CONSERVATION NEWS
Busted! China customs dismantles major ivory trafficking syndicate!
Chinese authorities bust a massive ivory smuggling ring.
Chinese authorities have confirmed the capture and repatriation of Ou, one of the key players in a massive ivory smuggling syndicate based in Shuidong, China
It all started in 2017 when our undercover investigations into ivory smuggling in Mozambique revealed a major Chinese-led crime syndicate operating out of the small Chinese town of Shuidong.
Caught on hidden camera – members of the Shuidong syndicate show undercover EIA investigators their illegal ivory stash
Over the course of more than a year, our investigators infiltrated the syndicate and managed to piece together a detailed view of the shocking scale of these criminal activities as well as uncovering the identity of ivory traffickers occupying key positions.
Wildlife Crime unit busts wildlife meat traders and rescues live turtles!
The Wildlife Crime unit is working hard in Southeast Asia.
With intel on a suspected wildlife meat trader, the Wildlife Rapid Rescue Team (WRRT), accompanied by the Kampong Speu provincial prosecutor and local authorities, went to search the suspect’s house along National Road 4. During the search, the team found 6kg (13.2 lbs) of wild boar meat, 4kg (8.8 lbs) of red muntjac meat, 1.5kg (3.3 lbs) of common palm civet meat, 14 pairs of Malayan sun bear claws, a live yellow-headed temple turtle, a tabagar baska turtle, 5 Asian soft-shell turtles, an elongated turtle, 3 giant Asian pond turtles and a Burmese python. They also found fake elephant ivory and fake rhino horn.
Can the Land of a Million Elephants Survive the Belt and Road?
Chinese-funded projects in Laos could hasten the eradication of the elephant population!
A Laotian elder with an older elephant at the second annual Elephant Festival in Paklay, Laos (Feb. 17, 2008).
Image Credit: AP Photo/David Longstreath
China Railway’s Kunming bureau recently announced that a 36-kilometer long fence will be built along the Singapore-Kunming Railway project to protect wild elephants in southwest Yunnan’s Xishuangbanna region. This is a positive step, but it does little to allay concerns of the railway’s impact on elephant populations along the rest of the 3,900 km (2,400 mile) track of the Pan Asia Railway Central route. This is particularly so in Laos, where total elephant numbers are now below 1,000, and where vehicle collision is only one of many potential threats arising from China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
If current trajectories continue there will be no elephants left in Laos by the year 2030. In just 12 years, we could see the complete eradication of elephants from a country that once was known as “the land of a million elephants” (Lan Xang). So how did we reach this crisis point? What are the most daunting challenges for the future? And can Laos’ elephant population survive the advancement of the BRI?
Story by Kearrin Sims and Chrisantha Pinto / www.thediplomat.com.
La Jolla gallery owner and salesman plead not guilty to illegally selling ivory art!
Nsefu.org and other protest La Jolla gallery for selling ivory.
The Carlton Gallery in La Jolla was charged with violating AB96, possessing and selling $1.3 million in ivory.
Nsefu Co-Founder Coe Lewis and Nsefu Board Member Beth Hill along with other activists, protested outside the store in La Jolla for weeks on Saturdays.
Yesterday was their arraignment which Beth attended. They pled not guilty, of course, claiming ignorance. Beth met the Union Tribune reporter there and she published an article, mentioning Beth and Nsefu Wildlife.
The city will offer a settlement at the court date. If refused, it'll go to trial.
Court date is February 5th at 8:50am. Beth is organizing a protest outside the courthouse that day at 8am.
The Luangwa Valley is now home to Zambia’s largest African Wild Dog population.
Good news about African Wild Dogs in Zambia!
In an exciting win for conservation, the Luangwa Valley is now estimated to have the largest population of wild dogs in the whole of Zambia. Despite being one of Africa’s most endangered carnivores, wild dogs in and around the South Luangwa National Park have enjoyed several years of increasing numbers, and there are now estimated to be approximately 350 adults and yearlings living in the Luangwa Valley.
This wildlife conservation success is in large part due to the collaborative efforts of the Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW), the Zambian Carnivore Program (ZCP), and Conservation South Luangwa (CSL).
Story by www.zambiacarnivores.org
Photos: buehringer-online.de