RED CARPET ROXY'S "RED ALERT OF THE WEEK" MARCH 30, 2009

Hello friends! I hope you have had a healthy, happy weekend. I am installing a new feature on my site every Monday called the Red Carpet Roxy's "Red Alert of the Week." It focuses on the plight of animals and wildlife all over the world, spotlights a particular issue, and shows you how you can help and make a difference. For Red Carpet Roxy, it is important to help these creatures as they have no voice and what is happening to them is appalling and totally unacceptable. If you can and desire to do so, please help them.

So our first "Red Alert of the Week," comes from Kenya in Africa. Red Carpet Roxy was watching "60 Minutes" last night, and was shocked to see what is happening to the lions in Kenya. They are being poisoned by herders whose livestock is often attacked by lions as a source of food. These herders use a cheap American made chemical called Furadan, which is used as a protectant pesticide for crops, not intended for use as a way to control natural predators. However, the herders are using it to protect their cattle and poison the lions, since it is cheap costing about $2.00 a bottle.

The number of lions was around 200,000 about 20 years ago, but now that number is somewhere around 30, 000 and they are diminishing fast! Many cubs will never live to see adulthood, and entire prides of lions are being extinguished. As a result, other wildlife such a vultures and hyenas are also perishing as they feed on the poisoned lion carcasses and assume the fatal effects of the poison themselves. This completely devastates the entire wildlife food chain. Also, this horrific problem of poisoning is spreading to the neighboring countries. This is not in keeping with the balance of our ecosystem-we need the lions, and the other animals.

The sad thing is, many people in Kenya view the lions as a great threat, however they are very unlikely to go after humans in that region, as humans have tortured, shot, killed, and trapped them so much over time that they are fearful of people! There is a delicate balance between the ranchers trying to sustain a living and conserving wildlife that needs to be determined. To read more on this issue and watch the video, please go to: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/03/26/60minutes/main4894945.shtml.

There are several organizations dedicated to helping these magnificient creatures, 2 of which are:
http://www.livingwithlions.org/
http://stopwildlifepoisoning.wildlifedirect.org/

You can make a difference by visiting those sites listed above and donating to the cause and/or creating awareness of this issue by spreading the word, as these animals need our help.