Wednesday, January 18, 2012

CBP Specialists at Laredo Port of Entry Intercept 23 Live Ticks Found on Deer Hide

Laredo, Texas - U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agriculture specialists at the Laredo Port of Entry recently intercepted a significant amount of possible cattle fever ticks found on an imported trophy deer hide.

On Jan. 8, 2012 a CBP officer at Colombia-Solidarity Bridge referred a driver of a Chevy pickup truck to secondary examination after he declared a trophy deer hide originating from Nuevo Leon, Mexico. A CBP agriculture specialist conducted an examination and discovered 23 live ticks on the hide.

A U.S. Department of Agriculture entomologist identified the pest as Boophilus sp., which includes cattle fever tick, a pest of quarantine significance in cattle.

CBP refused entry of the hide. The hunter abandoned the hide for destruction.

Imported trophy deer hides must be free of live or dead ticks. Hides must be treated chemically or be frozen to ensure elimination of these pests.

 “This is the largest amount of fever ticks that our agriculture specialists have found on a single deer hide this season,” said Sidney Aki, CBP Port Director, Laredo. “Stopping fever ticks at the border illustrates the crucial role CBP agriculture specialists play in protecting American agriculture and livestock and preventing possible adverse impact to the U.S. cattle industry.”

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.

Kentuckians Convicted of Lacey Act Crimes for Illegally Harvesting and Making False Records for Ohio River Paddlefish

WASHINGTON – Two Kentuckians and their caviar companies pleaded guilty today in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio to trafficking in and falsely labeling illegally harvested paddlefish (Polydon spathula). Steve Kinder, along with his wife, Cornelia Joyce Kinder, both of Owenton, Ky., owned and operated Kinder Caviar Inc. and Black Star Caviar Company. Those companies were in the business of exporting paddlefish eggs as caviar to customers in foreign countries.

 Paddlefish, whose eggs are marketed as caviar, are protected by both federal and Ohio law. Ohio law prohibits commercial fishing for paddlefish. Ohio law also prohibits the possession or use of gill nets. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES), which is codified in United States law through the Endangered Species Act, regulates international trade in certain species listed on one of three Appendices. Paddlefish are listed on Appendix II of CITES. Appendix II species, or their parts, which were harvested in the United States, may be exported only if they are accompanied by a valid export permit issued by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS).

 Among other things, the Lacey Act makes it a crime to transport or sell fish, or their parts, knowing that the fish were harvested in violation of any state’s law. Among other things, the Lacey Act also makes it a crime to make or submit a false record, account or label for, or false identification of, fish or fish parts which were, or were intended to be, exported, transported or sold.

 According to the  plea agreement filed in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati, Cornelia Joyce Kinder admitted to making false statements on behalf of Kinder Caviar in a CITES Export Registration Form for paddlefish eggs on or about March 15, 2007. Specifically, Cornelia Joyce Kinder misrepresented the amount of legally-harvested paddlefish eggs that she could provide documentation for, as well as misidentified the fishermen who harvested the paddlefish and the location of harvest.

 As part of a plea agreement, Cornelia Joyce Kinder also admitted to making false statements on behalf of Black Star Caviar Company in a CITES Export Registration Form for paddlefish eggs on or about Dec. 18, 2010. Specifically, Cornelia Joyce Kinder completed the form using the name of a subordinate employee and forged that employee’s signature on the form in order to give the impression that she was not the applicant.

 According to the plea agreement, both Steve Kinder and Cornelia Joyce Kinder admitted to aiding and abetting one another in harvesting paddlefish in Ohio waters, using gill nets attached to the Ohio shoreline, on or about May 5, 2007, and transporting the paddlefish to Kentucky with the intent to sell them when, in the exercise of due care, they should have known that the fish were harvested in violation of Ohio law.

 As part of a plea agreement, both Kinder Caviar and Black Star Caviar Company have each agreed to pay a $5,000 fine and serve a three-year term of probation, during which time those companies will be prohibited from applying for or receiving a CITES Export Permit. In addition, both Steve Kinder and Cornelia Joyce Kinder have agreed to serve a three-year term of probation, during which time they will each perform 100 hours of community service, be prohibited from fishing anywhere in the Ohio River where that river forms the border between Ohio and Kentucky, and be prohibited from applying for or receiving a CITES Export Permit, either on behalf of themselves or anyone else. In accordance with Kentucky law, both Steve Kinder and Cornelia Joyce Kinder face possible suspension of their Kentucky commercial fishing licenses.

 Also as part of the plea agreement, the boat and truck that were used in furtherance of the Lacey Act crimes have been forfeited.

 The case was investigated by the USFWS Office of Law Enforcement; the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife; and the Kentucky Department of Fish& Wildlife Resources. The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney James B. Nelson of the Department of Justice’s Environmental Crimes Section of the Environment and Natural Resources Division, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura I. Clemmens of the Southern District of Ohio.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Older Is Better for Hunting Dogs

Older dogs and male dogs are better big game hunting companions than younger dogs and female dogs says the author of a new study on the hunting ability and nutritional status of domestic dogs in lowland Nicaragua. In addition, he says, dogs are more suited to wildlife sustainability than other hunting options.

"I was a little surprised to find that male dogs are harvesting more than females because few anthropologists have commented on sex-related variation in hunting ability," said University of Cincinnati anthropologist and lead investigator Jeremy Koster. "In fact, when anthropologists have reported anything along these lines, it's usually to report informants' claims that there are no differences between males and females."

Koster and anthropologist Kenneth Tankersley, also with the University of Cincinnati in Ohio, recently examined key demographic variables such as age and sex on the amount of harvested game that dogs contribute from subsistence hunting in an indigenous community, which has a long and important role in community survival. The research was one of few projects to study these differences in hunting dogs.

Funded in part by the National Science Foundation, the study appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"Dr. Koster's and Dr. Tankersley's research findings make a crucial contribution to understanding human subsistence strategies in tropical rain forest environments," said Deborah Winslow, a program director for NSF's Cultural Anthropology Program. "Such knowledge is essential for preserving these environments while still allowing sustainable economic exploitation. On a larger scale, the research also helps us to understand our evolutionary past, including the reasons that dogs may have been domesticated in the first place."

Koster and Tankersley found that as both male and female dogs reach three years of age, they tend to increase their hunting success and produce greater harvests. Older, male and female dogs in the study population returned more game to their owners than did younger dogs.

"The increase in hunting success with age could reflect learning via experience," said Koster, director of graduate studies in Anthropology at UC. "On the other hand, the apparent age-related increase in ability might indicate that only talented hunting dogs reach advanced ages, perhaps because unskilled hunting dogs receive poorer care and die relatively young.

"We expect that hunting ability would eventually decline as dogs get older, but the reality is that few dogs reach eight or nine years old because even well-treated dogs often succumb to snakebites or jaguar attacks."

There also seems to be a trend that bigger dogs are able to track and corral bigger prey, said Koster, which increases the hunting return rates of their owners, and in general, male dogs are bigger than females. Even so, more work needs to be done to determine if males are better hunting companions at other locations in which locals use dogs to harvest prey, he said.

Koster and Tankersley conducted the study in Nicaragua's Bosawas Biosphere Reserve, which is part of the largest unbroken tract of Neotropical rainforest in Central America, north of the Amazon Rainforest. The researchers based the study on the hunting activities of the Mayangna and the Miskito, two indigenous ethnic groups, who live along a tributary of the Coco River, not far from the border with Honduras.

Community members in the region capture about 85 percent of harvested mammals with the aid of dogs, according to the report.

"Conservation biologists are justifiably concerned about the impact of subsistence hunting on wildlife populations," said Koster, "but if sustainable hunting is the goal, then hunting with dogs might be a better option than the alternatives."

Koster argues that hunters with firearms tend to disproportionately hunt prey that lives in trees, including slow-breeding primates that are easy to over-hunt, whereas hunters with dogs tend to harvest relatively fast-breeding animals such as agoutis, pacas and armadillos. He says these populations are harder to deplete, partly because they adapt well to the heavily-used forests near human settlements.

"Overall, then, if you have a choice of hunting with guns or hunting with dogs, the latter will more likely result in long-term sustainability in many settings," said Koster, who promotes Amazon Cares, a non-profit organization devoted to the welfare of dogs in rural Latin America.

Most dogs in the study were mutts observed one of Koster's colleagues at the Saint Louis Zoo. Koster personally observed that there didn't seem to be much managed breeding of dogs, if at all, among the study population.

The finding leaves open the question which type of dog makes the best hunters, although hunters in the region talk about the different breeds that one encounters in the reserve.

Meanwhile, dogs that are not good hunters are almost never taken on excursions. Instead, they are allowed to lounge around the house and "patio."

"Perhaps they're valuable as watchdogs, deterring would-be thieves," said Koster. He said the researchers didn't find evidence they received less care than good hunters, but additional study is required for a more authoritative determination.

"It certainly seems like the incapable dogs don't look as healthy," said Koster. "They seem to get more mange, for example. Perhaps an owner is less likely to buy medicines for a dog that doesn't contribute something as a hunting companion."

The research was funded by a Dissertation Improvement Award from NSF's Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences. In addition, the Hill Foundation, a William Sanders dissertation grant, the Charles Phelps Taft Research Center and the University of Cincinnati Research Council supported the research.

Investigators
 Jeremy Koster
Kenneth Tankersley
Stephen Beckerman

Related Institutions/Organizations
 University of Cincinnati
 Pennsylvania State Univ University Park

Locations
 Ohio
Pennsylvania
Nicaragua

Monday, January 2, 2012

Exercise Recovery - The Key to Exercise Enjoyment and Performance

After 15 years of National and International powerlifting competitions with training 3 to 4 days a week, 2 to 3 hours a day, 50 weeks of the year, I am convinced recovery is the key to enjoyment, performance and exercise longevity!

Recovery includes, sleep, rest, eating, hydration and may also include the use of ice, heat, therapeutic massage and/or active release.

In general, research shows that recovery after exercise is essential to muscle and tissue repair and strength building. This is even more critical after a heavy weight training session. A muscle needs anywhere from 24 to 48 hours to repair and rebuild, and working it again too soon simply leads to tissue breakdown instead of building. For weight training routines, never work the same muscles groups two days in a row.

The following are a few of my personal suggestions on recovery after training or working out:

1.       Cool down – don’t just stop abruptly

2.       Stretch after cool down – even for just a few minutes

3.       Replace fluids water, Gatorade, protein drinks, milk (avoid alcohol)

4.       Eat within 30 to 60 minutes after your exercise – ensure you eat protein and complex carbohydrates to replace much needed nutrients – eating within 30 to 60 minutes speeds recovery by 50%

5.       Rest the specific muscle group 24 to 48 hours

6.       Make ice your best friend – it reduces minor muscle pain and helps get blood in those muscles

7.       Use heat when necessary

8.       Avoid over training – there are no medals for over training only injury and rehab

9.       Use Massage

10.   Use Active Release

11.   If pain persists, back off and visit your – working through the wrong kind of pain can result in serious injury and long rehabs

12.   Be smart and listen to your body – it’s the only one you have

Deep tissue or sports therapeutic massage once a week and active release as needed. Active release is an extreme version of deep tissue or sports massage. Active release targets specific muscle problems, identifies the reason for pain and works that specific area. It’s intense and can be painful, but works wonders.

In closing, remember it’s YOUR exercise regime. You decide when, where and how long. You also decide how to recover.  It’s one thing to work through minor exercise fatigue, it’s another thing to avoid injury.

Remember, if it was easy everyone would do it and it is called a WORK out. So it may hurt from time to time. Be smart and take time to recover properly and you will be at your passion until you’re 90!

For more information on Walter Urban please visit www.walterurban.com , Twitter walterjlg, Facebook Walter Urban.