News updates from the Conservation Action Trust

31 August 2016 | PeerJ | |

Abstract African elephants (Loxodonta africana) are imperiled by poaching and habitat loss. Despite global attention to the plight of elephants, their population sizes and trends are uncertain or unknown over much of Africa. To conserve this iconic species, conservationists need timely, accurate data on elephant populations. Here, we report the results of the Great Elephant … Full Story ?

31 August 2016 | Daily Maverick | Don Pinnock | Free to republish credit CAT

The largest wildlife survey ever taken has delivered alarming data for the ongoing survival of elephants. The results should be taken as a major wake-up call. By DON PINNOCK. To protect elephants in the wild, you need to know how many there are and where to find them. That was the goal set by a … Full Story ?

30 August 2016 | SA Breaking News | Melissa Reitz |Free to publish credit CAT

Recent results of a population count of Great White sharks around the South African coast have shown that the survival of the species is in a critical situation, reigniting the debate around cage diving and the role it plays in shark conservation. A study led by Sara Andreotti of Stellenbosch University has found that the … Full Story ?

27 August 2016 | The Guardian | Jamie Doward, |

The UK is putting elephants at risk of extinction through its broken promises on the ivory trade, according to campaigners. Before the last election, the Conservative party pledged to shut down the UK’s domestic ivory market: at the time 30,000 elephants a year were being slaughtered for their tusks. But no action has been taken. … Full Story ?

24 August 2016 | National Geographic | Adam Cruise |

That African elephants are in deep trouble has been widely publicized in recent years. They’re being poached at an unsustainable rate, and their numbers have dropped from 600,000 a decade ago to some 400,000 today. That’s why next month’s meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) … Full Story ?

26 August 2016 | The Parliament | Martin Banks |

It comes after French environment minister Ségolène Royal signed a decree banning the trade. This follows an earlier French governmental move to suspend re-exports of elephant ivory. The EU is the world’s largest exporter of pre-convention ivory – ivory acquired before the entry into force of the convention on the international trade in endangered species … Full Story ?

26 August 2016 | National Geographic | Paula Kahumbu |

My organization, WildlifeDirect, recently became aware of the scale of laundering of illegal ivory in the ivory markets of Japan through its contact with the Japanese NGO Tears of the African Elephant. Please see more about the interview we did on NTV Wild via this link: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Cvsj21F_FI4 (or watch the video embedded on top of this post). We … Full Story ?

17 August 2016 | Radio France Internationale | Radio France Internationale |

The sale of all elephant ivory and rhinoceros horn is now banned in France, Environment Minister Ségolène Royal has decreed before leaving for the Arctic where she will examine the effects of global warming. The ban “concerns all species of elephant and rhinoceros”, Royal said in a statement Wednesday, although special exemptions may be granted. … Full Story ?

18 August 2016 | Africa Geographic | Andreas Wilson-Spath | FREE TO PUBLISH CREDIT CAT

A comprehensive new review of the threats facing global biodiversity indicates that a popular approach to saving the planet’s wild animals from extinction may be fatally flawed. ‘Sustainable utilisation’ is a catch phrase that is as fashionable in wildlife conservation circles as it is controversial. In essence, it suggests that natural resources – in this instance, wild … Full Story ?