succeeds, it doesn’t alter the overall conclusion that piracy off the Somali coast remains a high-risk undertaking with a low probability of success. This suggests that a major increase in Somali piracy is highly unlikely.
If it did happen, though, it would be easy for international naval forces and the shipping industry to reduce the prospects of success by stepping up naval patrols and reintroducing armed guards.
Peter Viggo Jakobsen and Troels Burchall Henningsen are associate professors at the Royal Danish Defence College. This article was first published by The Conversation.
Race against time after deadly Japan quake:
Japanese rescuers battled against the clock and powerful aftershocks on Tuesday to find survivors of a major earthquake that struck on New Year’s Day, killing at least 30 people and causing widespread destruction.
The 7.5-magnitude quake, which hit Ishikawa prefecture on the main island of Honshu, triggered tsunami waves more than a metre high, toppled buildings, caused a major fire and tore apart roads.
As daylight broke, the scale of the destruction on the Noto Peninsula emerged with buildings still on fire, houses flattened, fishing boats sunk or washed ashore and highways hit by landslides.
“It was such a powerful jolt,” Tsugumasa Mihara, 73, told AFP as he queued with hundreds of others for water in the shellshocked town of Shika.
“What a terrible way to start the year,” he said.
Local authorities put the death toll at 30, half of them in Wajima, but the number was expected to rise.
“Very extensive damage has been confirmed, including numerous casualties, building collapses and fires,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said after a disaster response meeting.
“We have to race against time to search for and rescue victims of the disaster.”
Aerial news footage showed the terrifying scale of a fire that ripped through Wajima, where a seven-storey commercial also building collapsed.
Almost 33,000 households were without power in the region, which saw temperatures touch freezing overnight, the local energy provider said. Many cities were without running water.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake had a magnitude of 7.5. Japan’s meteorological agency measured it at 7.6 and said it was one of more than 150 to shake the region through Tuesday morning.
Several strong jolts were felt early Tuesday, including one measuring 5.6 that prompted national broadcaster NHK to switch to a special programme.
“Please take deep breaths,” the presenter said, reminding viewers to check for fires in their kitchens.
Tsunami warning lifted
On Monday, waves at least 1.2 metres (four feet) high hit Wajima and a series of smaller tsunamis were reported elsewhere.
Warnings of much larger waves proved unfounded and on Tuesday, Japan lifted all tsunami warnings.
Images on social media showed cars, houses and bridges in Ishikawa wobbling violently as terrified people cowered in shops and train stations.
Houses collapsed and huge cracks appeared in roads while others were hit by landslides.
A team of firefighters crawled under a collapsed commercial building in Wajima looking for survivors, television footage showed.
“Hang in there! Hang in there,” they shouted as they battled through piles of wooden beams with an electric saw.
The fire in Wajima engulfed dozens of structures, video footage showed, with people being evacuated in the dark, some with blankets and others carrying babies.
NHK reported that 25 houses had collapsed in the city, including 14 that may have had people trapped inside.
A duty officer at the Wajima Fire Department said authorities were still being overwhelmed Tuesday by rescue requests and reports of damage.
Ishikawa Governor Hiroshi Hase wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that roads have been cut in widespread areas by landslides or cracking, while in the port of Suzu “multiple” vessels had capsized.
A total of 62,000 people had been ordered to evacuate, according to the fire and disaster management agency.
About 1,000 were staying at a military base, the defence ministry said.
Bullet trains suspended
Defense Minister Minoru Kihara said 1,000 military personnel were preparing to go to the region, while 8,500 others were on standby. Around 20 military aircraft were dispatched to survey the damage.
Monday’s quake shook apartments in the capital Tokyo about 300 kilometres away, where a public New Year greeting event that was to be attended by Emperor Naruhito and his family members was cancelled.
Several major highways were closed around the epicentre, Japan’s road operator said, and bullet train services from Tokyo were also suspended.
Around 500 people were stranded at Noto’s damaged airport, with access roads blocked and the runway riddled with cracks.
And some 1,000 people remained stuck in local express trains almost 24 hours after they were halted on Monday, NHK said.
Japan experiences hundreds of earthquakes every year and the vast majority cause no damage.
The number of earthquakes in the Noto Peninsula region has been steadily increasing since 2018, a Japanese government report said last year.
Japan is haunted by a massive 9.0-magnitude undersea quake off northeastern Japan in 2011 which triggered a tsunami that left around 18,500 people dead or missing.
It also swamped the Fukushima atomic plant, causing one of the world’s worst nuclear disasters.
Japan’s nuclear authority said there were no abnormalities reported at the Shika atomic power plant in Ishikawa or at other plants after Monday’s quake.
© Agence France-Presse
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