Free Republic

The island of cats has a cat problem. Officials in Cyprus, the small island nation in the eastern corner of the Mediterranean, estimate there is roughly one feral cat for every one of its 1 million inhabitants — though activists contend the actual population is hundreds of thousands higher. In late September, the island’s parliamentary committee on the environment was told that an existing sterilization program is too limited to contain the burgeoning cat population. “It’s a good program, but it needs to expand,” said Environment Commissioner Antonia Theodosiou, noting that the program conducts only about 2,000 sterilizations annually on...

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - Malaysian wildlife authorities said they had seized 280 live pangolins and arrested three suspects believed to be part of an international smuggling ring trafficking endangered animals to restaurants in China. "The pangolins were in a lorry bound for southern Thailand," said Abdul Jalal Kassim, Wildlife Department head of operations. "The end market for these protected animals would have been Guangzhou, China, where they would be sold for their meat and scales," he told AFP. The live pangolins were discovered late Monday in southern Johor state following a tip-off, he said. "This is part of an international...