In the complex universe of COVID-19 and other zoonotic diseases (those that can jump from animals to humans and back), key questions remain largely unaddressed, including what role fur farming for the fashion industry plays in the spread of highly transmissible zoonotic diseases, and how the industry should be managed to minimize risk. Zoonoses are […]
Tag: illegal wildlife trade
Weak controls fuel surge in wildlife trafficking by air across Latin America
Brazilian authorities point to Russian biologist Kyrill Kravchenko as an international wildlife trafficker. They had been monitoring him since 2017, after he was arrested in the Netherlands with rare wildlife from Brazil in his possession. In mid-January this year, as he tried to board a plane to Russia at São Paulo’s international airport, they intercepted […]
Taskforce to tackle piracy, abductions and wildlife trafficking at sea to be launched
A new taskforce focused on taking down piracy, abductions and wildlife trafficking on sea is set to be launched later this year in the sub- region between Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. The program, dubbed Tripod, will focus on the shared territory around the Sulu and Celebes Seas to develop cross- border regional collaboration and […]
UK government seeks to extend protection of ivory-bearing animals
Hippos, walruses and killer whales could receive greater legal protection under government proposals to extend the ban on ivory poaching. The plans would see the Ivory Act broadened to cover more animals, with ministers saying elephants are not the only species at risk. The proposed protections opened for public consultation on Saturday, and the Department […]
The Great Cover-Up: Substitute Species in Illegal Wildlife Trade
With a yearly value estimated between $7 and $23 billion, the illegal wildlife trade is a lucrative business that can quickly decimate targeted wildlife species. When trade regulations are strengthened for a particular wildlife product while the demand for that product remains high, traffickers are never short on stratagems to defy authorities and circumvent laws […]
We Talked to Vietnam’s ‘Pangolin Protector’ About the World’s Most Trafficked Animal
As an eight-year-old growing up in rural Vietnam, Thai Van Nguyen saw something he would never forget: poachers separating a baby pangolin from its mother. “In front of me, I saw the hunters catch and cut open some pangolins in our village,” Nguyen told VICE World News. “It was really sad when I saw one […]
Irrigation dams threaten Thailand’s tiger forests, say conservationists
CHIANG MAI, Thailand — A plan to construct seven dams in one of mainland Southeast Asia’s last intact forest systems could cause widespread habitat loss and sever important wildlife corridors, activists warn. The Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai (DPKY) Forest Complex is a vast and biodiverse region that spans six provinces in eastern Thailand. It was declared […]
Chinese special economic zones hotspots for wildlife trafficking, surveys say
SINGAPORE — Special economic zones set up to promote trade between China and its Southeast Asian neighbors are facilitating a black-market trade in wildlife products, according to watchdog group TRAFFIC. Tens of thousands of prohibited wildlife parts and products are being sold across open and unregulated markets in five Southeast Asian countries, with a significant […]