Big cat bill
Efforts to curb private ownership of big cats, such as lions and tigers, have increased following the hit Netflix series Tiger King. The Big Cat Public Safety Act, a bill revising the requirements governing the trade of big cats in the USA, passed by unanimous consent in the Senate. It was signed into law by President Joe Biden in December 2022.
Below the radar
A preliminary investigation suggests that UK earthworm populations are shrinking. Studies on population trends in this ecologically important group are sparse, but after collating the little data that has been collected over the past century, the British Trust for Ornithology found evidence of significant declines in abundance and have called for better monitoring.