Paperation Dumbo Drop

As we’re all probably aware, cow dung is more than just waste; users ranging from subsistence farmers and multinational energy companies to myriad South Asian grandparents can all come together under the bovine manure banner.

But a Sri Lanka-based company has its eyes on an even bigger prize: Eco Maximus traffics in paper made from elephant dung.

Elephant habitats and agricultural development overlap discordantly in Sri Lanka; the problem comes to an awful head when desperate farmers kill the animals in order to shield their crops from damage. The company aims to change farmers’ perception of the elephants from threats to worthwhile assets through cultivating the market for paper products created from pachydermal, er, output.

I love the idea, because I look at it this way—recycling is great, but recycling plus scatalogical jokes is even better. Moreover, when elephants are protected, that leads to more baby elephants. Baby elephants inarguably number among the best things ever, so everyone wins. Especially yours truly Planet Earth.

More:
A more elaborate Eco Maximus raison d’etre
Elephant dung paper featured in an article spotlighting eco-chic products
Baby elephants being adorable, as usual

Egg-ceptional Easter

Happy Easter!

The Kerala chapter of PETA India is ringing in Easter a different way this year. The group is interested in seeing eggs banned in the southern state and has been protesting publicly.

“We are showing that eggs signify life and that we should not be eating eggs because chickens also feel the pain,” activist Roshini D’Silva, told the press.

In Thiruvananthapuram, a human-sized chick (not what you’re thinking) burst out of an egg earlier this week and began handing out leaflets. PETA members spoke in front of the Secretariat building, distributing pamphlets that read:

Kerala’s first Christian community settled in India in the year 52 AD, when St. Thomas docked in the Port of Kodungallur near modern-day Kochi.

Access this link for a brief history on eggs and the Easter holiday.

More:
PETA India
PETA site for “Veg Kids”
On Easter

Forcing Turtles Out of Their Shells

Image: Zoological Society of London

About $23,600 worth of rare Indian freshwater turtles were seized in Uttar Pradesh earlier today.

Turtle meat is routinely sold on the black market as a specialty aphrodisiac.

“Preliminary investigations suggest that a large chunk of the contraband finds its way to Southeast Asian countries, where turtle meat is converted into crunchy chips for convenient consumption,” explains Ram Kumar, a UP-police chief.

India has 28 species of tortoises and freshwater turtles “making it one of the most diverse chelonian faunas in the world (source).”
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