In 2019, Hong Kong customs authorities inspected a cargo ship bound for Vietnam. Hidden beneath slabs of frozen meat were 8.3 metric tons of illegal scales from about 13,800 pangolins, and more than 2.1 metric tons of tusks from about 200 elephants, with a combined value of about $8 million. This was one of the […]
Tag: wildlife trade
Tale of two traffickers is a rare spell of Congolese conservation convictions
Two of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s most prolific wildlife traders have been handed jail terms this year, in a rare spell of conservation wins for Congolese law enforcement. Salomon Mpay 51, was arrested at a Kinshasa hotel on Jan. 30, following a two-year joint investigation between the Congolese Institute for the Conservation of Nature […]
Orangutan Confiscations Hit All Time High Due to Covid
During the past two months, The Orangutan Project has seen a significant increase in confiscations of orangutans that were being illegally kept as pets, the organization reports. The organization has worked with partners and authorities to rescue eight critically endangered orangutans. After being rescued, the orangutans are rehabilitated and given another chance to live in […]
Trophy-hunt law overhaul ‘will cause even more wildlife killing’, prompting activists to boycott talks
Conservationists have walked out of talks with ministers over a proposed shake-up of laws on trophy-hunt imports, claiming the changes will lead to “government-approved” wildlife kills. They say the plan – part of a radical overhaul of animal welfare legislation – opens the door to shooting critically endangered species such as black rhinos, elephants and […]
Latest mass stranding raises concerns for endangered Caspian seals
When Viktor Nikiforov heard about the dead Caspian seals along Russia’s Dagestan coast near the city of Makhachkala, he and a group of researchers went to have a look. On the first day, they found 30 seal bodies strewn across the sand. The next day, they discovered even more. “In three days, we found 170 […]
WHO Calls for Live Wild Animal Market Ban
Sky News reports that the World Health Organization (WHO) is calling for a ban on the sale of live wild animals in food markets. This statement came after a visit to Wuhan, China, after scientists identified a local market as the origin of the coronavirus. The United Nations agency urged countries to suspend the sale […]
Growing Demand for Vulture Heads Threatens the Birds’ Survival in Africa
Across the continent, traditional healers are increasingly using the body parts of vultures, creating an illegal market that has experts alarmed. Last year, at dawn on March 26, an exhausted Mohamed Henriques slid into his airplane seat. He had just managed to make it onto the last flight that left Guinea-Bissau before the small West […]
UK urged to ban fur imports from China over animal abuse claims
Campaigners are urging the UK government to ban fur imports after an investigation appeared to show widespread animal abuse and disregard for Covid-19 health protocols at more than a dozen fur farms in China. Videos and photos from 19 farms visited in northern and north-eastern China last November and December appear to show foxes and […]