The ongoing slaughter of Africa’s elephants is at record levels. The situation has gotten out of hand in many countries, especially those lacking the resources to fight the increase in demand for ivory from the Far East. With wildlife authorities struggling to save the remaining tuskers, there has been little attention paid to the other… […]
Tag: poachers
Smuggler who illegally traded 500 chimps gets one year in prison
Wildlife smuggler, Ousame Diallo, who has admitted to illegally trafficking 500 endangered chimpanzees out of the Republic of Guinea, was sentenced to a year in prison in the West African country reports WWF. The arrest and charge was supported by INTERPOL and to anti-wildlife trafficking local group, GALF. “This time the result is excellent, we […]
How YouTube has put the world’s only poisonous primates at risk
It all started with a video: in 2009 a Russian man uploaded a video of himself tickling his exotic pet (a pygmy slow loris) from Vietnam onto the hugely popular site YouTube. Since then the video has been viewed over half a million times. But a new study in the open source journal in PLoS […]
Massive Bird Slaughter Around the Mediterranean – Shocking Photos
Each year, millions of songbirds are killed for food, for profit or just for the joy of shooting something, as they move from their winter grounds in Africa to their summer breeding territories in Europe. In Egypt, hundreds of miles of nets cover the entire coastline, catching almost every bird that makes its way to […]
Vanishing species makes astounding comeback
The reemergence of the endangered Huemul deer (Hippocamelus bisulcus) marks a momentous achievement by local governments and conservationists worldwide. From the brink of extinction—with populations decimated to one percent of what they previously were—the Huemul populations have not only stabilized but are steadily increasing, according to a new study in Oryx. A naturally docile and […]
Russia sets tougher penalties for trafficking endangered animals
Russia’s State Duma has approved legislative amendments that mean tougher punishments for poaching and trafficking of rare species will come into force. The draft law was submitted by President Putin in March 2013 following a meeting with WWF Russia CEO, Dr. Igor Chestin in August 2012. It means anyone found smuggling “endangered species” can be […]
Demand for ivory destabilising central Africa
The massacre of elephants has gone beyond being a problem for animal rights activists. It now concerns international institutions and governments at the highest level because it is perceived as a threat to political and economic stability in central Africa. Last month, the matter drew the attention of the African Development Bank in Marrakech, at […]
Illegal wildlife trade flourishes in Sumatra
In a chilly rain on Sunday, in a town just a few kilometers beyond the edge of a protected Sumatran rainforest, a young orangutan sat perched on a piece of plywood and grabbed the metal wires of his tiny cage. He has sat in that cage for six months and, like dozens of other species […]