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Prime Minister to Host Global Summit on Illegal Wildlife Trade

12/26/2013

Source: Sooperarticles.com

By Anshul Srivastava

David Cameroon, the Prime Minister of Britain, will host the global summit of the highest level pertaining to fighting the illegal wildlife trade in London. This summit is going to be held next February. 50 heads of state are invited in this summit. It aims to tackle the illegal trade worth $19 million per year of the endangered animals such as rhinos and elephants. There will be delivered an unprecedented political commitment along with an action plan and the enlistment of the resources. The Duke of Cambridge, the prince of Wales and his son, who have previously highlighted the well-built link between the wildlife poaching, threats to national security and international criminal syndicates and terrorism, is also going to attend this summit. Prince Charles stated in May that we face one of the most serious challenges to wildlife continually and we all must treat it as a combat as it is precisely that.

Rhino horn and elephant ivory have more value than gold or diamond traded illegally. The profits earned from this illegal trade have been used by the mutineer groups of the countries in the African continent, such as the Lords Resistance Army in Democratic Republic of Congo and Al- Shabaab in Somalia. Heads of the state from various African nations are likely to attend the summit and the nations where these illegal products are sold, including Vietnam and China, will be represented. However, the level of representation is not finalized yet. Environment Secretary Owen Peterson and Foreign Secretary William Hague will chair the summit. In September, Mr. William Hague said that this illegal trade is absolutely shocking and this problem has an effect on all the people. Mr. Owen Paterson went to Kenya this month and saw the elephants that were killed by the poachers. He along with Mr. Cameroon will go to China in the coming month.

In Asia, there is a lot of value given by the rapidly expanding middle classes to the rhino, elephant and tiger products as status symbols. This demand has increased the level of wildlife poaching in the recent years. In South Africa, there were 13 rhinos killed in the year 2007, but the tally is 860 in 2013. For the ivory seizures, 2012 was the worst year as the tusks of 30,000 elephants were confiscated. More....

How a Campaign to Save Sharks Can Help Elephants

12/23/2013

Source: Independent.co.uk

By Michael McCarthy

Saving elephants, as followers of The Independent’s Christmas Appeal will know, seems to be a harder and harder task as the killing in Africa gets more difficult to control. But there is one particular way forward which offers hope, and which at first may seem surprising, and that is through saving sharks.

A giant vegetarian land mammal wouldn’t at first sight seem to have much in common with a deep-sea predator. But elephants and sharks share a cruel curiosity of fate: they both have bodily protuberances which humans find so valuable they will kill both sets of creatures to get them.

With elephants, or course, it’s their ivory tusks, now in booming demand especially among the rising middle class of China. With sharks, it’s their fins, an essential ingredient in what has long been another fad of wealthy Chinese: shark’s fin soup.

While elephants are killed in their thousands, sharks are killed in their millions for the soup. The slaughter is having a drastic effect on shark populations, with 32 per cent of deep-sea species threatened with extinction.

“Shark finning” is a pitiless form of fishing involving cutting off the fins while the fish are still alive and then throwing them back into the sea. The reason is a pair of shark fins can sell in Asia for $700 a kilo – and the less valuable shark bodies would be an encumbrance on a fisherman’s boat.

But in July this year the European Union brought in a regulation ending the practice, and in future all EU boats will have to land sharks with their fins still attached.

Ali Hood, of Britain’s Shark Trust, sees this as a major step forward, not least because the EU is a big player in the shark market, with Spain alone having the third-biggest shark catch in the world, and also because the move will give the EU the moral authority to persuade other nations to do the same. But the biggest obstacle to lessening the global shark slaughter is the demand from China.

In 2006, the inventive conservation body WildAid, based in San Francisco and headed by British-born Peter Knights, began a campaign to make the Chinese public realise that shark’s fin soup represents a big conservation problem.

The campaign took off when in 2009 China’s best-known sports star, basketball player Yao Ming, appeared in a film saying he would no longer eat the soup and used the slogan “Mei yu mai mai, jiu mei yu sha hai”, meaning “When the buying stops, the killing can too.” More....

Prince William Speaks Out Against Animal Poaching

12/14/2013

Source: Punchng.com

By Gbenro Adeoye

Britain’s Prince William has appealed to parents in China to join in the universal fight against poaching of wild animals.

The Prince is teaming up with ex-football star, David Beckham, in the campaign against animal poaching, which is widely believed to be common in some parts of Asia. To support the campaign, Prince William and Beckham have recorded a public service announcement for wildlife protection organisation, WildAid.

In the video, Prince William called on parents in China to reduce the demand for illegal wildlife products, since the Asian country is the principal market for ivory, rhino horn, shark’s fin and other internationally outlawed items.

He said, “We must stop the demand for illegally traded wildlife products within our lifetimes or these amazing animals will be forever wiped from the planet. As a father, our children to know that rhinos are not just a picture in a book.”

Beckham added, “We can all do our part by sharing this message with buyers of illegal wildlife products. If you do buy ivory, rhino horn, or shark fin, I urge you to stop and help us bring these senseless killings to an end.”

Chinese basketball star, Yao Ming, also starred in the advert, as Prince William joined him in trying his hand at Mandarin.

Sharing a sentence, the pair stated in the Chinese language, “When the buying stops… the killing can too.”

Chinese movie icon, Jackie Chan, and Virgin boss, Sir Richard Branson, are among the other celebrities lending their support to the WildAid organisation.

Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge

Prince William is the second in line to inherit the British throne. More....

Competition Searches for Future Conservation Voices

12/6/2013

Source: Telegraph.co.uk

By Josie Gurney-Read

“Time really isn’t on our side at the moment,” says Charlie Mayhew, Chief Executive of the Conservation Charity, Tusk Trust. “The decimation of elephant, rhino and lion numbers is escalating so much that we don’t have a lot of time left."

Rhino poaching in South Africa hasn’t slowed. In 2007, 13 rhinos were poached, now it is estimated that, on average, three are lost every day, with an estimated loss of around 800 this year.

This means that, annually, South Africa is losing four per cent of its rhino and much of the poaching is actually occurring in the best protected areas.

In April this year, it was reported that the last 15 known rhinos in Mozambique were shot dead in the Mozambican part of Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park.

While demand for the horn continues, a solution to the issue is being sought by conservationists. Suggestions have included; de-horning rhinos under anaesthetic, legalising the trade, putting dye in the horns, stricter law enforcement and decreasing demand through better education.

Twenty years ago, only 2,000 black rhinos remained, while conservation efforts have brought the species back from the brink of extinction, to an estimated 5,000, the issue remains serious today.

It was with this in mind that in August this year, Worldwide Experience, the education arm of the Mantis hotel group, launched a competition in partnership with Tusk Trust and the Born Free Foundation, giving 16-19 year olds the chance to submit a group video to highlight the plight of the rhino in South Africa; showing what they would do to further conservation efforts.

Due to demand, the competition has recently extended the deadline, so groups now have until 21 March 2014 to submit entries.

Alongside the competition, a school curriculum has been developed by Digital Explorer, with a selection of materials aimed at both GCSE and A level geography students.

Jamie Buchanan-Dunlop, founder of Digital Explorer says: “The relationship between humans and the environment is an important part of the curriculum. As the population grows, young people need to have the information to make decisions about what the planet will look like in the future." More....

Al Qaeda Profit From the Trade of Ivory

12/6/2013

Source: Independent.co.uk

By Edward Faulks

My Lords, a few years ago the subject of this debate might have been regarded as rather marginal in terms of importance; that is no longer the case.

In introducing this debate I should declare an interest as a Friend of the Whitley Fund for Nature ,a charity concerned with conservation world-wide.

Illegal trade in wildlife has grown to become a massive global industry. It is said to be worth at least 90 billion dollars per year. It is ranked as the fourth largest global illegal activity after narcotics, counterfeiting and human trafficking and ahead of oil, art, gold, human organs, small arms and diamonds.

Illegal ivory trade activity worldwide has more than doubled since 2007 and is now over three times larger than it was in 1998, its highest level in two decades with ivory fetching up to $1,000 a pound or $2,205 a kilogram on the streets of Beijing.

The worst year on record for elephant ivory seizures was 2011 when almost 40 tons of smuggled ivory was seized. In the last decade 11,000 forest elephants have been killed in one park alone, Gabon’s Minkebe National Park, with a total population of forest elephants down 62% in the past 10 years. The kill rate of elephants now exceeds the birth rate – a trend that if not reversed could lead to the extinction of the African elephant from some areas in the next few years.

In 2012 a record 668 rhinos were poached in South Africa up by almost 50% from 2011 figures. In 2013 the toll continued to rise with 201 rhinos killed in Kruger National Park alone. A sub-species of the black rhino was declared extinct in the wild in West Africa in 2011.

A seizure in July 2013 in the Czech Republic of 24 white rhino horns was the largest ever in the EU.It led to the arrest of 16 suspects in connection with wildlife trafficking. Czech authorities announced that an international gang had been importing rhino horns illegally into the Czech Republic from where they were to be shipped to Asia for sale. Reports were that the gang used bogus hunters to kill the animals in South Africa who then applied for export/import permits to move the horns under the pretext of being personal trophies.

According to Interpol, the US Department of State, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and others, the same routes used to smuggle wildlife across countries and continents are often used to smuggle weapons, drugs and people with the same culprits frequently involved. Indeed wildlife crime often occurs hand in hand with other offences like fraud, corruption, money laundering, theft and murder. More....

Ivory Demand Reduction Campaign Launched in China

12/6/2013

Source: AFW.org

WildAid, Save the Elephants, and the African Wildlife Foundation kicked off a campaign to reduce ivory demand today at the Shanghai Pudong Shangri-La Hotel. Former NBA star Yao Ming and WildAid co-founder Peter Knights called on China to help raise awareness of elephant poaching, reduce the demand for ivory, and protect endangered wildlife. The conservation groups also announced an anti-ivory public service campaign, to be televised internationally in 2014, featuring Yao Ming, American actor Edward Norton,China’s leading actress Li Bing Bing, Congolese NBA great Dikembe Mutombo, and current NBA star Jeremy Lin.

China’s rapid economic development continues to create a burgeoning middle class that can afford endangered wildlife products such as ivory. The current demand for ivory claims the lives of as many as 25,000 African elephants annually.

"To protect these endangered animals, we must reduce the market demand," said Yao Ming. “When people in China know what’s happening with the illegal ivory trade, they will say no to these products.”

Recent surveys indicate a large portion of China’s population is unaware of the death toll to create ivory and rhino horn products, yet a greater number of residents support government enforced bans. (Read the ivory and rhino horn surveys.)

"The illegal ivory trade threatens these already endangered animals, negatively impacts Africa’s tourism industry, and reportedly funds terror groups,” said WildAid’s Peter Knights. “The urgency of this crisis demands that we launch and grow this campaign.”

The conservation groups also introduced a "Do not buy ivory" web page where the public can upload photos, pledge not to buy ivory, and show their support for wildlife conservation.

“Africa’s elephants can no longer support the world’s addiction to ivory,” said African Wildlife Foundation CEO Patrick Bergin. “As the number one market for ivory in the world, China has a critical role to play in helping reduce demand for ivory. Owning ivory is simply not worth the bloody cost to elephants.”

“China holds the future of Africa’s elephants in her hands. With Chinese leadership,

elephants have a chance of a harmonious future with the modern world. But if the buying continues, the outlook for this magnificent species is bleak,” said Iain Douglas-Hamilton, CEO of Save the Elephants.

Famous Fathers Speak Out Against Illegal Wildlife Trade

12/6/2013

Source: Looktothestars.org

The Duke of Cambridge, David Beckham, and Yao Ming are speaking out as fathers against illegal wildlife trade.

“As a father I want our children to know that rhinos are not just a picture in a book,” says The Duke of Cambridge.

The trio have joined forces with WildAid to protect elephants, rhinos, and sharks for future generations. In September of this year they met in London to film two messages that will air globally, with targeted outreach in China and Vietnam, beginning in January 2014 as part of WildAid’s demand reduction campaign and the Royal Foundation’s United for Wildlife Collaboration.

The first message was released to the media earlier today at a press conference in Shanghai featuring Yao Ming and WildAid Executive Director Peter Knights. A second message focusing on rhino horn will be released in February.

The Duke of Cambridge said, “We must stop the demand for illegally traded wildlife products within our lifetimes or these amazing animals will be forever wiped from the planet. As a father I want our children to know that rhinos are not just a picture in a book.”

Poaching is on the rise as demand increases with economic growth in Asia. South Africa’s Department of Environmental Affairs reported on November 27 that 891 rhinos were killed so far in 2013 compared to 2007’s total of 13.

“We can all do our part by sharing this message with buyers of illegal wildlife products,” said David Beckham. “If you do buy ivory, rhino horn, or shark fin I urge you to stop and help us bring these senseless killings to an end.”

Recent surveys indicate a large portion of China’s population is unaware of the death toll to create ivory and rhino horn products, yet a greater number of residents support government enforced bans. (Read the ivory and rhino horn surveys.)

“We must raise awareness and encourage action if we are going to stop the demand for these products,” said former NBA Star Yao Ming, an iconic figure in China. More....

Yao Ming Targets Elephant Poaching, Ivory Trade In New Campaign With WildAid

12/6/2013

Source: Forbes.com

By Russell Flannery

Chinese basketball star Yao Ming kicked off his latest campaign with wildlife protection group WildAid, this time to reduce ivory demand and raise awareness of elephant poaching.

Yao, a past member of the Forbes China Celebrity list and Forbes Asia’s Heroes of Philanthropy List, appeared with WildAid co-founder Peter Knights at a press conference in Shanghai. “To protect these endangered animals, we must reduce market demand,” said Yao. “When people in China know what is happening to the ivory trade, they will say no to these products.”

Current demand kills 25,000 African elephants annually, according to a WildAid press release.

Yao has previously supported efforts to reduce Chinese demand for shark fin.

Hear Them Roar: Couple Hope Film Stirs Action on Lions

11/30/2013

Source: USAtoday.com

By Elizabeth Weise

After years making documentary films to educate the West about the need to preserve African wildlife, Beverly and Dereck Joubert are turning their sights on a new target.

The South African couple's 22 previous films have raised awareness throughout much of the world about the dwindling numbers of lions and other "big cats" in their natural habitats.

Now they believe they need to broaden their audience to include China.

Leaning over the dashboard of their custom-modified Land Cruiser, Dereck 57, keeps a watchful eye on the six lions in the grass a few feet in front of him.

"We've made a mess of Africa's wildlife population. Colonialism brought trophy hunting and today we're losing five lions a day to poaching and hunting," he says.

Their work has focused on the steady decline of big cats across the globe. The most recent documentary premiers Dec. 1 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on the cable channel NatGeo Wild.Game of Lions tells the story of a group of young males and the dangers they face as they seek to become the one battle-scarred warrior who will lead the pride. It's part of NatGeo's popular Big Cat Week.

The Jouberts have been National Geographic Explorers-in-Residence since 1999. They worry that a rising hunger in China for lion bone wine and exotic animal pelts is adding to the dangers faced by lions.

Africa's lion population is already down to 20,000 to 30,000, from as many as a million originally, says Luke Hunter, president of Panthera, a global wild cat conservation organization based in New York.

The main current threat is simply more mouths to feed, Hunter said. Africa has the fastest-growing population on the planet, fueling the need to clear more land for farming, destroying the habitat lions need to survive. More....

Science : Ivory Trade Signals the End of the Elephant

11/28/2013

Source: Leedsstudent.org

By Jack Barrett

Last week US officials grabbed headlines after destroying over five tonnes of illegal ivory, seized over the last 25 years since the global ban on ivory trade was implemented in 1989. The stockpile was said to be worth over £6bn and was estimated to have been the equivalent of around 2,000 adult elephants.

In 2012 alone over 35,000 elephants were killed for ivory demonstrating the extent of the problem that poaching has become. In the past, much of the demand came from South East Asian countries such as Malaysia and the Philippines for use in ornamental daggers. However, in recent times, much of the blame has fallen to China, Japan and Thailand, with the demand for illegal ivory doubling since 2007. In these countries ivory is used for a number of ceremonial and religious purposes as well as in traditional medicine. Large numbers of people still hold true to ivory’s supposed aphrodisiac properties. Over 40 per cent of illegal ivory is believed to end up in Japan, often passing through Hong Kong. In one arrest last month over 700kg of ivory was seized by Hong Kong customs.

Big steps have been made in the effort to tackle the ever-growing problem of ivory poaching. Numerous anti-poaching sections have been introduced into game reserves across Africa as well as funding from organisations such as Google, who in 2012 donated $5 million to the WWF to improve the methods already in place, such as remote aerial survey systems and wildlife tagging technology. On top of this, education programmes have been implemented and punishment for poaching has become more rigorous. However, the incentives for poaching are still vast. A poacher can make $2,000 from a small set of tusks, which is more than they would earn from two to three years of work.

Despite best efforts in Africa and the West, we are seeing little to suggest that we are any closer to a solution. With the number of wild elephants now at only 400,000, if poaching continues at the current rate, extinction could be on the horizon within the next 10 years. As we have seen in the US this week, the destroying of large stockpiles of ivory is a symbolic gesture to promote the fight against the illegal ivory trade. But will this gesture reach the countries demanding ivory such as China? Maybe there needs to be more emphasis on targeting the countries buying the ivory rather than those supplying it. Just last year, Yao Ming, a Chinese ex NBA star was involved in the launch of a major public awareness campaign targeting the consumption of ivory and rhino horn in China. This proved successful in a previous campaign where Ming was credited with the reduction of shark fin consumption in China by 50-70 per cent. Shark fin soup was removed from the menu at all state banquets following the campaign. This admirable example raises the question that rather than focusing the majority of efforts on combating ivory poaching at its source; should we be putting more emphasis on targeting the South East Asian market where the demand for ivory is coming from?

Artists Join Elephant Protection In ‘Elephantastik’

11/27/2013

Source: Bongben.wordpress.com

By Leocadia Bongben

Some 30 Cameroonian Artists have joined the sensitisation for the protection of elephants through a festival dubbed Elephantastik.

The maiden edition Elephantastik billed from November 29-30 at the Camtel Club in Yaounde is an initiative of an association, “Les Amie de la Culture”, (Friends of Culture) coordinated by Issoukou Eitel (Reezbo).

Presenting the festival to the press at the WWF office, Reezbo said the festival is organised within the framework of sensitising the public, government officials and policy makers on the importance of protecting elephants, endangered with extinction.

“Wounded and disoriented, elephants are exposed to suffering and even death. The future of baby elephants that lose their parents to poachers is uncertain as some die of thirst and hunger” he said.

It is against this backdrop that the artists, with the knowledge of the alarming reduction of the elephant population by 62 percent, are organising Elephantastik.

WWF Country Director, Hanson Njiforti accompanied the artists at the presentation of the festival.

Among the many questions from journalists, was how such a festival could stop poaching and sale of ivory when those who perpetrate the ivory trade are found in Asia, China and other European countries.

Bas Huijbregts, WWF Head of Policy Engagement Illegal Wildlife Trade Campaign for Central Africa said WWF has been campaigning at different levels dubbing the campaign by artists a new approach to the fight against illegal trafficking in wildlife with all stakeholders being part of the sensitisation process.

He said elephants are killed in Cameroon for the international illegal ivory market and the people that buy the ivory are not Cameroonians, they come from China, South East Asia and Europe and United States. More....

David Cameron to Tackle Illegal Wildlife Trade with Global Summit

11/26/2013

Source: Theguardian.com

By Damian Carrington

David Cameron will host the highest level global summit to date on combating the illegal wildlife trade in London.

The summit next February, to which 50 heads of state have been invited, aims to tackle the $19bn-a-year illegal trade in endangered animals, such as elephants and rhinos, by delivering an unprecedented political commitment along with an action plan and the mobilisation of resources.

The Prince of Wales and his son the Duke of Cambridge, who will both attend the summit, have previously highlighted the strong links between wildlife poaching, international criminal syndicates and terrorism and threats to national security. "We face one of the most serious threats to wildlife ever, and we must treat it as a battle – because it is precisely that," said Prince Charles in May.

Elephant ivory and rhino horn are worth more than illegal diamonds or gold, and the proceeds have used by rebel groups in African countries, such as al-Shabaab in Somalia and the Lords resistance army in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Heads of state from many African countries are expected to attend and the countries where the products are sold, including China and Vietnam, will be represented, though the level of representation is not yet finalised.

The summit will be chaired by foreign secretary William Hague and environment secretary Owen Paterson. In September, Hague called the illegal trade "absolutely shocking" and said it was an "issue that affects us all." Paterson visited Kenya this month and saw elephants killed by poachers. He will visit China with Cameron next month.

The level of wildlife crime has soared in recent years, driven by demand form the rapidly expanding middle classes in Asia who value tiger, elephant and rhino products as status symbols.

In South Africa 13 rhinos were killed in 2007, but the tally to date in 2013 is 860. 2012 was the worst year for ivory seizures, with the equivalent of the tusks of 30,000 elephants confiscated. More....

Prince William and Prince Charles in Fight to End Wildlife Poaching

11/26/2013

Source: Express.co.uk

By Richard Palmer

The heir to the throne and his elder son, who has inherited his father's passion for conservation, toured the zoo's Tiger Territory exhibit before the meeting and viewed two criticically endangered Sumatran tigers, Jae Jae and his mate Melati.

Their section of the zoo was closed to tourists and given a spruce up before the royal visit, including a heavy sprinkling of Hugo Boss perfume in the tiger enclosure.

That was not so much for the benefit of the Princes but for the tigers, although it was also used to make them more active while the royal visitors were there. "We use perfume because it stimulates them," said tiger keeper Teague Stubbington. "It stimuates their natural scent marking behaviour."

The keepers also kept back part of the tigers' breakfast of horse meat, complete with hair and hooves, to stimulate their hunting instincts.

William, 31, is determined to use part of his transitional year between leaving the RAF and starting a new, as yet undefined, role in public service in working to help the illegal trade in wildlife that is threatening species such as tigers, elephants, and rhino with extinction.

He has become president of United for Wildlife, a new alliance of seven leading conservation bodies working to end poaching.

He and Charles heard how new smart technology, including drones, next-generation cameras with special sensors, and new software will be used to help park rangers detect poachers more quickly.

The Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry is expected to fund the introduction of some of the new technology, promising to "commit signifcant resources to increasing support for the most effective programmes on the ground". More....

What 11 Billion Humans Could Do To Earth's Animals

11/25/2013

Source: Businessinsider.com

By Douglas Main

Until about 2,000 years ago, no human had set foot on Madagascar. This wonderland of wildlife east of Africa is home to all of the world's lemurs, a diverse group of primates, most of which have fox-like faces and large eyes. Lemurs descend from animals that arrived on the isolated island between 50 million and 60 million years ago.

Since humans arrived, about 15 to 20 of these lemur species have gone extinct, likely due to habitat loss and hunting, including species whose males grew nearly as large as gorillas. But these die-offs happened over the course of hundreds and thousands of years. Humans are impacting the island at a much faster pace now. As Malagasy populations rise, humans threaten the remaining species of lemurs and thousands of other species with extinction at an accelerating rate, said University of Illinois primatologist Paul Garber.

Currently, 93 lemur species are endangered, critically endangered or threatened, mostly due to the clearing of the island's forests, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), a global environmental organization. That's 91 percent of all lemur species for which data is available.

Deforestation has sped up in the second half of the 20th century, and in the last 60 years, half of the island's remaining forests have been cleared, according to a 2007 study in the journal Biology Letters. During that time, the country's population has quadrupled, according to the World Bank, a global financial institution that offers loans to developing countries. But it's not just the animals' homes that are vanishing — sometimes, the animals themselves are taken. Since the breakdown of civil order following a 2009 coup in the country, species such as collared lemurs have been taken from forests to be sold in the illegal pet trade, and they have been killed by hunters to be eaten as bush meat, according to various news reports.

The plight of Madagascar's lemurs is just one example of how a rising population of humans is contributing to the sixth-largest mass extinction in the history of the planet, most biologists say. According to the IUCN, 20,000 species of animals and plants are considered at high risk for extinction, meaning there is a good chance they could die out if steps aren't taken to ensure their survival. If species continue to die out at current rates, more than 75 percent of all species currently on Earth could go extinct within a few centuries, according to a 2011 study in the journal Nature.

The extinction rate is estimated to be 100 to 1,000 times the natural "background" rate as a result of human activities, said Stacy Small-Lorenz, a conservation scientist at the Environmental Defense Fund, an environmental group whose mission is to protect the natural environment. More....

Prince William and Prince Charles are “United for Wildlife”

11/20/2013

Source: Royalcentral.co.uk

On Tuesday 26 November, The Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge will jointly be in attendance for the “United for Wildlife” meeting at the Zoological Society of London.

Prince William by way of his charity has organised an exceptional partnership with seven of the top name groups in conversation along with the Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry.

The partnership brings together Conservation International, Fauna & Flora International, International Union for Conservation of Nature, The Nature Conservancy, Wildlife Conservation Society, WWF-UK, the Zoological Society of London and the Royal Foundation. This is an unparalleled group that will aim to fight banned wildlife trafficking.

In September at the Tusk Conservation Awards, William as president of the organisation announced the partnership and its name “United for Wildlife.” He did not waste a moment to get the word out, also recording two public service announcements a few days after the Awards. The PSA’s for the charity WildAid were to target illegal wildlife goods. One of the announcements William recorded with footballing friend, David Beckham and the other with retired basketball player, Yao Ming.

“The threats to our natural heritage are extensive, but I believe that this collaboration of the best minds in conservation will provide the impetus for a renewed commitment and action to protect endangered species and habitats for future generations,” William comment on the United for Wildlife website.

This past May, father and son joined together for a conference at St. James’s Palace to discuss the illegal wildlife trade. More....

Social Media Helps Defeat Elephant Poaching in Africa

11/19/2013

Source: Borgenproject.org

By Laura Reinacher

Last Monday Xiamen officials reported that over the past 2 years, two different ivory smuggling gangs were caught with 11.88 metric tons of elephant tusks and ivory product valued at close to $99 million dollars. This report was prompted by the recent ivory confiscating incident at the Mombasa Port in Kenya on October 8. The Kenya Ports Authority found illegal ivory being smuggled out of Kenya in between sesame seed sacks. Another crime last week involved the Tanzanian government tracking down three Chinese people allegedly possessing 706 elephant tusks, which meant 353 elephants were slaughtered.

Although the international ivory trade industry was banned in 1989 after there was a significant drop in the Africa elephant species during the 1980′s, elephant poaching and ivory smuggling is still happening. According to the U.N. Convention on International Trade and Endangered Species, 30,000 elephants are killed every year. Officials estimate if the rate of slaughter persists, these glorious animals will become extinct within the next 15 to 20 years.

Senior Program officer of the World Wildlife Fund (WWE) and animal conservation specialist Matthew Lewis warns elephant poaching in Africa is “at the highest levels we have seen since we have been tracking it.”

With new crime stories out each week, the African people are growing increasingly enraged at a general Chinese people. Chinese people are also angry at the stigma they have been given because of the group of Chinese who are smuggling. In addition, Chinese people are just angry at the smugglers for their horrific crimes. One Chinese citizen discussed an opinion on the smugglers, “Their teeth should be taken away, and they should be put in a zoo.”

China’s government and diplomatic agencies strongly oppose ivory smuggling, and agree to cooperate with the international community to conserve wildlife. Due to recent crimes, the Chinese Ambassador in Tanzania has promised to crack down on poaching and smuggling. That said, China also asks the Tanzanian police to abide by the law, and still respect the rights of the Chinese people. More....

Chinese are Growing More Protective of African Wildlife

11/7/2013

Source: Ecns.cn

By Li Lianxing

China Daily publishes the e-mail addresses of its reporters along with their articles, which means I receive plenty of feedback, criticism and suggestions on the various issues I write about.

In most cases, I receive just a few comments, but one cover story I wrote last year on African conservation and China has prompted a continuous supply of e-mails, demonstrating the interest readers have in this topic.

Many of them are from outside China, saying that I should tell the Chinese people what is happening in Africa and raise their awareness, so as to prevent poaching here.

But if one can read Chinese and examine Chinese social media, one will see that public awareness and education on wildlife conservation has greatly improved, largely thanks to online social media.

Last week, the Tanzanian government detained three Chinese suspects for illegally possessing a huge haul of 706 elephants tusks in their residence in Dar es Salaam. Tourism Minister Khamis Kagasheki said, "It means 353 elephants were killed to get all those tusks."

That was the front page and headline news for all major media in Tanzania, and African people again became angry about the poaching and smuggling. But this time, Chinese people are getting even angrier, especially with their compatriots living and working in Africa.

"I really have no idea what they are thinking about, and the image of the Chinese community is being ruined by such people,"wrote one Tanzania-based Chinese businessman on Sina Weibo, China.s version of Twitter.

Since the microblog became popular in China in 2009, it has turned into a significant platform for public discussion on many social issues, as well as a means of disseminating information. More....

Campaign Credited for Sharp Fall in Demand for Shark Fin Soup in China

11/5/2013

Source: Breitbart.com

Demand for shark fin soup, a delicacy in China, has fallen sharply in the country thanks to a campaign against it by conservationists, the official media said.

Government and industry statistics show shark fin soup, also once regarded as a social status symbol, is no longer fashionable after conservationists showed millions of sharks are killed each year to meet the demand for the soup, raising the threat of their extinction.

The CCTV report said the fall in demand could have wider implications for other endangered wildlife.

The campaign to promote public awareness about the shark trade was joined by a coalition of celebrities including former NBA star Yao Ming.

The government has also set up a campaign banning the soup from official banquets, the report said.

May Mei, chief representative in China of Wildaid, an NGO working for wildlife protection, said effects of the campaign have been dramatic.

"Last year, after the Chinese government released a three-year ban on eating sharp fin soup, the decline is huge. The consumption declined by 50 to 70 percent in the past two years," said May Mei.

Earlier this year, Sea Shepherd, an international non-profit marine wildlife conservation group, reported discovering "shark-mongers of death" in Hong Kong drying thousands of shark fins on a roof. Gary Stokes, its Hong Kong coordinator, wrote on the group's web site that shark fins are sliced off the creatures, which are then thrown back into the waters to drown or bleed to death. The group said photographs posted on its website showed more than 10,000 shark fins drying on a roof in a quiet Hong Kong neighborhood. More....

In China, Victory for Wildlife Conservation as Citizens Persuaded to Give Up Shark Fin Soup

10/19/2013

Source: Washingtonpost.com

By Simon Denyer

Once a rare delicacy served to honored guests, shark fin soup had become so popular among China’s fast-growing elite in recent years that it was pushing some shark species close to extinction.

Now, there is fresh hope for sharks around the world. The demand for shark fins has plunged, providing a rare victory for conservationists that could have wider implications for other endangered wildlife.

Thanks to a former NBA star, a coalition of Chinese business leaders, celebrities and students, and some unlikely investigative journalism, eating shark fin soup is no longer fashionable here. But what really tipped the balance was a government campaign against extravagance that has seen the soup banned from official banquets.

“People said it was impossible to change China, but the evidence we are now getting says consumption of shark fin soup in China is down by 50 to 70 percent in the last two years,” said Peter Knights, executive director of WildAid, a San Francisco-based group that has promoted awareness about the shark trade. The drop is also reflected in government and industry statistics.

“It is a myth that people in Asia don’t care about wildlife,” Knights said. “Consumption is based on ignorance rather than malice. ”

The dramatic expansion in China’s middle and upper classes has transformed the country into a major driver of global wildlife trafficking. The Obama administration is so concerned about Chinese demand for endangered wildlife that it made the subject an important part of its bilateral dialogue this year. More....

The Power of 96 Elephants: A new Campaign to Stop the Ivory Trade

10/17/2013

Source: Enoughproject.org

By Evan Anderson

In a joint initiative to end elephant poaching, the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) have teamed up to launch the 96 Elephants campaign. The campaign is a key component of a CGI Commitment to Action, which brings together NGOs, citizens, and governments to stop the illegal trade of ivory – currently at its highest point since 1989, when the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) decided to ban the sale of ivory throughout the world. The partnership is an innovative one. Hillary Clinton argues that stopping the poaching of elephants is critical to American national security, arguing that the illegal yet highly profitable sale of ivory helps fund terrorist groups such as al-Shabaab. In June, the Enough Project published a report that confirms the role of poaching and the ivory sale in financing the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). Though Joseph Kony’s notorious army is currently a shadow of its former self with only a few hundred combatants, ivory helps this indicted war criminal continue to avoid capture.

The initiative allocates $80 million in funding for the three-pronged goal of preventing the killing of elephants, halting the smuggling of ivory, and reeducating global consumers. Most critically, the plan is to hire and train over 3,000 new park rangers at a number of targeted sites across Africa. With better trained staff and cutting-edge technology, the increase in capacity at these 48 national parks across Africa should effectively protect two-thirds of Africa’s entire elephant population. As part of a conservation movement which has sometimes been criticized as anti-African, this initiative has the support of several African countries: Malawi, Cote D’Ivoire, Uganda, Botswana, South Sudan, Kenya, and Gabon.

Public advocacy is a key component of the campaign. At the time of posting, 49,261 people had already signed the petition to call on President Obama to declare a moratorium on ivory sale in the United States. The U.S. is one of the largest markets for ivory in the world, second only to China, where a burgeoning middle class has drastically increased a seemingly-insatiable demand. There are, however, some signs of hope coming out of ivory-hungry Asia. Thailand announced that it will soon begin the process to ban the trade in its legislature. In China, retired basketball star Yao Ming uses his celebrity to raise public awareness around the issue. More....

Former NBA Star Joins the Anti-Poaching War

10/11/2013

Source: News24.co.ke

By Joseph Njung’eh

Retired Chinese basketball star, Yao Ming, is at the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in Isiolo for an anti-poaching campaign.

According to a statement from Lewa Executive Officer, Mike Watson, the NBA star, who played for the Houston Rockets, is using his stardom to help stop the poaching of rhinos and elephants in Kenya and across Africa.

The 32-year-old star is also working on a documentary dubbed The End of the Wild, protesting against illegal wildlife trade.

He arrived in the country in August and has visited several conservancies, Watson said, and is witnessing the harsh reality facing the future of the iconic species especially elephants and rhinos.

Watson said Yao had his best moments with three orphaned rhinos raised at the conservancy, saying he witnessed the far reaching effects of poaching.

In his tour of the conservancy, Yao confirmed that Asians still purchase rhino horns to make medicine due to traditional beliefs and customs.

“There is a traditional belief, but legal traditional medicine practitioners stopped using rhino horn in 1993 in China and now use alternative treatments. But some people don’t understand the price the rhinos have to pay for the use of horn and we hope with our film we can raise awareness,” said Yao. More....

2013 Set to be Record Year for Illegal Rhino Deaths in South Africa

10/8/2013

Source: Blueandgreentomorrow.com

By Tom Revell

More than 725 rhinos have been illegally killed in South Africa so far this year, according to the latest figures from the conservation charity Save the Rhino. This means that last year’s record of 668 has already been passed with almost three months of the year still remaining.

Despite an international ban on trade, the number of rhinos poached for their horn in South Africa has been increasing year on year. In 2007, only 13 were killed.

It remains a lucrative business, with crushed rhino horn worth more than its weight in gold on the black market. Conservation groups are even suggesting that the illegal trade may have financed Al Shabaab, the terrorist organisation behind the attack on the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi.

The increasing trade is being driven largely by demand in Vietnam. A survey conducted by wildlife trade monitoring network Traffic in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City found that the typical rhino horn buyers are upper-middle class citizens, often businessmen, celebrities or government officials.

In Vietnam, rhino horn is seen as a symbol of social importance. Rhino horns are often bought as a gift to family members, colleagues or people in positions of authority. Those purchasing rhino horn often believe that owning it, as well as being able to purchase it for others, reaffirms their social status. It is also used as a traditional medicine.

Save the Rhino says that there are around 20,950 rhinos left in South Africa, meaning that the country has lost 3.5% of its rhinos this year alone.

Cathy Dean, director of Save the Rhino, says, “If poaching continues to accelerate at the current rate, it is predicted that total deaths, natural and poached, will overtake births in late 2015 or early 2016. Rhino numbers will then start to decline and, as they do so, their ability to recover will reduce.” More....

Elephant, Rhino Poaching Is A Brutal Disaster

10/8/2013

Source: Courant.com

By Libby Leyden-Sussler

We've heard about the war on terrorism and the war against drugs, but there is another war that has gone on for decades — the war on poaching — and it's about time we give it just as much attention.

On Sept. 26 in New York City, the Clinton Global Initiative hosted five conservation groups as they gathered to sign a three-year commitment to "Stop the Killing, Stop the Trafficking, Stop the Demand." It is a pact aimed at protecting wildlife, including elephants and rhinoceroses, from poaching and to crack down on the trafficking and demand for ivory.

This summer, I worked for Africa Media in South Africa, a journalism company focused on writing pieces geared toward conservation and environment issues. Wildlife has always been an interest of mine, but I lacked any exposure. The closest I'd ever come to an elephant was from behind the bars at the Bronx Zoo. I was naive about the threat these animals face.

My first assignment this summer was to cover a story about two rhinoceroses, Bonnie and Clyde. Poachers had cut off their horns to sell and they were living on life support. We visited the game lodge where they were staying and what we saw at the emergency veterinarian clinic can only be described with one word: sorrowful.

These majestic, misunderstood animals were hanging their heads low because they were wounded and disfigured, having lost the symbol of their strength and pride. A clean cut left a jarring stub on the snout of their long faces. Luckily, with the care of the veterinarians, Bonnie and Clyde will survive without their horns, but most rhinos and elephants killed for the value of their horns and tusks aren't so fortunate. As I left the lodge that day, there was an eerie quiet suffused with an aura of melancholy and heartbreak. During the next two months, I began to understand the dire need to expose this less-talked-about war.

In 2012, poachers killed an estimated 35,000 elephants and hundreds of rhinos, or an average of about 96 per day, according to the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species, known as CITES. More....

Why the Fight to Save the Elephant is So Important to Humanity's Future

10/3/2013

Source: Mirror.co.uk

By Nicky Campbell

A heartbreaking catastrophe is unfolding in the great forests and on the savannahs of Africa.

Amid all the political instability and human suffering, people are waking up to the dreadful fact that if the current rate of elephant poaching continues, there will be next to no wild herds left by 2025.

Sir David Attenborough recently asked: “Are we happy to suppose that our grandchildren may never be able to see an elephant except in a picture book?”

The most conservative estimates reckon 25,000 are being slaughtered annually for their tusks. There are just 400,000 left.

How on earth did we get here?

Despite the international ban on selling ivory there have been two “one-off” sales – the most recent to China and Japan in 2008.

An ever-growing Chinese middle class sees ivory as the ultimate status symbol and the demand is accelerating.

All for what? Trinkets, chopsticks, toothpicks and – how’s this for an obscene parody of beauty? – ivory carvings of elephants. Never in the field of human vanity have so many died for so very little.

The latest research on elephants makes this even more shocking. These remarkable animals challenge our assumptions of human “uniqueness”. More....

At CGI, a Commitment to Stop the Bloody Slaughter of African Elephants

9/26/2013

Source: Science.time.com

By Bryan Walsh

It’s open season on elephants in Africa. In 2012 poachers killed 35,000 elephants—that’s nearly 96 per day, part of an illegal killing spree that has seen the number of African elephants plummet by 76% since 1980. The targets are the elephants’ tusks, made of ivory that can be shipped abroad and sold for more than $1,000 per pound in rapidly growing Asian markets. Wildlife trafficking is valued at $7-$10 billion a year, making it the fifth most lucrative illegal activity after the drug trade, human trafficking, oil theft and counterfeiting. And because the penalties for poaching tend to be far more weaker than the punishment for trading drugs or people, it’s become an attractive business for criminal syndicates and terrorist groups alike. “Poaching has become an enormous problem and one of the most profitable criminal activities there is,” says Peter Seligmann, the CEO of Conservation International. “It’s destabilizing to nations, it’s a threat to security forces and it’s a serious loss for local economies that depend on wildlife.” The illegal wildlife trade is blood money at its bloodiest.

Part of the problem is that the good guys have long been outgunned by the bad guys. Rangers in African nations are often poorly equipped compared to syndicate-backed hunters with night-vision goggles and high-powered rifles. But a new commitment that will be announced later this morning at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) summit in New York may begin to balance the fight. An alliance of conservation groups—including CI, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) and the International Fund for Animal Welfare—will come together with a number of African nations to improve anti-poaching efforts on the ground, disrupt international trafficking networks—and perhaps most importantly, work to cool the feverish demand for ivory products in the rising consumer nations of Asia. “We have a proposed strategy to stop the killing, stop the trafficking and stop the demand,” says Cristian Samper, the president of WCS. “We need to step up the game.”

This isn’t the first time wide scale poaching threatened ivory-carrying species like the African elephant and the even-rarer rhino—the 1980s were marked by the bloody “Ivory Wars” that only came to an end in 1989 when the members of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) voted to ban the sale of ivory altogether. Ivory jewelry became taboo in much of the world, which reduced the demand and the killing. Elephant and rhino numbers were able to recover. More....