Banner Image: African Elephant – Gary Stolz Opinion piece by Chris Mercer – Campaign Against Canned Hunting This blog criticises a letter sent to the Chinese government by well-known hunting apologist Eugene Lapointe [CITES Secretary-General (1982 – 1990), now World Conservation Trust (IWMC) President]. After wrapping himself in a cloak …
United States – Trophy Hunting Elephants and Lions
Note: Article updated: 18, 20 November and 23 December 2017 Update: On the 22 December 2017, the D.C. Court of Appeals concluded that “That Sport Killing Won’t Help Zimbabwe’s Elephants” in response to the Centre for Biological Diversity and National Resources Defense Council challenge to the USA Interior Department’s regressive …
Ivory Trading in Europe
The European Commission has an on-line survey on ivory trading within the European Union (EU) – the survey runs until 8 December 2017. To highlight the issues with ivory trading and ivory transiting through Europe, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) issued a report “Ivory Seizures in Europe, 2006 …
UK Ivory Consultation
On 6 October 2017, the United Kingdom Government (Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA)) launched a consultation on ivory – “Ban UK Sales of Ivory” – with an Online Survey at the foot of the link page. The consultation period ends on 29 December 2017 – so add …
“A Roaring Trade?”
Banner image courtesy of Mark Boulton, Elsa Trust and Elsamere Back in August 2017, IWB and the Campaign Against Canned Hunting (CACH) questioned if the Republic of South Africa, Department: Environmental Affairs (DEA) could provide conclusive science that showed its “800 skeletons” lion bone trade quota does not pose a …
UK Auction Houses Ignoring ‘Legal’ Ivory Trading Requirements
On the 19 October 2017, the Two Million Tusks (TMT) study, “Ivory: The Grey Areas“ was released – the study encompasses a comprehensive analysis of the United Kingdom (UK) auctioning of ivory lots during the 2016/2017 period. Two Million Tusks (TMT) study – “Ivory: The Grey Areas,” October 2017 Alarmingly, …
Unmanageable Animal Exploitation
An insatiable demand side knows no bounds. This is especially true when it originates from an increasingly wealthy Chinese/Vietnamese population of 1.8bn and China’s economic might seems to crush any dissenting voices questioning that demand. Even when China does bow to international pressure, such as seeking to shut down its domestic …
The Ivory Trade of Laos
“The Ivory Trade of Laos: Now the fastest growing in the World, ” Save the Elephants, 2017 This report highlights how complacent and ineffective CITES seemingly is as a regulatory body when it comes to stemming internationally banned trade in endangered species products. Despite the on-going efforts to curb ivory …
South Africa’s Rhino Paradox
Banner image courtesy of Sunday Times SA Original article at Project Syndicate, 22 September 2017 By Ross Harvey – Senior researcher with SAIIA and a PhD student at the University of Cape Town’s School of Economics. South Africa’s recent reversal of a ban on trade in rhinoceros horn has invigorated support …
Organized criminal gangs behind rhino horn processing in South Africa
Banner Image courtesy of Mark Boulton – Lewa Conservancy, Kenya A TRAFFIC report released 18 September 2017, “reveals disturbing new evidence that some criminal networks of Chinese origin operating in South Africa are now processing rhino horn locally into beads, bracelets, bangles and powder to evade detection and provide ready-made …