The daily does of bitter truths about the ongoing wildlife trade and other illegal activities threatening
the survival of species, species often crucial to the
survival of the tourism industry in many African countries.
in the spotlight today ……………………
Malaysia’s blood ivory cover up continues It has never been independently audited. No one has ever been arrested. Could this be the largest stockpile of ivory in the world not independently audited? How much longer is CITES going to let Malaysia get away with breaking the convention? Ivory, orangutans, gorillas, etc etc – all traded illegally in Malaysia, with not a single person ever arrested. Have some of the 2000 plus tusks gone ‘missing’ with the authorities falsifying reports to CITES? Only an independent audit will clear up this growing concern, won’t it? http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/letters/2014/10/16/malaysias-blood-ivory-cover-up-continues/
If CITES is not going to use sanctions, what is the point in having them available as a supposed deterrent and ultimate punishment? There has to come a time, like now, when excuses are no longer acceptable and punishment is not only proper, it is a vital weapon in the fight against the wildlife trade, isn’t it? So why don’t the Standing Committee apply sanctions against the multitude of countries breaking the convention? Is the committee being guided by the Secretariat? Look at the facts and the 50% decline in wildlife, and decide for yourself. e.g. it’s not exactly a secret China is up to its neck in the ivory and great ape trade, amongst many others. Rather than sanction, the CITES Secretary General gave China a “Certificate of Merit”! http://cites.org/eng/CITES-SG_certificate_commendation_10072014
No 239 Wildlife Trade News 17th October 2014
Interpol issues arrest warrant for suspected ivory smuggler Feisal Ali – See more at: http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/article-194266/interpol-issues-arrest-warrant-suspected-ivory-smuggler-feisal-ali#sthash.aKJtJizb.dpuf
The Irish Clan Behind Europe’s Rhino-Horn Theft Epidemichttp://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-01-02/the-irish-clan-behind-europes-rhino-horn-theft-epidemic
Rhino horn demand in Vietnam drops by more than 33% in one year Information campaign successfully changes minds of people who think rhino horn has medicinal value http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/oct/16/rhino-horn-demand-in-vietnam-drops-by-more-than-33-in-one-year
Hong Kong needs tougher controls on local ivory trade Wilson Lau says Hong Kong must do more to regulate its domestic ivory trade if it wants to tackle its reputation as a global smuggling hub. (NA comment: Anyone in CITES listening? Anyone care? extract: Much of the illegal ivory intercepted in Hong Kong is believed to be destined for the mainland, where legal and illegal ivory sales thrive.
The Customs and Excise Department intercepted nearly 8 tonnes of undeclared ivory last year, worth more than HK$80 million. Photo: EPA http://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1617579/hong-kong-needs-tougher-controls-local-ivory-trade
China Is Pushing the Rare Pig-Nosed Turtle to Extinction http://www.takepart.com/article/2014/10/15/china-pushing-rare-pig-nosed-toward-extinction
Border police told to stop ivory trade (Thailand) http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/social/437986/border-police-told-to-stop-ivory-trade
Trader in wildlife trafficking freed (Philippines) NA comment: a major illegal wildlife trader treated very leniently. Why?) http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/645274/trader-in-wildlife-trafficking-freed
Animal rights activists accuse Wildlife chief (Sri Lanka) http://www.dailymirror.lk/news/53858-animal-rights-activists-accuse-wildlife-chief.html
Sheffield tiger-parts accused Catherine Emberton to face judge (UK) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-29646087
Save the Elephants! Antiques Mkt Hit by Federal Ban on Ivory Sales (USA) Read more at http://observer.com/2014/10/antiques-mkt-shaken-by-federal-ban-on-ivory-sales/#ixzz3GLJNh63P
New Report Shows Illegal Russian Crab Entering US Market – See more at: http://3blmedia.com/News/New-Report-Shows-Illegal-Russian-Crab-Entering-US-Market#sthash.eTlVLsU5.dpuf
Two Brothers Charged For Illegally Possessing 30 Protected Animals (Malaysia) http://www.malaysiandigest.com/news/523465-two-brothers-charged-for-illegally-possessing-30-protected-animals.html
Researcher aims to bust myth of Japan’s ‘whale-eating’ culture http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/10/14/national/researcher-aims-to-bust-myth-of-japans-whale-eating-culture/#.VEAX0smwQud
Polar bear hunt quotas cut by a quarter http://metronews.ca/news/canada/1183913/polar-bear-hunt-quotas-cut-by-a-quarter/
Sindh gives poachers turtles, scorpions (Pakistan)
Published: October 9, 2014
PHOTO: EXPRESS FILE
KARACHI: In Sindh, the illegal trade of endangered species — turtles, black scorpions and leopard geckos to name a few — is as common as the trade of goats, sheep and buffaloes.
Unfortunately, the provincial government only acknowledges turtle smuggling and denies that any other animal is being smuggled, despite reports that various species, including certain frogs, are being traded at ‘good prices’.
While the poaching of black scorpions and geckos is rampant, their final destinations have yet to be ascertained as no buyers have been caught with a consignment. Reports claim these animals are being traded locally but wildlife officials claim this whole thing is a hoax as scorpions that big do not exist. “I don’t think a scorpion can weigh a kilo, or even 500 grams,” said Sindh Wildlife Department head Javed Ahmed Mahar.
However, despite denying the existence of scorpion and gecko smuggling, the Sindh government has imposed a ban on their illegal movement.
“Even a 100-gram scorpion is worth its weight in gold,” countered Abdul Latif, who is involved in the illegal trade of geckos and scorpions. “These animals are being exported, and they are being used to produce certain experimental medicines.”
However, Mahar and Latif do agree on a single crucial point: both the black scorpion and the gecko are on the verge of extinction. Latif claimed that even green frogs are being bought and sold, even though their rates are not as high as that of the scorpion.
Wildlife officials do, however, admit that the turtle is being traded. The business started 15 years ago and it has driven eight kinds of turtles to the verge of extinction, including the black-pond turtle. “The soft shell and the hard shell turtles have almost disappeared,” an official told The Express Tribune.
The laws are lax, the punishment soft and the rewards lucrative. “There is no need for a permit to buy and sell turtles,” said Zeeshan Ahmed, who illegally buys and sells turtles and other endangered species. “All the government can do is impose a fine of several thousand rupees.”
Air and sea ports have no mechanism in place to prevent turtle smuggling. “No one can stop the trade until sniffer dogs are deployed at the exit points,” said a senior wildlife official, who wished to remain anonymous. “We aren’t allowed to deploy people at airports, so smuggling them out is an easy job.”
Published in The Express Tribune, October 10th, 2014.
K-P fails to take steps to control illegal trade (Pakistan)
Published: October 9, 2014
Bird hunting. (Pakistan)
DESIGN: AMNA IQBAL
PESHAWAR: The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) wildlife department has failed to take steps to control the illegal trade of birds and other animals across the province.
Leopard geckos, black scorpions, turtles, tuatara and myna birds are just a few of the animals that are being poached from K-P, they are then being traded illegally not only in the province but throughout the country and some are even being smuggled out of it.
Like in all other provinces, the black scorpion and the gecko have been pushed to extinction by the greed of poachers but it is the province’s birds that are suffering the most at their hands.
The trade is at its peak but arrests and other measures by wildlife officials is limited to vendors who sells myna, parrots and other colourful birds without obtaining licences to do so. “We are poor people and this is the only way we can make a living,” justified Bahadur Khan, who was arrested by wildlife officials for hunting down dozens of Myna birds.
Sardar Muhammad Khan, who also illegally hunts and trades valuable birds, told The Express Tribune that almost every bird they catch has a market. The hunting of such birds is banned by the K-P government but due to inaction and lack of deterrents, the hunting continues, from Chitral to Peshawar.
Choos Kata is one of the rare birds being hunted in Chitral’s Shali and Ayoun areas and can fetch between Rs40,000 and Rs50,000. The terinaak, is sold for Rs10,000, while the Choora goes for up to Rs20,000. However, the most expensive of them all is the Bari Surkh, with a single one being sold for between Rs5 million and Rs6 million. The Bari Surkh is usually smuggled to Arab countries as few local buyers can afford it.
However, catching these birds is not easy, especially as they become increasingly rare. “We begin the hunting season at the start of October and it goes till the end of December but we are only able to hunt down 50 to 55 birds,” said a poacher. “Some of these birds die while they are being transported in sacks to other cities so that’s even fewer birds that we are able to sell.”
Not all animals are exported though. The sekar and the peregrine falcon are being smuggled into the province from all over the world, despite their trade being banned in the entire country, according to divisional forest officer Niaz Muhammad. While proper data on wildlife is lacking, Muhammad claimed that there are 455 different species of birds in the province, out of which around a dozen are considered rare.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 10th, 2014.
Around 5,500 hectares of forestland still with encroachers’ hands (India) http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kochi/Around-5500-hectares-of-forestland-still-with-encroachers-hands/articleshow/44843119.cms
Forest personnel recruitment, weapons acquisition hanging fire (India) http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/forest-personnel-recruitment-weapons-acquisition-hanging-fire/article6507798.ece
Decades of overfishing causes swordfish decline http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/swordfish-decline-014.html#cr
Amazon Rainforest Facts and Deforestation: Greenpeace Uses Secret GPS Trackers to Get Pictures of Illegal Logging in Brazil http://www.latinpost.com/articles/23791/20141016/amazon-rainforest-facts-deforestation-greenpeace-uses-secret-gps-trackers-pictures.htm
Why Bear Bile Farming Persists in Vietnam http://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/why-bear-bile-farming-persists-in-vietnam/
To become less damaging, target non-forest lands for palm oil, says book http://news.mongabay.com/2014/1016-palm-oil-book.html
Thailand’s Deforestation Solution http://www.worldpolicy.org/blog/2014/10/16/thailands-deforestation-solution
Oil palm: development miracle or environmental disaster? http://www.trust.org/item/20141016110617-7ktfl/
Nyimba DC bemoans rampant deforestation (Zambia) http://www.postzambia.com/news.php?id=2939
The haunting eyes of wild animals at Cu Chi animal rescue station http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/environment/114188/the-haunting-eyes-of-wild-animals-at-cu-chi-animal-rescue-station.html
