Banner image courtesy of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration At the close of 2018 after 30+ years of flouting international law, Japan has announced that it is set to leave the International Whaling Commission (IWC) and recommence commercial whaling in the summer 2019, within Japan’s ‘own waters:’ “Government spokesman Yoshihide Suga …
From Tusk to Trinket – Persistent illegal ivory markets in Viet Nam
Hanoi, Viet Nam, 13th December 2018— Illegal ivory is widely available in physical and online retail outlets throughout Viet Nam according to a new TRAFFIC report published with support from USAID. The December study, “From Tusk to Trinket – Persistent illegal ivory markets in Viet Nam,” documents surveys carried out …
UK Ivory Bill to Receive Royal Assent
The United Kingdom Government’s Ivory Bill successfully completed its passage through the parliamentary process this week – the Ivory Bill is now due to receive Royal Assent, hopefully before Christmas. A big THANK YOU to everyone (especially Two Million Tusks for their vital investigative and 2017 reporting work, “Ivory – …
Hunting Trophy Importation – United Kingdom
Banner image courtesy of Protect All Wildlife Petition: “Email your MP – Ban Trophy Hunting imports to the UK!” – Care2Petitions Petition: “Ban the import of hunting trophies from threatened species,” 38 Degrees, Born Free Foundation An Early Day Motion (EDM) has been tabled in the United Kingdom Parliament by Zac …
Parliamentary Report – Captive Lion Breeding, South Africa
BREAKING NEWS: New Parliamentary report calls for an end to captive lion breeding in South Africa: Report of the Portfolio Committee on Environmental Affairs on the Colloquium on Captive Lion Breeding for Hunting in South Africa: harming or promoting the conservation image of the country, held on 21 and 22 …
China Announces ‘Legal Trade’ in Rhino and Tiger Products
Banner image – Courtesy of WWF Singapore – Janissa Ng Petition – “China Just Lifted the Ban on Rhino and Tiger Products,” Care2 Petitions China’s announcement (29 October 2018) has set in motion potentially even more parallel markets for legal and illegal sources to supply Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) – with …
Exposing the Hydra
“Failure to take any meaningful action against identified networks and individuals has led to the present situation where international Vietnamese syndicates are operating with impunity across Africa and into Vietnam and its neighbouring countries. Illegal ivory, rhino horn and pangolins are entering Vietnam at alarming rates, accelerating further declines in …
Rhino Horn Trade in South Africa
Banner image “de-horning a black rhino” courtesy of Save the Rhino The Republic of South Africa, Department: Environmental Affairs (DEA) has issued for consultation: Government Notice 986 “Draft Regulations relating to Domestic Trade in Rhinoceros Horn” and Government Notice 987 “Draft notice prohibiting the carrying out of certain restricted activities involving …
Elephants in Botswana
Banner Image courtesy of oxandson Petition – “Don’t shoot Africa’s last elephants” Care2 Save Elephants This past week, we have had the Illegal Wildlife Trade (IWT, 2018) conference in London. The third party reports seen from attendees at IWT 2018 reinforces the message that for any given persecuted species, such as the …
Sounding The Horn
Save the Rhino International’s report, “Sounding the Horn” suggests that the United Kingdom (UK) antiques industry is trading rhino horn lots without proof of provenance in many cases. However, there are loopholes in the UK’s regulations, whereby: “At present…..there is no pre-sale requirement to verify the age or provenance of …