No 309 Wildlife Trade News 3rd January 2015

No let up in the new year either … your daily dose of bad news about poaching, wildlife
and environmental crimes …

in the spotlight today ……………………

Elephant sale sparks firestorm in Zimbabwe. extract: "We are expecting at least one million signatures from around the world," Task Force Chairman Johnny Rodrigues told the Anadolu Agency. http://www.turkishpress.com/news/417185/

Zimbabwe elephant population in Zambezi valley dwindles http://www.coastweek.com/3801-special-report-05.htm

No 309. Wildlife Trade News 3rd January 2015

Tiger bone wine on sale in China: Elite fuelling barbaric trade in big cat products they see as status symbols

Surin man caught with B5m in ivory. THAILAND. EXTRACT: Kampol "Riam" Noithanom, 47, a native of tambon Krapo, appeared at a police press conference Thursday following a raid on his Taklang village shack where 51 African ivory tusks, weighing a total 134.7kg,… http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/crime/453903/surin-man-caught-with-b5m-in-ivory (NA comment: In China, you could easily find shops illegally selling ivory. So why don’t the Chinese authorities raid them and close them down? Could it be the Chinese authorities and illegal traders have become emboldened by CITES’s self inflicted impotence? If China and the traders are not punished for their part in 100,000 elephants being slaughtered in the last few years alone, why would they bother to stop their very lucrative but highly illegal trade?)

RM41 million worth of logs seized in Sarawak in 2014 – Bernama – See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/rm41-million-worth-of-logs-seized-in-sarawak-in-2014-bernama#sthash.XkopLeDs.dpuf

Tiger’s Death at Solo Zoo Brings 2014 Toll to Four, Including Two Orangutans. INDONESIA http://thejakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/tigers-death-solo-zoo-brings-2014-toll-four-including-two-orangutans/

EXPOSED: Bear bile farm horror just moments from one of world’s most popular tourist spots. VIETNAM

EXTRACT: And he found starving, wounded bears, many of them missing limbs, and all of them suffering from sore cracked paws after years of treading on the bars of their tiny rusting iron cages.

Bush Telegraph: Can tourism save Kenya’s magnificent wildlife? http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/activityandadventure/11321515/Bush-Telegraph-Can-tourism-save-Kenyas-magnificent-wildlife.html

India lost 66 wild tigers in 2014 http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/india-lost-66-wild-tigers-in-2014/article6751006.ece

Indiscriminate logging one of the causes of Kelantan floods. MALAYSIA
Read more: http://www.therakyatpost.com/news/2015/01/03/indiscriminate-logging-one-causes-kelantan-floods/#ixzz3Nju7A19S

CM: Requirements part of measures to check illegal logging in Sarawak http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2015/01/03/Tougher-rules-for-sawmills-CM-Requirements-part-of-measures-to-check-illegal-logging-in-Sarawak/

Protection needed for rhinos in Kunene – Murorua. NAMIBIA

http://www.namibian.com.na/indexx.php?id=21717&page_type=story_detail&category_id=1

Record year of rhino slayings as Africa’s big animals targeted http://www.brecorder.com/top-news/109-world-top-news/214667-record-year-of-rhino-slayings-as-africas-big-animals-targeted.html

Vietnam – Still Driving the Rhino Poaching Crisis http://eia-global.org/blog/vietnam-still-driving-the-rhino-poaching-crisis

DO YOU AGREE VIETNAM SHOULD HAVE BEEN SANCTIONED BY CITES YEARS AGO?

HAS CITES FAILED THE RHINO?

CITES ISN’T WORKING – IS IT?

Hunter of rare birds is now their saviour. INDIA http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/indore/Hunter-of-rare-birds-is-now-their-saviour/articleshow/45727594.cms

Search for killers of six lions near Tarangire national park Tanzania http://www.coastweek.com/3801-Hunt-on-for-killers-of-six-lions-near-Tarangire-national-park-Tanzania.htm

Nunavut wildlife board to consider walrus quota for Foxe Basin http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/stories/article/65674nunavut_wildlife_board_to_consider_walrus_quota_for_foxe_basin/

13 species we might have to say goodbye to in 2015 http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2015/01/02/globalpost-species-near-extinction/21182221/

Officials rescue wildlife from illegal trading ring. THAILAND – extract: Upon the inspection, the officials discovered that the building contains 717 wild turtles, 29 Burmese pythons, and 35 reticulated pythons http://thainews.prd.go.th/centerweb/newsen/NewsDetail?NT01_NewsID=WNSOC5712240010021#sthash.SY7bJPb1.dpuf

Indian Marine Police seize 110 kg sea cucumbers, nab smuggler