A new taskforce focused on taking down piracy, abductions and wildlife trafficking on sea is set to be launched later this year in the sub- region between Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. The program, dubbed Tripod, will focus on the shared territory around the Sulu and Celebes Seas to develop cross- border regional collaboration and […]
Tag: wildlife trafficking
The Great Cover-Up: Substitute Species in Illegal Wildlife Trade
With a yearly value estimated between $7 and $23 billion, the illegal wildlife trade is a lucrative business that can quickly decimate targeted wildlife species. When trade regulations are strengthened for a particular wildlife product while the demand for that product remains high, traffickers are never short on stratagems to defy authorities and circumvent laws […]
Chinese special economic zones hotspots for wildlife trafficking, surveys say
SINGAPORE — Special economic zones set up to promote trade between China and its Southeast Asian neighbors are facilitating a black-market trade in wildlife products, according to watchdog group TRAFFIC. Tens of thousands of prohibited wildlife parts and products are being sold across open and unregulated markets in five Southeast Asian countries, with a significant […]
Unregulated by U.S. at home, Facebook boosts wildlife trafficking abroad
In a matter of seconds, anyone can find evidence of wildlife trafficking on Facebook, according to independent researchers and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) experts. Even using simple search terms returns thousands of posts that offer wildlife and body parts up for sale. Elephant ivory from Thailand, pangolin scales from Vietnam, and sun bears […]
Wildlife trafficking, like everything else, has gone online during COVID-19
MANILA — When COVID-19 emerged in early 2020 in Southeast Asia, its governments took rapid containment actions: lockdowns, travel restrictions and trade suspensions, alerting the public about the virus. The pandemic has also put illegal or unsustainable wildlife trade under the spotlight due to enhanced restrictions on movement and increasing awareness about the public health […]
New bill seeks to end Hong Kong’s days as an illegal wildlife trade hub
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 […]
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 […]
Why Wildlife Trafficking is Not Just Immoral But Extremely Unsafe
For more than a year, the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted virtually every aspect of life on Earth. As we find ways to adapt to the new living, working, and social conditions necessitated by the pandemic, and look forward to an eventual end to it as vaccines become more widely available, we must ask what we […]