Eco Holidays

posted by Catherine on May 2

It’s not just in the tropics that disease can spread and be debilitating!

The Northern Hemisphere has it’s ‘bug’ that can ruin your eco holidays, andit is found in woodlands all over the US and Europe.

It’s called Lyme’s Disease and is now classified as an emerging infectious disease as it is becoming more widespread over the past 10-20 years.  It is not yet as bad as some diseases, but if you have plans to go camping, trekking or hiking - then give this a quick ‘Heads Up’.

What Is Lyme Disease?
This is currently the most common tick-borne disease affecting humans north of the equator.

Ticks are the main vector, and having fed on an infected host like a woodland deer, they fall off onto the floor until they are hungry again.  They then sit and wait for the next warm body to come past to hop on for dinner!  That could be you.

Once on you, it will search for direct contact with the skin - bite through - and then start feeding.  This prolonged contact with your blood allows the infection to pass into your system.

Think you would pick it off before it bit you?  Well, no.  It is usually the nymph stage of the ticks life cycle that carries the disease, and they are a lot harder to see than the adults!  And - they have materials in their saliva that prevent you from feeling pain where they are feeding.

Therefore, making sure that you are well covered in clothing or natural tick repellent is a must.  Especially from May through September as this is when the nymph stages are most active.

What Are The Symptoms of Lyme Disease?
There are currently 3 distinct stages of Lyme Disease, but not all stages have symptoms and symptoms can vary immensely from person to person, so these are only a guide.

Stage 1: Local Infection.
Well, you may well get a large rash at the wound site within a few days or up to a month, looking a bit like a ‘bulls-eye’.  However, not all people get the rash and it is generally painless.

You could also experience flu-like symptoms, including headaches, tiredness, muscle soreness and a fever.  But you could get no noticeable symptoms at all at this stage.

Stage 2: Spreading Infection.
After the initial localised rash, the infection starts to spread around the body in the bloodstream and it is possible to get more rashes anywhere across the body.

Others include a purple lump appearing on the earlobe or other extremities, heart palpitations and muscle, joint and tendon pain.  If Stage 1 was left untreated, symptoms can be worse - and include meningitis and facial paralysis (Bell’s palsy).  Also shooting pains throughout the body and swelling on the brain have been noted as well as mood changes!

Stage 3: Late Persistent Infection.
This is usually only found in untreated patients - and is reason enough to prevent tick bites in the first place!

Many patients go on to develop severe (short term) or chronic (long-term) symptoms including many important organs: brain and heart, as well as nerves, eyes and joints - and can be disabling.  In severe cases it can even be fatal!

And Your Pets?
Dogs, cats, horses and even cattle can get Lyme Disease too from infected tick bites - although the symptoms and time scale are different.  It has even been identified in other small mammals.

How To Prevent Infection:
So, when you are planning a summer trip to the woods - make sure you have adequate protection for your skin - either with clothes or natural and organic repellent sprays.

May is actually Lyme Disease Awareness Month, to raise the profile of the problems surrounding this little known but growing infection.  Although it is not transmitted people-to-people, it is still important not to get infected in the first place, and to avoid the symptoms.

Don’t let this put you off having a great eco adventure in the forest - but just be aware that we have nasty little bugs too!

posted by Catherine on Apr 9

Would You Buy A Tiger Cub?

The trade in live animals and animal parts is one of the most active in the world - and only people like you can stop it by refusing to buy any animal parts or any live animals - and by reporting anything you see that is suspicious to the WWF

Live Animals:
Even if it is legal to import live animals into your home country - why would you do so?

They will no doubt be live caught (with parents and siblings often killed to collect them) and will have been badly handled and possibly smuggled in tiny spaces to you or your seller. The rates of survival on these journeys are very low, so for every animal that arrives, huge numbers could have died along the way.

As the animal is not endemic to your country, it may well need imported foods or specific diets and nutrients that you may be unaware of, equipment to maintain the correct humidity and temperature (which you might not even know yourself) and no doubt any illness or disease it has already got or may pick up from your end may not be treatable by a local vet as they have no experience or the veterinary equipment and medications to treat it.

And most obviously, if you brought one, then someone else might want one therefore creating or increasing the numbers caught and traded. You are perpetuating the cycle of death and destruction of species and habitat.

Stuffed Animals:
For the same reason - be wary of buying stuffed animals that are endangered species.

We all know that the rarer something becomes - the more it is worth, so by buying even a really old stuffed animal that has since become endangered you are letting that vendor know that there is a demand for whatever it was. It may well encourage him to find someone to supply him with another one……

Traditional Medicines:
There is no scientific proof that traditional medicines are effective against disease or can increase your fertility. It’s like your bank manager telling you how to make loads of money with shares and investments - when if he knew how to make loads of money - why is he still working in a bank rather than in a big mansion on a desert island?

However, most traditional medicines are made with animal parts - and many of these animals - like tigers - are endangered. There is no need for you to try any of these treatments as you are very likely encouraging illegal poaching and trapping.

And as with most ‘natural’ remedies that sound to good to be true - they probably are. Surely if there really was a part of an animal that really did prevent disease almost 100% of the time - do you not think that medicine would be available worldwide rather than in some tiny backstreet store outside of town??

Any Unidentified Animal Parts:
If you really want to do everything you can to avoid encouraging illegal wildlife poaching, then avoid buying anything made of or by any animal.

Just as the sale of leather from cows is a by-product of the beef and dairy industry, so the sale of teeth, bones and fur, feathers and quills can be the by-products of other trades.

It is a minefield out there, so you need to be quite broad with your shopping choices no matter how pretty or ‘amazing’ that souvenir is - because it would look a lot better if it was still alive!

And remember no matter how bad the trade is - if you buy it - they will make more. Just look at McDonalds!!!

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posted by Catherine on Apr 5

We continue on with more ‘not to buy’ souvenirs below - including endangered sealife and caviar.

Tortoiseshell Products:
Now, even I didn’t know that this ‘name’ was actually representing turtle shells!  I just used to think it was the name of the ‘print’ or ‘design’, but real tortoiseshell products are generally derived from marine turtle shells - mainly the Hawksbill turtle: critically endangered since 1973!

It was mainly found as accessories like sunglasses and hair clips, which were very common in tourist resorts, hotels and airports.  A man-made alternative was developed - but still buy with care - or not at all!  Unfortunately, unless they are clearly made of plastic such products should be avoided to be sure they are not affecting wild populations of turtles.

Seahorses:
These can be brought dried or alive - but obviously neither is recommended! 

Import and export of all seahorses is controlled by CITES under Appendix II, although Indonesis, Japan, Norway and South Korea have opted out of these trade rules!

Captive-bred seahorses are now becoming popular as wild caught specimens usually don’t live very long once captured.  This obviously lowers the threats to wild populations, but should be thoroughly checked before purchase to make sure of their true origins.

Corals:
The colors and shapes of corals have attracted buyers for years, although obviously has been taking it’s toll on marine environments.

Corals are very slow-growing and damage to a reef can take decades to recover - that is why diving guidelines have been changing to help prevent further damage.

Islands like the Maldives have ‘coral sand’ which is made up of dead and eroded coral and sometimes contains large chunks or material - however this coral is what makes the beach!  If coral offshore is destroyed for sale and large pieces of dead coral are collected from the beaches - there will be nothing left to protect the islands from eroding away!

Coral reefs are extremely diverse marine ecosystems - home to a whole host of exotic marine fish that can suvive nowhere else - so destrying their home will be destroying their chances of survival.

Seashells:
Mainly for the same reason as above - the discarded sea shells make up the beaches in most tropical destinations, helping to create the ’sandy’ beaches and protect the land.

Depending on the shell type it is also possible that the live creature was captured and killed to alow the shell to be cleaned and polished for tourists to buy - not a good thing!

Also, many shells are used as homes for hermit crabs, and the more shells we take of of beaches, means that competition for new homes becomes fierce and ‘homeless’ crabs will be unprotected and likely prey.

Caviar:
A more unusual problem as it is not to everyones taste, but never-the-less sturgeon populations are in dramatic decline due to over-fishing and illegal fishing activities.

Since 1995, one species of sturgeon in Europe has been reduced by 40%, and around 12 tonnes of illegal caviar were seized in the European Union alone.  Governing bodies are working with CITES to create a labelling system to identify legal caviar.

Things aren’t always so easy to identify, so just think twice about your purchase.

Join us for Part 3 next - which covers live animals and animal parts…..

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posted by Catherine on Apr 1

Should you buy anything ‘animal’ when on holiday?

As with all retail, there is a certain aspect of personal choice, but if you want to make sure that your holiday souvenirs don’t end up destroying local habitats or result in the deaths of endangered species - then you need to shop a lot more carefully!

It’s no good saying that you won’t buy anything that says it is an endangered species - because lets be honest, 1) would anyone really boast about it being illegal, or 2) could you tell if that bone was from a threatened rhino or a pet goat anyway?

Why Not Just One……
And as with all products of any type - it will only be made again if people are buying it.

If a bar of chocolate was made that tasted awful and didn’t sell - you can almost guarantee that no-one will be making anymore of it - ever. And it is the same with any product: if it doesn’t sell - they won’t make any more.

So, there is no good argument anymore for saying ‘well the elephant is already dead, so I may as well buy it rather than let it go to waste’ - because if a business owner just managed to sell a whole shop load of elephant ivory - he will think he can sell another one - so bang: there goes another dead elephant!

Shop owners can also lie about the origin of their items making you believe that the endangered monkey species is just the flesh of a common species or a local pest, or that the exquisite jewelry is from a sustainable source not a threatened species of turtle who’s numbers are dwindling!

The Main Culprits:
There are 12 headings below and in further articles - containing the generally agreed items that you should avoid buying abroad, and they include:

Ebony & Other Hardwoods:
No matter how beautiful that wood-carving is - it could be from a protected species. Not only will the seller have to go out and chop down another tree to replace your purchase, it is also possible that your ‘gift’ wil be confiscated on return to your home country as well. A wasted effort all round!

And it’s not just the trees that suffer. By felling woodlands in any area, you could be affecting all the wildlife and local communties that rely on it. Degradation of the area can also lead to gradual habitat loss as the soil is eroded or exposed - permanently affecting the whole area.

Ivory:
Anything made of ivory has virtually always come from a protected animal - usually just killed for that one reason. Although there are large amounts of ‘legal’ ivory available, you will almost certainly be offered the illegal kind as a tourist. And why even buy it when you know that 1) it is from a endangered species, and 2) that you could be causing a continuation of the illegal trade as a result of your consumer demand.

Reptile Skins:
These are very hard to distinguish from each other and so you need to not buy any to be sure. Why would the seller travel miles to kill a common lizard to make into a belt, when the endangered species he lives next door to looks exactly the same once it has been treated?

He wouldn’t, so don’t trust his sources or labelling. Between 2000 and 2004 in the UK over 800 illegal wildlife items were caught entering the country - most were from crocodiles and alligators. There are currently 37 species of threatened or endangered reptiles just in the US alone - so even in developed countries there are risks!

Big Cat Skins:
Need I explain this one?

Yes they look fantastic - and that’s why we love wildlife - but please leave the skin on the animal rather than on your floor or worse still - in a storage box as you changed your mind about the decor!

Come back for Part 2 - For objects that should be in the oceans not in your jewelry box!

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