In 2019, the illegal wildlife trade reached staggering levels. Pangolin scales and ivory were being trafficked in massive quantities from Africa to Asia, exposing a network of crime syndicates operating at an industrial scale. The sheer volume of these shipments marked a disturbing milestone, one that revealed the global reach …
Nairobi — The government has issued a 21-day amnesty for the surrender of ivory and any wildlife trophies held without a permit issued by the Kenya Wildlife Service. Environment Cabinet Secretary Judi Wakhungu says those who do so within the given time frame will not be prosecuted. Wakhungu says the …
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday warned that the government would not hesitate to invoke the PD Act to curb illegal sand mining and transportation in the wake of the new policy to supply sand free of cost for construction works in the State. Intervening during question hour, he …
Cheryl Konrad has spent the last 35 years educating visitors to her Lahaina, Hawaii, store about the centuries-old history of scrimshaw. Konrad fills the shelves in Lahaina Scrimshaw with the etchings of local artists on fossilized walrus and mammoth ivory. But if a bill to ban the sale of ivory …
Head in hands, a distraught wildlife park worker struggles to hide his emotion after three white rhinos were attacked by poachers for their horns. One warden described the slaughter – at a reserve in South Africa – as ‘the worst day of my life’. Two female rhinos were found dead …
It is estimated that 72% of emerging zoonotic disease events originate from wildlife. Many of these diseases pose serious risks to human health, as demonstrated by the 2014 Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in West Africa. Trade that brings wildlife into close proximity with humans and domestic animals provides an …
Even as China, the world’s leading market for illegal ivory, promises to help safeguard elephants in Africa, a rare bird in Southeast Asia is in danger because its skull is being sold in China as an ivory alternative, conservationists say. The bird, the helmeted hornbill, is already threatened by habitat …
Local leaders form syndicates, dictating sand prices. Kakinada: Illegal sand mining is rampant in East and West Godavari districts. Even in authorised sand reaches, the illegal mining is going on, according to sources. The local leaders have formed syndicates and dictating sand prices and minting money. Though the government announced …
Nairobi — President Uhuru Kenyatta on Saturday visited the Nairobi National Park ahead of the April event when he will preside over the destruction of massive stockpiles of ivory. At the event, Kenya will torch 120 tonnes of ivory, just 17 short of Kenya's total stockpiles and 1.5 tonnes of …
No case in the last two months on the Ottappalam-Thrithala stretch Ottappalam : The number of seized tipper lorries parked in the compound of the Revenue Divisional Office here are indicative of the extent of the once-thriving illegal sand-mining business in the riverbeds of the Bharathapuzha. In the last two …
Darchula police on Sunday made public two people who were arrested earlier on the charge of wildlife poaching. The accused are Janak Bahadur Shahi, 39, of Jubidha-8, Kalikot and Kalamram Parki, 30, of Sunsera-2, Darchula. They were detained for their involvement in the illegal killing of snow leopard, put in …
Tanzania is working on a new security strategy that will help curb poaching of elephants and other crimes against wildlife within and outside protected areas. The Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism Jumanne Maghembe said the new security strategy will involve training a special force that will be equipped with …
An executive with a Beverly Hills gallery and auction house has pleaded guilty of conspiring to smuggling at least $1 million in animal products that included rhino horn and elephant ivory, federal prosecutors said on Wednesday. Joseph Chait, 38, a senior auction administrator with I.M. Chait Gallery/Auctioneers, could be sentenced …
The number of rhinos killed by poachers in Africa rose for the sixth year in a row, threatening the survival of the endangered animals. At least 1,338 rhinos were killed by poachers across Africa in 2015, according to data by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Since 2008, at …
A new smartphone app developed in St Petersburg in Florida, USA is being used to fight poachers in northern Kenya. The app known as the Fulcrum app, has been used for years by businesses and municipalities to collect forms and field data using customizable smartphone apps. Now, the geospatial technology …
Kyenjojo — Ibambaro Central Forest Reserve in Kyenjojo District is under threat of extinction given the high number of encroachers, a team led by National Forest Authority (NFA), security and civil society leaders has observed. The team on Monday visited the forest and noted that the rate of encroachment was …
The mass slaughter of rhinos has increased for the sixth year in a row, according to grim new figures from international researchers. At least 1,338 of the iconic animals were killed for their horns in Africa last year. This is the greatest loss in a single year since an intense …
Illegal stone mining is continuing unabated in the Jaunpur development region, causing ugly scars on mountains that have become loose due to digging. This can lead to another natural disaster, if illegal mining is not stopped immediately. People involved in illegal mining can be seen transporting stones, rocks and other …
The number of elephants being killed for their ivory has stabilised but overall species numbers have continued to decline. Data produced for 2015 shows that poachers are still killing more elephants than are born every year. The report also highlighted a rising trend in poaching in South Africa's Kruger National …
Barack Obama has said that urgent action is needed to save elephants from becoming extinct in the wild, adding that failure to do so would be an “unpardonable loss for humanity and the natural world”. The president said that the US has made “unprecedented progress” in protecting wildlife domestically and …
Residents of Kandaneri, a village in Vellore district, have been knocking the doors of the district administration to stop the unauthorised mining of sand from the Palar basin. With the district administration reportedly displaying a nonchalant attitude, a Public Interest Litigation plea with the help of Satta Panchayat was filed …
