LUBUMBASHI Democratic Republic of Congo Three chimpanzees have been kidnapped and are being held for ransom after intruders broke into a primate sanctuary in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Franck Chantereau, founder of the J.A.C.K. Primate Rehabilitation Centre, says the kidnappers got into the 7-hectare (17-acre) facility in the southern city of Lubumbashi at around 3 […]
Tag: trafficking
Big data monitoring tool aims to catch up to Indonesia’s booming online bird trade
JAKARTA — Researchers in Indonesia have harnessed the power of big data to monitor the flourishing online trade in songbirds, proposing it as a critical conservation tool in the absence of any other platform to crack down on trafficking. The researchers, from the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), developed their “Support Vector Machine,” or […]
Venezuelan Amazon deforestation expands due to lawlessness, mining, fires: Reports
More than 140,000 hectares (346,000 acres) of primary forest in the Venezuelan Amazon were lost between 2016 and 2020, deforestation that was driven by illegal mining, agricultural expansion, and fires. This is according to a report generated using extremely high-resolution satellite images and published by the Monitoring of the Andean Amazon Project (MAAP). This significant […]
Congress poised to vote! Contact your Reps to help captive big cats in the US
We have a real chance to end cruelties to big cats in the U.S. by securing passage of the Big Cat Public Safety Act, H.R. 263, which would prohibit keeping big cats as pets and also ban direct physical contact between big cats and the public. Introduced by Reps. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) and Brian Fitzpatrick […]
Myanmar wildlife trade remains opaque, despite focus on border hubs
Lying at the nexus of South Asia, Southeast Asia and China, Myanmar hosts an extraordinary mix of ecosystems that represent some of the last refuges of an ever-lengthening list of imperiled species: tigers, leopards and pangolins to name a few. But the combination of teeming biodiversity and notoriously lax law enforcement also makes the country […]
Ivory from at least 150 poached elephants seized in the DRC raid
Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo have seized 2 metric tons of ivory in the city of Lubumbashi, a hub for ivory trafficking. The May 14 seizure is one of the largest in recent years, according to Adams Cassinga, who heads Conserv Congo, an NGO that fights wildlife trafficking and which took part in […]
Petition: Urge Facebook to Enforce Policies to End Wildlife Trafficking
Despite Facebook’s promises to fight the illegal wildlife trafficking industry, it persists and continues to profit from the imprisonment and neglect of helpless animals. A recent report by Avaaz claims that Facebook remains a popular platform for cruel animal traffickers. The researchers found that Facebook’s algorithms “help criminals grow their business.” It should not be […]
Many hunters leave hippos’ corpses behind and return home with just 12 teeth as their “trophies.”
Hippos are one of the most recognizable creatures on the planet, with their barrel form, massive teeth, and jaws that can expand to nearly 180 degrees. Hippos are also a keystone species because their behavior, as “ecosystem engineers,” helps form and preserve landscapes and ecosystems while also promoting biodiversity. Their presence is vital to the […]