Big cats, birds, primates and pangolins were among the nearly 20,000 threatened or protected animals rescued in a recent global operation against wildlife and forestry traffickers. Led by Interpol and the World Customs Organization (WCO), the campaign, called Operation Thunder 2024, involved police, customs, border patrol, forestry and wildlife officials from 138 countries and regions. […]
Tag: traditional medicine
Report reveals staggering levels of wildlife trafficking in Hispanic America
From the glacial fjords of Chilean Patagonia to the beaches and mountains of Baja California, Hispanic America, representing Spanish-speaking countries in South and Central America and the Caribbean, is a biodiversity treasure trove. These include colorful macaws, showy iguanas, gaudy poison frogs and charismatic cats — animals so beautiful that people want to own them […]
Tonkin sub-nosed monkeys were found in only two places on Earth. Now it’s one
Conservationists searching for Vietnam‘s critically endangered Tonkin snub-nosed monkey, one of the world’s most threatened primates, have found no sign of the species in one of the two forest patches where it was thought to remain. This is cause for “great concern,” say conservationists from Fauna & Flora’s Vietnam program in a recent paper in […]
Vulture poisonings in the Serengeti alarm conservationists
In July this year, conservationists from North Carolina Zoo in the U.S. and the Grumeti Fund in Tanzania went searching for a white-backed vulture in Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park that had been tagged a few weeks earlier. Tracking data suggested the bird had died. The team traveled off-road to the southwestern edge of the park, […]
U.S. Proposes Listing Giraffes Under the Endangered Species Act for the First Time
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has proposed that giraffes be listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) for the first time. The agency hopes listing the iconic tallest mammal on Earth will crack down on poaching, as the U.S. is one of the largest destinations of items such as rugs, boots […]
South African tiger farms illegally smuggling body parts, says charity
The largest tiger farms outside Asia are operating freely in South Africa, facilitating the illegal smuggling of tiger body parts, according to a report by an animal welfare charity. Research by Four Paws, which is campaigning to shut down South Africa’s big cat industry, found 103 places in the country where tigers were kept in […]
China’s plans to trace wildlife trade risks inflaming trafficking, critics warn
Chinese authorities are considering changes to wildlife trade regulations that govern the live trade in 18 parrot and reptile species, several of which are gravely threatened by poaching and illegal trade. The proposals involve the implementation of a “special marking system” of ID tags on bird leg rings or microchips inserted in reptiles to enable […]
Scientists Implant Radioactive Material into Horn of Living Rhinoceros to Poison Anyone Who Consumes it.
Warning Horn In an effort to make them useless to poachers, researchers are implanting radioactive isotopes into the horns of rhinos in South Africa. The unusual material would “render the horn useless… essentially poisonous for human consumption,” James Larkin, professor and dean of science at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, told Agence France-Presse. […]