Connect with us

International

Netanyahu d’Israël forme un cabinet de coalition de droite préparant le terrain pour son retour au pouvoir

Published

on

Spread the love

Le Premier ministre désigné Benjamin Netanyahu a annoncé mercredi soir qu’il avait formé avec succès une nouvelle coalition, ouvrant la voie à son retour au pouvoir à la tête du gouvernement israélien le plus à droite de tous les temps.

Netanyahu a fait cette annonce lors d’un appel téléphonique au président Isaac Herzog quelques instants avant l’heure limite de minuit. Son parti Likud a publié un bref clip vidéo du sourire Netanyahu et un enregistrement de la conversation.

Advertisement

“Je voulais vous annoncer que grâce à l’incroyable soutien public que nous avons reçu lors des élections, j’ai réussi à former un gouvernement qui prendra soin de tous les citoyens d’Israël”, a déclaré Netanyahu.

Cette décision est intervenue après des semaines de négociations étonnamment difficiles avec ses partenaires – qui doivent encore finaliser leurs accords de partage du pouvoir avec le parti Likud de Netanyahu. Néanmoins, Netanyahu a déclaré qu’il avait l’intention d’achever le processus “dès que possible la semaine prochaine”. La date de sa prestation de serment n’a pas été annoncée dans l’immédiat.

Advertisement

Même s’il réussit, Netanyahu fait face à une tâche difficile. Il présidera une coalition dominée par des partenaires d’extrême droite et ultra-orthodoxes poussant à des changements spectaculaires qui pourraient aliéner de larges pans du public israélien, augmenter le risque de conflit avec les Palestiniens et mettre Israël sur une trajectoire de collision avec certains de ses plus proches partisans, y compris les États-Unis et la communauté juive américaine.

Netanyahu a déjà conclu des accords avec certaines des personnalités les plus controversées de la politique israélienne.

Advertisement

Itamar Ben-Gvir, autrefois reconnu coupable d’incitation au racisme et de soutien à une organisation terroriste, a été nommé ministre de la Sécurité, un nouveau poste qui le placera à la tête de la police nationale.

Son colistier, Bezalel Smotrich, un leader des implantations en Cisjordanie qui croit qu’Israël devrait annexer le territoire occupé, devrait recevoir une large autorité sur la construction des implantations en Cisjordanie, en plus d’être ministre des Finances.

Advertisement

Un autre allié, Avi Maoz, chef d’une petite faction religieuse anti-LGBTQ, a été placé aux commandes de certaines parties du système éducatif national du pays. Maoz, qui est ouvertement hostile aux courants libéraux du judaïsme populaire aux États-Unis, a également été nommé vice-ministre chargé de « l’identité juive ».

Lors des élections du 1er novembre, Netanyahu et ses alliés ont remporté une majorité de 64 sièges sur les 120 membres de la Knesset, et il a juré de constituer rapidement une coalition. Mais ce processus s’est avéré plus compliqué que prévu, en partie parce que ses partenaires ultra-orthodoxes et d’extrême droite ont exigé des garanties fermes sur l’étendue de leurs pouvoirs.

Advertisement

Avant que le gouvernement ne prête serment, Netanyahu tentera de faire adopter une série de lois nécessaires pour étendre l’autorité de Ben-Gvir sur la police et pour créer un nouveau poste ministériel accordant à Smotrich des pouvoirs en Cisjordanie qui, dans le passé, étaient détenus par la défense. ministre.

Le Parlement tentera également d’approuver une législation permettant à Aryeh Deri, un politicien chevronné qui a déjà purgé une peine de prison dans une affaire de corruption, de servir en tant que ministre du gouvernement pendant qu’il est en probation pour une autre condamnation plus tôt cette année pour des délits fiscaux.

Advertisement

Les ultra-orthodoxes, quant à eux, demandent une augmentation des subventions pour leur système d’éducation autonome, qui s’est attiré de vives critiques pour se concentrer sur les études religieuses tout en fournissant à ses étudiants peu de compétences pour le monde du travail.

Les législateurs du Likud se sont disputés une série de mandats de plus en plus restreints après que Netanyahu a cédé de nombreux postes de plomb à ses partenaires au pouvoir.

Advertisement

Netanyahu, qui est lui-même jugé pour corruption présumée, est impatient de reprendre ses fonctions après avoir passé un an et demi en tant que chef de l’opposition. Lui et ses partenaires devraient faire adopter une série de lois bouleversant le système judiciaire du pays et potentiellement disculper Netanyahu de toute accusation.

Netanyahu a affirmé qu’il était victime de l’excès de zèle de la police, des procureurs et des juges. Mais les critiques disent que les plans, y compris une proposition attendue qui permettrait au Parlement d’annuler les décisions de la Cour suprême, détruiront les institutions démocratiques du pays et le système de freins et contrepoids.

Advertisement

Netanyahu a cherché à se présenter comme l’adulte responsable du gouvernement émergent, affirmant dans des interviews qu’il établirait des politiques. Mais ses partenaires sont susceptibles de tester ses limites à chaque occasion.

Ben-Gvir, par exemple, qui est connu pour sa rhétorique anti-arabe et ses cascades provocatrices telles que brandir un pistolet dans un temps tendu palestinien quartier, a appelé à assouplir les règles d’engagement permettant aux forces de sécurité de tirer sur des agresseurs palestiniens présumés. Il souhaite également accorder aux soldats l’immunité de poursuites dans de tels cas.

Advertisement

Il souhaite également assouplir les restrictions sur les visites juives sur le lieu saint le plus sensible de Jérusalem – un complexe au sommet d’une colline vénéré par les juifs et les musulmans. Même les plus petits changements sur le site ont dans le passé déclenché des affrontements violents, et les plans de Ben-Gvir ont déjà suscité des avertissements du groupe militant du Hamas dans la bande de Gaza.

Les projets de Smotrich d’étendre la construction de colonies en Cisjordanie et de légaliser des dizaines d’avant-postes construits illégalement pourraient également accroître les tensions avec les Palestiniens et la communauté internationale. L’animosité de ses partenaires envers les courants réformé et conservateur du judaïsme a irrité les groupes juifs américains.

Advertisement

Chez lui, les concessions attendues de Netanyahu aux ultra-orthodoxes et les plans de refonte du système juridique du pays pourraient en exaspérer de nombreux membres de la classe moyenne laïque du pays. Des dizaines de dirigeants du puissant secteur de la haute technologie ont signé la semaine dernière une pétition avertissant que les propositions pourraient faire fuir les investisseurs, et les protestations contre la nouvelle coalition ont déjà commencé.

Les États-Unis et l’Union européenne ont tous deux déclaré qu’ils jugeraient le nouveau gouvernement sur ses politiques, et non sur ses personnalités. Mais dans un récent discours, le secrétaire d’État américain Antony Blinken a clairement indiqué qu’il s’attend à ce qu’il défende les « valeurs partagées » et ne prenne pas de mesures qui pourraient empêcher la création d’un État palestinien.

Advertisement

Yohanan Plesner, un ancien membre de la Knesset qui est maintenant président de l’Israel Democracy Institute, un groupe de réflexion de Jérusalem, a déclaré qu’il s’attend à voir une coalition stable prendre le pouvoir dans les prochains jours.

« Il est dans l’intérêt de tous les membres de la nouvelle coalition de former ce gouvernement », a-t-il déclaré. “Tous ont beaucoup à gagner et beaucoup à perdre s’ils ne sont pas formés.”

Advertisement

(PA)

Advertisement
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

International

Oscar-winner ‘Oppenheimer’ opens in Japan after months of nuclear theme concerns

Published

on

Spread the love

Oscar best picture winner “Oppenheimer” was finally released on Friday in Japan, where its subject — the man who masterminded the creation of the atomic bomb — is a highly sensitive and emotional topic.

Advertisement

Issued on: Modified:

3 min

Advertisement

The US blockbuster hit screened in the United States and many other countries in July at the same time as “Barbie”, inspiring a viral phenomenon dubbed “Barbenheimer” by moviegoers.

Advertisement

But while “Barbie” was released in Japan in August, “Oppenheimer” was conspicuously absent from cinemas for months.

No official explanation was offered at the time, fuelling speculation the film was too controversial to be shown in Japan — the only country to have ever suffered a wartime nuclear attack.

Advertisement

Around 140,000 people died in Hiroshima and 74,000 in Nagasaki when the United States dropped atomic bombs on the cities in August 1945, days before the end of World War II.

Japan is the only country to have suffered a wartime nuclear attack
Japan is the only country to have suffered a wartime nuclear attack. © Kazuhiro Nogi / AFP

At a large cinema in central Tokyo where “Oppenheimer” was showing on Friday, there was none of the prominent promotional material that might be expected for a global megahit.

Advertisement

Instead only one small poster advertised the film, which was shot on a $100 million budget and collected nearly $1 billion at box offices worldwide.

“It is a long, three-hour movie, but I watched it attentively, because it was so powerful,” audience member Masayuki Hayashi, 51, told AFP after the film.

Advertisement

Japanese distributors may have chosen to avoid a summer release close to the bombings’ anniversary, said 65-year-old Tatsuhisa Yue.

But “it would have been unthinkable if a movie which describes how the weapon was developed didn’t show here”, he said.

Advertisement

“The movie arrived late, but I think it was good that it finally opened in Japan.”

‘America-centric’

The film tells the story of US physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, who oversaw the bomb’s invention.

Advertisement

It drew rave reviews and was the most decorated title at this month’s Oscars, scooping seven awards including best director for Christopher Nolan and best actor for star Cillian Murphy.

But in Hiroshima, the city devastated by the first nuclear bomb, the biopic’s Academy Awards success met a mixed reaction.

Advertisement
'Oppenheimer' stars Irish actor Cillian Murphy
‘Oppenheimer’ stars Irish actor Cillian Murphy. © Robyn Beck / AFP

Kyoko Heya, president of the city’s international film festival, told AFP after the awards ceremony that she had found Nolan’s movie “very America-centric”.

“Is this really a movie that people in Hiroshima can bear to watch?” she asked.

Advertisement

Today the city is a thriving metropolis of 1.2 million people, but the ruins of a domed building still stand as a stark reminder of the horrors of the attack, along with a museum and other sombre memorials.

Heya said that after much reflection, “I now want many people to watch the movie.”

Advertisement

“I’d be happy to see Hiroshima, Nagasaki and atomic weapons become the subject of discussions thanks to this movie,” she said.

Last year, viral “Barbenheimer” memes sparked anger online in Japan, where media reports have highlighted critics who say the film does not show the harm caused by the bombs.

Advertisement
Around 140,000 people died in Hiroshima and 74,000 in Nagasaki when the United States dropped atomic bombs on the cities in 1945
Around 140,000 people died in Hiroshima and 74,000 in Nagasaki when the United States dropped atomic bombs on the cities in 1945. © Kazuhiro Nogi / AFP

“There could have been much more description and depiction of the horror of atomic weapons,” bomb survivor and former Hiroshima mayor Takashi Hiraoka, 96, said at a special screening in the city earlier this month.

“Oppenheimer” was also shown at a preview event in Nagasaki, where survivor Masao Tomonaga, 80, said he had been impressed by the movie.

Advertisement

“I had thought the film’s lack of… images of atomic bomb survivors was a weakness,” said Tomonaga, who was two when the second bomb was dropped and later became a professor studying leukaemia caused by the attacks.

“But in fact, Oppenheimer’s lines in dozens of scenes showed his shock at the reality of the atomic bombing. That was enough for me.”

Advertisement

(AFP)

Advertisement
Continue Reading

International

Palestinians fear further isolation as Israeli minister announces vast West Bank settlement plans

Published

on

Spread the love

Palestinian land planner Safa Odeh points to a road in the West Bank.

Palestinian land planner Safa Odeh points in the direction of a road in the West Bank that she says only Israeli settlers can use. © France 24 screengrab
Advertisement

Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has announced a plan to seize 800 hectares of Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank, the largest land seizure since the 1993 Oslo Accords between Israeli and Palestinian authorities according to NGO Peace Now. FRANCE 24’s Catherine Norris Trent and Claire Duhamel explored the roads around Jerusalem, some of which are included in the planned seizure, and spoke with a Palestinian land planning engineer who said Smotrich’s plan is aimed at “increasing control” in the territory.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

International

Revealed: Scale of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney’s funding into Wrexham laid bare by the club’s astronomical wage bill… after the Hollywood owners admitted they were ‘f****d without National League promotion

Published

on

Spread the love

Wrexham paid out £6.9million in wages during their promotional season from the National League as the level of funding from the club’s Hollywood owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney was revealed in their latest accounts.

Advertisement

The Welsh side were promoted as champions from the National League last season with a record 111 points, after edging Notts County in a head-to-head battle for the one automatic spot.

Reynolds and McElhenney admitted last year they would have been ‘f*****’ if the club had failed to have achieved promotion to League Two.

Advertisement

McElhenney said on the series Welcome To Wrexham: ‘From a financial perspective, if we do not get promoted this year, we are f*****’, to which Reynolds replied, ‘Yep, f***’.’

‘We’re heavily invested in building this club, the stadium itself, and if we don’t get promoted this year, the club is completely, totally and wholly unsustainable.

Advertisement
Wrexham's Hollywood owners Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds paid out £6.9m in wages during the club's promotion season

Wrexham’s Hollywood owners Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds paid out £6.9m in wages during the club’s promotion season 

Wrexham's latest accounts reveal the level of funding in their promotion season to the EFL

Wrexham’s latest accounts reveal the level of funding in their promotion season to the EFL

‘So its really ratcheted up the pressure, not just for us but for the players on the field, the people in the community. This year we have to get promoted.’

Advertisement

The co-owners desperation to secure promotion has been outlined in the club’s financial accounts for the year ending on June 30, 2023.

Wrexham made an overall loss of £5.1million during the National League season, representing a record in the division.

Advertisement

The figure surpassed the previous record loss of Stockport County of £4.8m in their promotion season in 2022, as well as representing a significant increase on the £2.9m loss Wrexham had made the same campaign.

A major increase in the club’s wage bill was a contributing factor with Wrexham paying out £6.9m for the financial year, representing £132,600-a-week.

Advertisement

The wage bill increased by nearly £2.9million from the previous season, where the club finished as runners-up to Stockport County and were beaten in the play-offs.

Turnover and revenue has increased dramatically since  Always Sunny In Philadelphia creator McElhenney and Deadpool actor Reynolds bought the club for £2million in February 2021.

Advertisement

Turnover increased from £5.972million to £10.478million in the year ending June 30 2023.

Wrexham were promoted as National League champions with a record points tally

Wrexham were promoted as National League champions with a record points tally

The club ended a 15-year exile from the Football League after securing promotion last season

The club ended a 15-year exile from the Football League after securing promotion last season

The club’s accounts outlined how Wrexham’s overseas fanbase has contributed to the increase in turnover.

Advertisement

Wrexham highlighted a ‘staggering’ increase in its Rest of the World turnover to £2.582m from £657,000 in the 2022 accounts, with UK turnover rising to £7.8million from £5.3million.

Club director Humphrey Ker wrote in the accounts that the club ‘await with interest to see how this ratio changes going forward.’

Advertisement

Wrexham’s retail operation enjoyed an increase from £3.430m from £1.304m in 2022, while sponsorship rose to £1.883m from £1.053m.

The club’s run to the FA Cup fourth round helped football revenue grow to £1.314m from £0.531m.

Advertisement

The League Two side said that their year-on-year income increases show the potential of the club, stating that this will ‘significantly increase again following promotion and the continued popularity of Welcome to Wrexham’

Wrexham noted that the club needed to be conscious of ensuring that when the Disney+ series comes to an end it can ‘manage the change effectively and still deliver our objectives based on the legacy that has been created.’

Advertisement

A third season of the show is planned for next month.

‘The amount owed to The RR McReynolds Company, LLC (owned by the two actors) at the year-end was £8.977million (2022: £3.714million),’ a statement from Wrexham said.

Advertisement
The Disney+ series Welcome to Wrexham has helped to increase their overseas fanbase

The Disney+ series Welcome to Wrexham has helped to increase their overseas fanbase

‘The financial losses suffered by the club since the takeover shouldn’t be repeated, with income generated by the club now sufficient to meet the operational costs of the club going forward.

‘These losses were deemed necessary to allow the club to maximise its full potential in the shortest time practically possible.

Advertisement

‘The club is under no immediate pressure to repay these loans at the expense of the progress we seek to achieve and further financial support will be provided/secured to support the capital expenditure projects the club is currently planning, which includes increasing the capacity of The Racecourse Ground and the development of a training facility for all the club’s teams.’

Wrexham are in contention to secure a second successive promotion with the club in the automatic promotion places in League Two with seven matches remaining this season.

Advertisement

The Red Dragons would be required to pay £207,500 to other clubs for the transfer of players should the club achieve promotion this season.

In addition, Wrexham could pay out £509,710 as part of player contracts and bonuses should they be seal a spot in League One.

Advertisement

Wrexham noted that further bonuses may be payable if they club is promotion to the Championship in the future.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

International

Russian missile and drone attacks damage power plants in central, west Ukraine

Published

on

Spread the love

Russian missile and drone attacks hit thermal and hydro power plants in central and western Ukraine, power grid operator Ukrenergo said on Friday, the latest assault on the already damaged power infrastructure.

Issued on: Modified:

Advertisement

1 min

Advertisement

“During the night, the Russians struck again at energy facilities in a massive and combined attack,” Ukrenergo said on the Telegram messaging app.

“Thermal and hydroelectric power plants in the central and western regions were damaged.”

Advertisement

Regional officials said Russian forces had attacked infrastructure in the Kamianske district near the city of Dnipro. At least one person was wounded, they added.

Ukrainian energy minister German Galushchenko also said power facilities in the regions of Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava and Cherkasy were attacked.

Advertisement

“Electricity generation facilities were targeted by drones and missiles,” Gelushchenko said on Facebook.

The Ukrainian military said its air forces had destroyed 58 Russia-launched attack drones overnight from a total of 60, along with 26 of 39 missiles.

Advertisement

“The enemy launched a powerful missile and air strike against the fuel and energy sector of Ukraine, using various types of missiles and attack drones,” the commander said.

Reuters could not independently verify the report.

Advertisement

Ukrainian television said explosions were heard in the regions of Ivano-Frankivsk and Khmelnytskyi as well as the city of Dnipro as Russian cruise missiles were spotted in Ukrainian air space.

The largest private power firm, DTEK, said its three thermal power plants were attacked.

Advertisement

“The equipment was severely damaged,” it said on Telegram. “After the attack ended, the power engineers promptly started to repair the damage.”

Ukrainian power distributor Yasno said this week that DTEK lost about half its capacity following Russian missile and drone attacks.

Advertisement

(REUTERS)

Advertisement
Continue Reading

International

Made you look! These bizarre images are certain to make you chuckle

Published

on

Spread the love

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

The internet is filled with funny and outlandish images that range from quirky memes to bizarre photos capturing unexpected moments of humour and absurdity. 

The Comedy Heaven subreddit community, dedicated to discovering and sharing photos of amusing images worldwide, has rallied up some of the greatest picks.

Advertisement

From questionable Amazon reviews to outlandish social media posts, this community acts as a repository for a diverse array of content.

Some of the best images have been collated into a gallery by Bored Panda, including some side-splitting jokes. 

Advertisement
This professor, believed to be from the US,  was eager to demonstrate a theorem by successfully fitting his fist into his mouth

This professor, believed to be from the US,  was eager to demonstrate a theorem by successfully fitting his fist into his mouth 

Who said romance was dead? One person, belived to be from the US, shared a picture of a sign on a lawn apologising to Andrea

Who said romance was dead? One person, belived to be from the US, shared a picture of a sign on a lawn apologising to Andrea

One showed a picture of a professor putting his hand in his mouth to explain a theorem, while another saw a man profess his love on the side of the road.

Others shared hilarious photoshopped Disney posters, while another was shared by a vet, showing the sweet card he got from a child saying ‘thank you for removing my cat’s testicles’.

Advertisement

Here, FEMAIL looks at the funniest and most outlandish posts shared on the forum. 

Almost 14,000 customers appreciated this honest review of leggings on Amazon written by Cory in the US

Almost 14,000 customers appreciated this honest review of leggings on Amazon written by Cory in the US

The Aldi checkouts are considered suitable only for the seasoned supermarket shopper, as one person shared a screenshot of a news article saying they were left 'crying and shaking' by the checkout speed at the German supermarket

The Aldi checkouts are considered suitable only for the seasoned supermarket shopper, as one person shared a screenshot of a news article saying they were left ‘crying and shaking’ by the checkout speed at the German supermarket 

Pinocchio: All he wants is human flesh... to turn into a real boy. One person shared this somewhat dark take on Pinocchio

Pinocchio: All he wants is human flesh… to turn into a real boy. One person shared this somewhat dark take on Pinocchio

A heartfelt thank you note to the vet for performing a purrfect operation on this child's cat, shared by a vet practice in Kigali, Rwanda

A heartfelt thank you note to the vet for performing a purrfect operation on this child’s cat, shared by a vet practice in Kigali, Rwanda 

Another man, from the US, did a 4am photoshoot with his chicken nugget

Another man, from the US, did a 4am photoshoot with his chicken nugget  

Unexpected visitor: Is it an alien or just a very unusual insect ringing the doorbell? The screenshot was shared from the US

Unexpected visitor: Is it an alien or just a very unusual insect ringing the doorbell? The screenshot was shared from the US

Gymnast Katherine Coronel of Venezuela performs her routine during the rhythmic gymnastics competition at the 20th Juegos Deportivos Centroamericanos y del Caribe in Cartagena in Colombia, looking momentarily headless

Gymnast Katherine Coronel of Venezuela performs her routine during the rhythmic gymnastics competition at the 20th Juegos Deportivos Centroamericanos y del Caribe in Cartagena in Colombia, looking momentarily headless

Oops! This child's homework probably left their teacher saying 'uck!'

Oops! This child’s homework probably left their teacher saying ‘uck!’ 

Advertisement
Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement
Continue Reading

International

African Union ‘warmly congratulates’ Senegal’s Faye on presidential election win

Published

on

Spread the love

The African Union on Friday congratulated anti-establishment opposition candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye on his victory in Senegal’s presidential election and hailed the “unanimous acceptance of the results”.

Issued on: Modified:

Advertisement

1 min

Advertisement

In a statement, African Union Commission President Moussa Faki Mahamat said he “warmly congratulates” Faye on the official declaration of his first-round win, while wishing him “full success in his weighty and noble charge”.

According to provisional results, Faye won the first round of the vote outright with 54.3 percent, far ahead of incumbent Macky Sall’s hand-picked candidate, former prime minister Amadou Ba.

Advertisement

Senegal’s Constitutional Court could declare Faye the official winner before the weekend, which would make a handover possible before April 2, the official end of Sall’s term.

Faye, 44, was only freed from prison 10 days before the election, along with his mentor Ousmane Sonko, who was barred from running following a criminal conviction he says was politically motivated.

Advertisement

(AFP)

Advertisement
Continue Reading

International

US government plans to unleash ‘hunters’ to KILL half a million owls in three US states to save its endangered cousin

Published

on

Spread the love

At least 500,0000 invasive barred owls’ lives are at stake for encroaching on the endangered California spotted owl’s territory.

Advertisement

The US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) plans to unleash ‘hunters’ in California, Oregon and Washington to kill about half a million nocturnal birds that are native to the eastern US. 

Under the proposal, hunters would broadcast barred owl territorial calls to attract owls and shoot on sight, but in areas where firearm use is inadvisable, the protocol would be to capture and euthanize the creature. 

Advertisement

However, the strategy to save one species has caused outrage among 75 groups that claim its actions could disrupt the wildlife and cause ‘mistaken-identity kills.’

The US Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed culling 500,000 barred owls who are encroaching on spotted owls' territory

The US Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed culling 500,000 barred owls who are encroaching on spotted owls’ territory

Spotted owls were added to the endangered species list in 1990 due to deforestation

Spotted owls were added to the endangered species list in 1990 due to deforestation

Owls have historically been protected from hunters, but the FWS claimed the barred owl has become an emerging threat to the spotted owl because they have a larger appetite, causing them to compete for the same prey.

Advertisement

The barred owl has also been known to kill the spotted owl, according to the FWS. 

The two owls look very similar, with both having rounded heads, brown and white-colored bodies, and black eyes and are only distinguished by their slight size difference and the colors of their beaks.

Advertisement

Spotted owls measure about 1.5 feet in length and have a wingspan up to four feet while barred owls are bigger, standing about two feet tall with a wingspan of up to four feet.

Barred owls started migrating to the forests of Washington, Oregon and Northern California from their native region in the northeastern US in the early 1900s due to climate change and deforestation.

Advertisement

In 1990, the spotted owl was added to the Endangered Species Act because of habitat loss, but now the migration of the barred owl over the past century has allegedly worsened the situation.

Organizations led by Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy penned a letter to Interior Secretary Deborah Haaland on Monday, accusing her of a ‘reckless’ plan to shoot down 500,000 barred owls over the next 30 years.

Advertisement
The spotted owl has become further endangered because the barred owl eats much of its food source

The spotted owl has become further endangered because the barred owl eats much of its food source

The FWS previously culled more than 2,000 barred owls but studies showed it didn't make a major difference to the spotted owl population

The FWS previously culled more than 2,000 barred owls but studies showed it didn’t make a major difference to the spotted owl population

Climate change has contributed to the animal’s adoptive behavior and migration pattern, the letter said, adding: ‘We cannot victimize animals for adapting to human perturbations of the environment.’

Issues first arose in the late 1980s and 1990s when environmentalists fought loggers who were trying to harvest timber in the Northwest forests – the conflict became known as the Timber Wars.

Advertisement

During this time, the spotted owl which lived in the old trees, started dwindling and led to protections for the bird and its habitat. 

Despite this, the FWS published its 264-page proposal in November, saying that culling the barred owls was essential to protecting the endangered spotted owl.

Advertisement

However, when asked why so many barred owls need to be culled and how many spotted owls they have killed, a FWS spokesperson directed Dailymail.com to a press release that said ‘barred owls have not substantially impacted California spotted owl populations to date.’

Instead, the release said that the purpose of culling so many owls is to eliminate their future expansion and range and reduce any populations that might become established in the years to come.

Advertisement

‘Competition from the invasive barred owl is a primary cause of the rapid and ongoing decline of northern spotted owl populations,’ the release said. 

‘Due to the rapidity of the decline, it is critical that we manage invasive barred owl populations to reduce their negative effect before northern spotted owls are extirpated from large portions of their native range,’ it added.

Advertisement

The FWS is currently reviewing the public’s input and is expected to make a final decision in the late spring or early summer. 

If approved, the FWS will be granted a permit for the Migratory Bird Treaty Act that will allow the barred owls to be hunted and killed. 

Advertisement

The FWS initiated a five-year experiment to cull 2,485 barred owls in spotted owl territories in the Pacific Northwest when the invasive birds first started appearing.

The experiment wasn’t wholly successful, according to the letter to Haaland, which said the results only showed a short-term reduction of the owls and ‘modest numerical gains for spotted owls.’

Advertisement

‘The disturbance created by the shooting alone would have adverse effects on a wide range of species, along with the direct, incidental killing that would inevitably result,’ the letter said, adding: ‘Night hunting of the animals is unimaginable and even more impractical.’ 

‘This is a case of the federal wildlife agency not seeing the forest from the trees.’

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Trending