By now, almost everyone knows that many rhinoceros species around the world are threatened with extinction because of commercial overexploitation for their horns, which are sold on the black market. Likewise, all pangolin species have been pushed to the brink of extinction, particularly by hunting for their meat and scales. Unsustainable exploitation is the greatest […]
Tag: traditional medicine
China Just Reversed a Ban on Using Tiger Bones and Rhino Horns
Conservationists are expressing extreme concern and disappointment over a controversial announcement from China’s government that it will be reversing a ban on the use of tiger bones and rhino horns in research and traditional medicine. According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), China has had a ban on the use of tiger bones and rhino […]
Shocking Investigation Exposes the Black Market for Jaguars
Jaguars in South America are already facing a number of threats to their survival, but poaching as one of them has largely gone under the radar until now. An undercover investigation conducted by World Animal Protection in Suriname has offered a more disturbing glimpse into how these trafficking operations work, and what’s happening to jaguars […]
Suspected rhino poachers eaten by lions at South African reserve
At least two rhino poachers were eaten by lions on a South African game farm, according to the reserve’s owner. A ranger taking guests on a safari drive at the Sibuya game reserve in the Eastern Cape on Tuesday afternoon discovered human remains near a pride of lions. “We suspect two were killed, possibly three,” […]
Chinese man caught smuggling five rhino horns is jailed by Dutch court
A Dutch court has sentenced a Chinese man to a year in jail for smuggling five rhino horns and four other horn objects worth about €500,000 ($613,000) in his luggage. The man was caught by customs officials at Schiphol airport in December as he traveled through Amsterdam on his way from South Africa to the […]
Jaguars killed for fangs to supply growing Chinese medicine trade
Conservationists who have uncovered a growing illegal trade in jaguar fangs in South America are linking it to Chinese construction projects that could be threatening wildlife globally. Experts say major Chinese power plant, road and rail works in developing nations are key stimulants of illicit trade in the skins, bones and horns of endangered animals. […]
Karma? Lions Eat Suspected Poacher in South Africa
A year ago, three male lions were killed not far from Kruger National Park in South Africa. Poachers poisoned them, then cut off and took their heads and paws. Last week a pride of lions in the nearby Umbabat Private Nature Reserve mauled to death and then devoured most of a man who was illegally […]
Asian Elephants Are Now Being Killed for Their Skin
The smell was ghastly and the sight even worse. Twenty-five elephants lay dead in a riverbed in the Ayeyawady (Irrawaddy) delta in southwestern Myanmar. “The stench is what led villagers to the bodies in the first place,” says Aung Myo Chit, the Smithsonian Institution’s Myanmar country coordinator, who also leads a local NGO, Growth for […]