The penultimate dose of bad news of 2014
about poaching, wildlife and environmental crimes
in the spotlight today ……………………
PRESS STATEMENT: Ten Years After the Tsunami, Aceh Faces New “Development Disasters” : SUMATRA http://endoftheicons.org/2014/12/30/press-statement-ten-years-after-the-tsunami-aceh-faces-new-development-disasters/
No 306 Wildlife Trade News 30th December 2014
SHAME ON ZIMBABWE, UAE, FRANCE AND CHINA
for stealing baby elephants from their mothers to incarcerate in zoos.
WHO ARE THE PEOPLE AND ZOOS INVOLVED IN THIS EVIL TRADE?
This has nothing to do with conservation.
Wildlife farmers count losses over US import ban. EXTRACT: ”…. the USFWS said “anecdotal evidence, such as the widely publicised (cyanide) poisoning last year of 300 elephants in Hwange National Park, suggests that Zimbabwe’s elephants are also under siege”.
China’s ivory craze has killed
100,000 elephants in the last 3 yrs alone.
If that doesn’t qualify CHINA for CITES and
USA* sanctions, what will?
*The Pelly Amendment was expanded by P.L. 95-376 (92 Stat. 714), September 18, 1978, to authorize the President to embargo wildlife products (including all fish not previously covered) whenever the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Commerce certifies that nationals of a foreign country are engaging in trade or taking that diminishes the effectiveness of an international program in force with respect to the United States for the conservation of endangered or threatened species. http://www.fws.gov/laws/lawsdigest/FISHPRO.HTML
IS THERE ANY POINT IN A CONVENTION IF COUNTRIES ARE ALLOWED
TO FLAGRANTLY BREAK THEM AND – THEN GO UNPUNISHED?
If those empowered to enforce sanctions, don’t. What does that make them?
Tanzania Needs Pilots For Anti-poaching Helicopters http://www.coastweek.com/3752-special-report-02.htm
Tanzania’s Wildlife Sanctuaries Notice Less Elephant Poaching http://www.coastweek.com/3752-special-report-01.htm
Tanzania’s second largest city braces for Chinese investments http://www.coastweek.com/3752-special-report-05.htm (NA comment: Could there possibly be any connection between these deals mentioned above and this buying spree in Tanzania? Tanzania ivory: China officials ‘went on buying spree’ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-29929423 i.e. To get this volume of investment did the Tanzanian government have to ‘sweeten the deal’ with a few tons of ivory?
CITES: By the way, this Tanzania/China report made news all over the world in countless media, but has never appeared on the CITES web site? Do you think the secretariat is shielding China, kow-towing to those it should instead be recommending for disciplining? Bear in mind how many times a week you see reports mentioning CHINA in a headline in the context of illegal wildlife trading – would you like to try and find China mentioned once on this CITES web news page? http://www.cites.org/eng/news/cuttings/index.php Now are you suspicious? Why is the secretariat omitting China from this exposure and shame, when other countries are not receiving the same favoured treatment?
If the secretariat cares to explain the absence of China from its wildlife trade news section, we will print it here.
If you see no such explanation appear here, you can draw your own conclusions, can’t you?
If your country receives mentions on the CITES news page, you may wish to ask the secretariat WHY, when China does not. John.scanlon
Beyond 2015: Can World’s Most Endangered Wildlife Survive? http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/2014-year-in-review/beyond-2015-can-worlds-most-endangered-wildlife-survive-n273316
The Indian Temple That’s "Ground Zero" for Elephant Torture
TheYearThatWas: Distressing environmental issues in Malaysia in 2014 http://www.thestar.com.my/Lifestyle/Features/2014/12/30/The-year-that-was-Environment/
‘I’m not the rhino horn mastermind’: Man sues after ‘false’ report http://nypost.com/2014/12/29/im-not-the-rhino-horn-mastermind-man-sues-after-false-report/
Tanzanian police arrest 2 caught with illegal ivory http://sabahionline.com/en_GB/articles/hoa/articles/newsbriefs/2014/12/29/newsbrief-04
Two rhino poached in Namibia http://citizen.co.za/299882/two-rhino-poached-namibia/
In pictures: Take a good look – African animals at the edge of existence http://mgafrica.com/multimedia/2014-12-30-take-a-good-look-african-animals-at-the-edge-of-existence
Rare baby tortoises found at Paris airport
extract: Customs officials said the tortoises were destined for Laos.
http://www.thelocal.fr/20141229/endangered-tortoises-found-at-paris-airport
Kenya: Conservationists Mourn the Death of Oldest Rhino at Maasai Mara, Karanja Was 43 http://allafrica.com/stories/201412291305.html
Reindeers In China Near Extinction http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/577361/20141230/china-reindeers-extinction.htm#.VKF2yP8MBA
Nigeria: Reviving Nigeria’s Depleted Wildlife Parks, Zoos http://allafrica.com/stories/201412292983.html
SABAH/MALAYSIA. A year later and the Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) has still not so much as arrested, let alone prosecuted a single person. With its close links to the palm oil industry the SWD has for years turned a blind eye to such law-breaking. Thousands of orangutans and a large number of rhinos have been killed, also without any arrests. The SABAH WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT AND ITS MINISTER SHOULD HANG THEIR HEADS IN SHAME.
Illegal wood driver arrested after killing ranger during chase. VIETNAM http://www.thanhniennews.com/society/illegal-wood-driver-arrested-after-killing-ranger-during-chase-36885.html
Birds fall prey to poachers, forest department to issue alert. INDIA
The Truth About Chimps http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2010/02/congo-chimps/nichols-photography
Traffic Southeast Asia It may be the holiday season for many but Vietnamese authorities have been busy with these seizures: Just before Christmas, police in central Viet Nam seized a 120-kg frozen tiger carcass in a "suspicious" truck heading north on National Route 1A in Nghe An Province and a few days ago Environmental Police in Hanoi arrested two men for illicitly trading rhino horns and the tusks, claws, and horns of other wild animal species.
Greenpeace Indonesia ? Investigation: How new coal mines are polluting Indonesia’s water & forests
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3y_ZIg782dk
Who killed tiger: wrestler or forest men? INDIA http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/Who-killed-tiger-wrestler-or-forest-men/articleshow/45683018.cms
Leopard-meat eater held in Aldur, officials seize skin. INDIA http://www.bangaloremirror.com/bangalore/others/Leopard-meat-eater-held-in-Aldur-officials-seize-skin/articleshow/45681717.cms
Bird carcasses found in raid. INDIA http://echoofindia.com/itanagar-bird-carcasses-found-raid-74845
Illegal Logger Shot, Injured by Thai Border Soldier https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/illegal-logger-shot-injured-by-thai-border-soldier-75021/
My favorite – the orangutan Peter Pratje has a special bond with orangutans. For the last 12 years, he’s been releasing the apes into the wild.
Sea Shepherd Retrieves 25 Kilometres of Illegal Gillnet from the Southern Ocean http://www.wireservice.ca/index.php?module=News&func=display&sid=14081
A school for orangutans: learning to survive in the wild Orangutans living in captivity are going to school in the jungle in order learn the skills needed to survive as an ape in Indonesia’s primeval forests.
When They Brought These Wolves Into The Park, They Had No Idea This Would Happen (NA comment: Recommended viewing – only 5 minutes needed and you most likely will be amazed and impressed. All good news.)
8 October, 2013 In 1995, wolves were re-introduced into the Yellowstone National Park, after being wolf-free for 70 years. What naturalists and biologist never imagined, was that the most remarkable thing would take place. Mother Nature knows what she’s doing if we just leave her alone. http://themetapicture.com/when-they-brought-these-wolves/
Monkey exports – disturbingly on the increase
