A 5.7 magnitude earthquake with an epicenter in Puebla set off the earthquake alarm in Mexico City shortly after 2 p.m The National Seismological Service (SSN) said on X that the quake struck at 2:03 p.m and had its epicenter 16 kilometers west of Chiautla de Tapia The SSN initially reported a slightly stronger 5.8 magnitude quake The earthquake alarm in Mexico City went off just a few seconds before the temblor, the El Financiero newspaper reported Photos showed workers and other residents gathered on the streets of the capital Puebla Governor Sergio Salomón Cespedes said on X that authorities in close to 20 municipalities in Puebla reported feeling the quake there is no report of damage,” he added ▶️ Tronó la tierra: así se oyó en Morelos el estruendo por el #Temblor con epicentro en #Puebla #AlertaSismica pic.twitter.com/a6w7DV1WYe — Milenio (@Milenio) December 7, 2023 President López Obrador published a video to social media in which he is speaking to national Civil Protection chief Laura Velázquez She also said that no damage had been reported who reiterated that no damage or loss of human life had been reported in Puebla Earthquakes in Mexico more commonly have their epicenters near the Pacific coast However, the epicenter of the devastating Sept. 19, 2017 temblor was also in Puebla ADVERTISE WITH MND COMMUNITY GUIDELINES Subscription FAQ's Privacy Policy Mexico News Daily - Property of Tavana LLC This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page We encourage you to republish Dialogue Earth articles, online or in print, under the Creative Commons license. Please read our republishing guidelines to get started A hunter in the Cristo Rey Chiautla de Tapia management unit for the conservation of wildlife The system of UMAs has created controlled hunting programmes that have in cases helped certain endangered wildlife populations to recover (Image: Alejandro González Reina) Patricio Robles Gil and his family travelled from Mexico to Tanzania where he shot an elephant and claimed its tusks as trophies He recalls tracking the animal’s footprints for hours before even seeing it “Imagine the excitement this process can cause for a 16-year-old,” he says It was a life-changing experience for Robles Gil who today shoots wildlife only with his camera His transformation from hunter to conservationist photographer and artist has given him a unique perspective on polarising debates around hunting With wildlife populations the world over experiencing an unprecedented decline as a result of various human activities, in what some ecologists have called a “biological annihilation” these debates have grown increasingly heated particularly around one question: is it valid to kill for conservation Legal hunting can be divided into three categories: subsistence hunting for personal consumption, commercial hunting for the sale of animal products, and recreational hunting, in which hunters pursue and kill animals primarily for leisure and enjoyment. Proponents of recreational trophy hunting say it can create jobs benefit local communities and conserve nature But critics point to the challenges of regulating the activity or raise ethical concerns about what it means to sacrifice an animal purely for entertainment He says hunting was key to the success of our species and that the hunters of the past helped to conserve large areas and many species worldwide arguing that their fondness for hunting tigers had But his views of modern practices are more nuanced While he has spoken out against unsustainable hunting of endangered species This idea may seem contradictory, but the underlying logic is simple in theory, explains Adam Hart, a zoologist and co-author of the book Trophy Hunting “People who hunt pay for the privilege of hunting and that money goes into managing the area and providing incentives to maintain wildlife,” he tells Dialogue Earth Hart’s co-author Nikolaj Bichel highlighted that researchers have documented the success of this approach in conserving species such as polar bears in Canada rhinos in South Africa and markhor goats in Pakistan Robles Gil mentions the emblematic example of Mexico’s bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis). Across North America, the population of this species plummeted from around 1 million in 1800 to fewer than 25,000 by 1950, but has since recovered to between 60,000 and 80,000 individuals, according to a 2019 report by the Mexican CITES Scientific Authority bighorn sheep were extirpated from large areas of the country in the 20th century due to habitat loss together with intensive breeding and reintroduction programmes has reportedly enabled the species to recover from local extinction since the beginning of authorised trophy hunting with the state of Sonora the prime example: between 2006 and 2016 its wild population reportedly increased by 40% with an additional 2,500 sheep in captive breeding facilities Hunters will pay between USD 35,000 and USD 65,000 to hunt and kill a bighorn sheep director of wildlife management consultancy Aljure Consultores tells Dialogue Earth He says that when landholders realise how much the animals are worth they will take care of them and register with the government so that people can hunt them The Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources regulates and monitors how UMAs sell hunting permits to the hunters using their land The community-managed Santa Cruz Achichipilco UMA in the central state of Puebla offers a successful example. According to research published in 2015 hunting of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus mexicanus) and other species in the UMA generated income of USD 20,000 to USD 30,000 during each year’s three-month hunting season The controlled use of hunting resources was said to have led to both environmental and social benefits: the population of white-tailed deer increased and their habitat improved thanks to sustainable management efforts; economically and the area received direct income; and socially and local residents were trained in managing the UMA In the south-eastern state of Campeche, controlled, seasonal hunting in UMAs has reportedly benefitted ocellated turkeys (Meleagris ocellata) a species whose numbers had declined significantly because of habitat loss and overexploitation president of Bio Animal Wild International tells Dialogue Earth that populations of these birds recovered because hunting generated an entire economy and gave immigrant Mennonite communities an alternative to clearing forested land for agriculture that encouraged conservation Do these cases represent a triumph for conservation Nikolaj Bichel says that critics might say that regulated hunting “has led to wildlife management that overly favours hunters and the species hunted rather than the overall health of ecosystems Despite positive accounts of recreational hunting While hunting appears to have benefited populations of bighorn sheep in Mexico, research in Canada has revealed a curious side effect. A 30-year study of a wild population showed that hunting had contributed to a decline in body weight and horn size of male bighorn sheep because hunters targeted those with larger horns the animals with genes for slower horn growth were more likely to survive and reproduce altering the population’s traits over time In Mexico, hunting has also been linked to negative impacts on the social structures of white-lipped peccaries (Tayassu pecari) in Calakmul with the animals observed as living in smaller-sized groups that may make them more vulnerable to predation – a change directly linked to hunting pressure in the area researchers have warned that some UMAs have tried to diversify their offer to hunters by introducing exotic species which have potential to harm local ecosystems Another challenge highlighted by researchers is the narrow focus of many UMAs on hunting which leaves them vulnerable to fluctuations in the hunting market and means they miss opportunities to adopt more sustainable activities such as ecotourism Experts also told Dialogue Earth that the complexity of ecosystems and the lack of professionals trained in integrated wildlife management make it challenging for UMAs to implement adequate management plans the two main challenges are ensuring that revenues generated from hunting reach local communities and that there is adequate regulation and surveillance by the authorities “Everyone talks about conservation,” he says but there is no economic benefit… the community has to eat The main thing is to generate economic income for the community Experts also told Dialogue Earth how weak regulation and oversight can lead to illegal practices such as hunting of females Corruption and a lack of transparency in managing UMAs can also lead to overexploitation of wildlife and habitat degradation But according to Arturo Berlanga, director of animal rights organisation AnimaNaturalis México regulatory controls are practically impossible to enforce He points out that the Directorate-General of Wildlife an agency under the environment secretariat oversees more than 11,000 UMAs and small or medium enterprises Each UMA must submit an environmental and wildlife management plan annually report animal deaths with a veterinary medical certificate and also report the sale or reproduction of animals “Does the government have the capacity to verify this?” Berlanga asks Beyond the challenges of implementing public policy there are also ethical concerns about hunting in which hunters retain parts of the animal – such as deer antlers or the horns of bighorn sheep – as symbols of their triumph a 43-year-old who hunts with his father and sons says he treasures every moment with the trophies he keeps at his home in Puebla He sees hunting as a way to contribute to conservation but as a way to encounter and appreciate nature with friends and family But a look at almost any social media account where hunters exhibit their trophies can reveal solid public opposition. Researchers have also suggested this to be especially true in the case of wealthy hunters who pursue large mammals such as lions and elephants anthropocentric and chauvinistic discourse president of the Mexican Committee of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) “bad hunters” and “happy triggers” should be opposed but he acknowledges the potential of well-managed hunting to support conservation efforts creating a balance between human needs and ecological preservation In an interview for EarthxTV Mexican hunter Oscar Garzón said he would tell anyone who criticised him for killing an animal that he is “taking advantage of everything from the skin and the meat… everything if the studies and the authorities tell you that the ranch can take advantage of five animals this way of thinking is a result from Mexico’s General Wildlife Law and obsolete” for prioritising the exploitation and commercialisation of animals over their conservation and welfare He argues that this law allows wild animals to be treated “as mere objects rather than living beings with rights” Berlanga cites the 2012 Cambridge Declaration in which neuroscientists concluded that mammals birds and other animals have the same neurological substrates needed to generate consciousness as humans do The word “respect” emerges in his argument against hunting He asks of hunters: “Who are you to deprive the life of another living being?” Zoologist Adam Hart says some people would rather see species go extinct than be hunted “If you are ethically against the killing of animals including hunting as part of conservation tools Patricio Robles Gil agrees: “Animal lovers will never understand hunters And hunters will never understand animal lovers.” It was more than 50 years ago that Robles Gil ivory poaching and elephant conservation were not such prominent public issues and he says he does not regret taking part in the hunt “It was a moment in my life that contributed to a series of things He describes entering a “gradual process” in which he decided to exchange his rifle for a camera so that he could promote the conservation of nature through images he published his first book of wildlife photography he had founded two conservation organisations in Mexico encouraging private companies to buy land and secure it in perpetuity for wildlife The highlight of his career as a nature photographer came on the banks of the Cuiabá and Piquiri rivers He arrived there in 2010 after trying for 40 years to see a wild jaguar In his head echoed the words of his admired older brother who had told him: “If you want to be a man Robles Gil had 180 encounters with 40 different jaguars and captured some of the most beautiful and significant images of this species in the wild Iván Carrillo is a science journalist and documentary filmmaker based in Mexico He was a Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT an explorer for the National Geographic Society and part of the Earth Journalism Network 2024 Reporting Fellowship He has produced documentary series such as 1.5 Degrees to Save the Planet (Televisa-Univision) and the feature film Last Call: Six Species Against Extinction Select from our bespoke newsletters for news best suited to you We’ve sent you an email with a confirmation link 我们向您的邮箱发送了一封确认邮件，请点击邮件中的确认链接。如果您未收到该邮件，请查看垃圾邮件。 If you would like more information about the terms of our republication policy or permission to use content, please write to us: [email protected] We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. 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