JAKARTA — Researchers in Indonesia have harnessed the power of big data to monitor the flourishing online trade in songbirds, proposing it as a critical conservation tool in the absence of any other platform to crack down on trafficking. The researchers, from the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), developed their “Support Vector Machine,” or […]
Tag: traffickers
Pangolin Rescued From Poachers Enjoys A Fun Day In The Water
We sometimes hear about dogs or cats getting rescued, but this is perhaps the first time that we talked about a pangolin getting rescued. As it turns out, it happened to Dithlong (Ditsi) the pangolin and she is now enjoying life at the Manyoni Private Game Reserve in South Africa. When rescuers first found Ditsi, […]
Petition: Urge Facebook to Enforce Policies to End Wildlife Trafficking
Despite Facebook’s promises to fight the illegal wildlife trafficking industry, it persists and continues to profit from the imprisonment and neglect of helpless animals. A recent report by Avaaz claims that Facebook remains a popular platform for cruel animal traffickers. The researchers found that Facebook’s algorithms “help criminals grow their business.” It should not be […]
Uganda fails to enforce laws against wildlife crime by allowing bailed Ivory traffickers to disappear
Authorities in Uganda intercepted a shipment of roughly 4 tons of elephant ivory and pangolin scales from the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo on its way to the city, Kampala, in January 2019. What has happened in the three years since then reveals flaws in the country’s enforcement of wildlife-crime legislation. The Uganda Revenue Authority […]
Wildlife trade hub Vietnam is also hub of impunity for traffickers, report says
Only 14% of wildlife seizures made in Vietnam in the past decade have resulted in convictions, according to a new report that highlights the weak enforcement in the country and lack of coordination between its agencies in following up on investigations. The report, published by the U.K.-based Environmental Investigation Agency, revealed that of at least […]
Outgunned by militants, rangers fear for chimpanzees in southwest Mali
Forestry officer Karim Kamisoko is not at his post. Instead of patrolling Bafing Faunal Reserve in southwestern Mali, he and his fellow rangers are 70 kilometers (43 miles) away, taking shelter from Islamist militants who have seized control of much of this part of southwestern Mali. Bafing Faunal Reserve covers 176,000 hectares (435,000 acres), its […]
Bear Cub ‘Wonder’ Rescued From Illegal Traffickers
Recently, our Vietnam sanctuary team was contacted by a police officer in the Dien Bien border region of North Vietnam. They had confiscated a bear cub from an illegal wildlife trafficker and asked us to come and rescue them. The police had been tipped off by Education For Nature Vietnam (ENV) who had been monitoring […]
Eight men convicted in French court for trafficking rhino horn and ivory
A French court has convicted eight men including members of an Irish crime gang for trafficking rhino horn and ivory between Europe and east Asia. Four men – three Irish and one English – said to be members of the Rathkeale Rovers gang were given prison terms, though two were spared jail as the sentences […]