GREAT FALLS, Mont. – On Friday, the U.S. District Court in Montana struck down the basis for the Trump administration’s massive oil and gas leasing plans on more than a million acres of public lands in key habitat for sage-grouse, an iconic bird species of the Western United States. The Trump administration attempted to gut […]
Hunters kill migrating birds on their 10,000km journey to Australia
IT IS LOW TIDE at the end of the wet season in Broome, Western Australia. Shorebirds feeding voraciously on worms and clams suddenly get restless. Chattering loudly they take flight, circling up over Roebuck Bay then heading off for their northern breeding grounds more than 10,000 km away. I marvel at the epic journey ahead, […]
Vietnam wildlife trade ban appears to flounder amid coronavirus success
HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam – Conservation organizations in Vietnam sent a letter to the Prime Minister last week asking for an update on planned measures to curtail the trade and consumption of wildlife. In March, responding to the novel coronavirus pandemic, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc directed the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development […]
Trophy hunters making thousands offering blood-thirsty tours to kill elephants, lions and rhinos
The British businessmen helping to organise bloodthirsty trophy hunts in South Africa have been unmasked in a new book. Trophy Hunters Exposed, Inside the Big Game Industry describes how the men arrange for clients to shoot animals including elephants, lions, and rhinos. The book was authored by Eduardo Goncalves, founder of the Campaign To Ban […]
Tigers threatened by a vast network of planned roads across Asia
The Bukit Tigapuluh landscape in Indonesia has been sliced and diced by roads, opening its forests to threats from the outside. As forest vanishes in the region, so too does its population of endangered Sumatran tigers. A rapidly expanding road network in Asia threatens to usher in similar problems for tigers (Panthera tigris) elsewhere in […]
Namibia culls elephants to ‘protect crops and farmers’
Ten elephants have been shot by wildlife authorities in Namibia as part of a cull after the animals moved into farming areas, destroying crops during harvest season. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism said the elephants were culled as they endangered human lives and were marked as dangerous. Romeo Muyunda added […]
Trump Administration Finalizes Extreme Predator Hunting Rules in Alaska National Preserves
The Trump administration announced today that it will finalize new regulations that roll back protections against extreme methods of killing predators and other wildlife in Alaska national preserves. National preserves are managed by the National Park Service (NPS) like national parks, except hunting and fishing are permitted. NPS’s new regulations for sport hunting and trapping […]
A new sanctuary for the Sumatran rhino is delayed amid COVID-19 measures
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia — A much-anticipated plan to establish a new rhino-breeding sanctuary in northern Sumatra is one of many that has been put on hold in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The proposed facility is atop priority for Indonesia’s conservation plan to rescue the world’s last remaining Sumatran rhinos (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) through a […]
