No 387 Wildlife Trade News: 20th April

Your daily dose of bad news on a Monday … About poaching, wildlife and environmental crimes …

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in the spotlight today ……………………

Vietnam makes massive seizure of rhino horns

EXTRACT: HANOI – Vietnamese customs have seized elephant tusks and rhino horns worth millions of dollars on the black market from a flight arriving from France, officials said Friday. The haul weighed around 65 kilogrammes (143 pounds) and included 18 pieces of elephant tusk and three rhino horns, which are believed to have come from Africa, a customs official told AFP. ‘The shipment was seized Thursday at Noi Bai international airport (in Hanoi) on a Vietnam Airlines flight arriving from France,’ he said, speaking on condition of anonymity. http://nation.com.pk/snippets/18-Apr-2015/vietnam-makes-massive-seizure-of-rhino-horns

No 387 Wildlife Trade News: 20th April

10 witnesses to add more bite to wildlife trial. MALAYSIA http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2015/04/18/10-witnesses-to-add-more-bite-to-wildlife-trial/

Orangutan promo poster earns brickbats for Hard Rock Cafe in Sabah – The newly opened Hard Rock Café in Kota Kinabalu has sparked uproar among concerned citizens and environmentalists who disapprove of the restaurant’s promotional material featuring an orangutan. — Picture courtesy of Dr Sen Nathan – See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/orangutan-promo-poster-earns-brickbats-for-hard-rock-cafe-in-sabah#sthash.Fjh4MAQc.dpuf

Sabah Wildlife Department’s hypocrisy proven once again – See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/what-you-think/article/sabah-wildlife-departments-hypocrisy-proven-once-again-arju-raw#sthash.JdK3zcAJ.dpuf

Retain marketing, PR to lift palm oil’s brand image. MALAYSIA
Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2015/04/20/retain-marketing-pr-to-lift-palm-oils-brand-image/#ixzz3Xp7abCBp

150 tonnes of ivory declared 22,000 collectors report in Stocktake. THAILAND
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/533383/150-tonnes-of-ivory-declared

Jakarta’s notorious wildlife markets. EXTRACT “ …to rid Jakarta once and for all of its international reputation as a haven for wildlife crime. – See more at:

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/04/18/your-letters-jakarta-s-notorious-wildlife-markets.html#sthash.knOYHqLh.dpuf

Woman with decoy baby arrested over ivory haul. HONG KONG http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=30&art_id=156178&sid=44277414&con_type=1

Green activist killings up by a fifth – Global Witness

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-32377110

Poaching: Kruger has a lot to learn from Swaziland http://traveller24.news24.com/Explore/Bush/Poaching-Kruger-has-a-lot-to-learn-from-Swaziland-20150418

Another domestic elephant dies in Central Highlands. VIETNAM

http://www.thanhniennews.com/society/another-domestic-elephant-dies-in-central-highlands-42277.html

Fifth elephant dies in Dak Lak in four months VietNamNet Bridge – After being stabbed by an unknown assailant, an elephant refused to eat and died after two days. This is the fifth domesticated elephant in Dak Lak that has died this year.

http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/environment/128650/fifth-elephant-dies-in-dak-lak-in-four-months.html

Elephant Deaths Rises in Kerala as Government Order Backfires extract:

KOCHI: The state government’s directive to truck elephants instead of walking them along roads for hours in the scorching sun seems to have backfired with a rising number of elephants thus transported falling prey to “erandakettu” (a kind of constipation) and respiratory disorders.

An elephant being transported in a lorry | Express (file photo) As many as 63 elephants died in the past three years in the state and out of these, 43 died of “erandakettu” or respiratory disorders. Vets attribute the rise in the number of such deaths to the fact that elephants lose the biological balance of their stomachs and the natural respiratory movement while travelling in trucks for hours. http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/Elephant-Deaths-Rises-in-Kerala-as-Government-Order-Backfires/2015/04/19/article2771738.ece

Elephant protection in India is about more than banning them in temples

Stopping private ownership of elephants can be a huge boost to wild elephant conservation but where will all these jumbos go?

http://scroll.in/article/721462/Elephant-protection-in-India-is-about-more-than-banning-them-in-temples

More than 30 rescued circus animals headed to Wild Animal Sanctuary http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_27946998/more-than-30-rescued-circus-animals-headed-colorado?source=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dp-news-local+%28Denver+Post%3A+News%3A+Local%3A+All+Local+News%29

CID arrests Wildlife Dept clerk in charge of list of ‘registered elephants’. SRI LANKA http://newsfirst.lk/english/2015/04/cid-arrests-wildlife-dept-clerk-in-charge-of-list-of-registered-elephants/90559

The loss of a moral compass, the loss of snow leopards http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2015/04/15/the-loss-of-a-moral-compass-the-loss-of-snow-leopards/

Indonesia’s vast mangroves are a treasure worth saving

Mangroves are still be cleared for aquaculture expansion. Since 1989, 6600 hectares of Tanjung Panjang Nature Reserve’s original 13,300 ha of mangroves have been converted. Iona Soulsby http://theconversation.com/indonesias-vast-mangroves-are-a-treasure-worth-saving-39367

INDONESIA PRESS-Wilmar Group to invest $1 bln to develop palm sector -Bisnis Indonesia Wilmar Group plans to invest $1 billion to develop palm-oil-based industry in the Maloy Special Economic Zone in East Kalimantan, Bisnis Indonesia reported on Monday, quoting Wilmar Group Indonesia Commissioner Tumanggor. http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/20/indonesia-press-wilmar-idUSL4N0XH1AY20150420

Criticism of GAR and Wilmar African oil palm projects highlight global ‘no-deforestation’ challenges http://news.mongabay.com/2015/0416-norman-GAR-wilmar-africa.html

700 gms elephant tusks seized in Jalpaiguri http://echoofindia.com/jalpaiguri-700-gms-elephant-tusks-seized-jalpaiguri-83554

Stolen and taken to Germany: two jewelled geckos now in Wellington Zoo http://wellington.scoop.co.nz/?p=77501

Sindh, Punjab hub of illegal turtle trade. PAKISTAN http://www.dawn.com/news/1177018/sindh-punjab-hub-of-illegal-turtle-trade

Peat fires in Riau continue despite conversion moratorium http://www.eco-business.com/news/peat-fires-in-riau-continue-despite-conversion-moratorium/

BBC: Tigers, fisherman and the forest

Fear of tiger attack may be the unlikely catalyst for a slowdown in deforestation of the Sundarbans mangrove forests http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-32301600

Charcoal selling remains a lucrative business in Dar. TANZANIA

http://www.ippmedia.com/frontend/index.php?l=79443

Four poachers get 3-year jail term. INDIA http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/uttarakhand/four-poachers-get-3-year-jail-term/69143.html

Assam government sits on Kaziranga funds for protection of wildlife
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-3045036/Assam-government-sits-Kaziranga-funds-protection-wildlife.html#ixzz3XjIsPbzZ

Norwegian court to rule on six men accused of illegal wolf hunt http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/19/norwegian-court-to-rule-on-six-men-accused-of-illegal-wolf-hunt

Parks chief asks temple to allow transfer of tigers http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Parks-chief-asks-temple-to-allow-transfer-of-tiger-30258295.html

Endangered species

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/endangered-species/article7120577.ece

600 Kilograms of Sea Cucumber Seized in Tamil Nadu

http://www.ndtv.com/tamil-nadu-news/600-kilograms-of-sea-cucumber-seized-in-tamil-nadu-756307