Over the past few years newspaper headlines suggesting that various alien invaders are decimating the British horse chestnut tree (Aesculus hippocastanum) and that all affected trees should be removed have been making alarming reading. But talk to the experts, and a slightly different, less horror-filled story arises, writes anthropologist, DAWN STARIN.
The recent death of Ventana the condor in Los Angeles zoo illustrates a simple truth, writes Dawn Starin: wild condors cannot survive so long as the dead amimals they eat are riddled with lead from spent ammunition. With lead poisoning to blame for 60% of condor deaths, it's time to ban lead ammunition across their entire range - and beyond.
Ample peer-reviewed science says that the number one threat to condor survival is lead poisoning from eating bullets and pellets in carcasses, reports Dawn Starin. But the powerful NRA is fighting hard against bans on lead ammunition.
Tourists eager to try exotic meat and buy wildlife souvenirs in Laos are helping destroy the country's natural heritage. The consequences for both people and environment are worrying, reports Dawn Starin
Illegal fishing to feed European demand for seafood is devastating coastal communities in The Gambia and across West Africa - forcing many people to leave their homeland and make a perilous and sometimes deadly voyage to Europe
In a remarkable and harrowing dispatch from Guinea-Bissau, Dawn Starin reports how logging, mining and agriculture are opening up the country's once intact forests to the ravages of the growing bush-meat trade, threatening some of the country's most enigmatic monkey species
