Bad news never stop it seems …
More about poaching, wildlife and environmental crimes …
in the spotlight today……………
‘Ivory laundry of the world’: traders in Hong Kong offer poached ivory for sale
extract: The Washington Post’s own investigation also found ivory freely on sale in Hong Kong to mainland Chinese tourists, with some traders even offering advice on how to smuggle it into China.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/10/21/ivory-laundry-of-the-world-traders-in-hong-kong-offer-poached-ivory-for-sale/ (A report guaranteed NOT to be seen on the pro-China/Hong Kong CITES web site?)
Undercover video exposes Hong Kong’s illegal ivory trade http://gantdaily.com/2015/10/21/undercover-video-exposes-hong-kongs-illegal-ivory-trade/
HOW MUCH LONGER WILL CITES
EXCUSE/TOLERATE HONG KONG?
HOW MANY TIMES HAS HONG KONG BEEN IN THE NEWS
FOR ALL THE SAME (VERY, VERY BAD) REASONS?
HOW MANY MORE ELEPHANTS HAVE TO BE KILLED BEFORE CITES TAKES STRONG ACTION?
100, 1000, 5000 – OR PRACTICALLY ALL OF THEM?
CAN YOU IMAGINE WORKING FOR CITES –
A UN/UNEP ORGANISATION WHICH ALLOWS THIS ILLEGAL TRADE
TO CONTINUE UNPUNISHED?
No 542 Wildlife Trade News: 22nd October 2015
PHILIPPINES: Critically-endangered turtles saved. EXTRACT: PUERTO PRINCESA CITY: Environment protection officials in Palawan rescued over the weekend at least 979 rare and critically endangered turtles that were supposed to be sold in the Chinese black market. http://www.manilatimes.net/critically-endangered-turtles-saved/224672/
China to ban ivory trade “within a year or so,” as pressure mounts on Hong Kong China to ban ivory trade. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/china-to-ban-ivory-trade-within-a-year-or-so-as-pressure-mounts-on-hong-kong/2015/10/21/4c96c5e4-7683-11e5-a5e2-40d6b2ad18dd_story.html (Another report guaranteed NOT to be seen on the pro-China/Hong Kong CITES web site?)
and now for another report you won’t ever see on the CITES web site? Why? Do the CITES Secretariat appears to avoid publishing reports that will embarrass its members? Which is one reason Laos, China, Vietnam etc continue with ‘business as usual’? Do CITES officials look after their own….you know, like FIFA did and/or still do? And look what has happened to FIFA The chances are you’d never see these news reports if it wasn’t for this newsletter – it’s true, isn’t it? You cannot depend on the CITES Secretariat to spread the news impartially – can you? Why is the Secretariat seemingly so protective of CHINA?
Leaked report reveals huge scale of illegal logging in Laos
EIA https://eia-international.org/leaked-report-reveals-huge-scale-of-illegal-logging-in-laos
Rhino poaching toll keeps rising http://www.namibian.com.na/index.php?page=read&id=33098 CITES ISN’T WORKING – IS IT?
BBC REPORT: South East Asia haze: Orangutans at risk in Indonesia fires http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-34599877
INDONESIA: Govt to cancel relaxation on timber certification policy – See more at: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/10/21/govt-cancel-relaxation-timber-certification-policy.html#sthash.O5n9sgnd.dpuf
Major Austrian timber firm accused of illegal logging in Romania. Two-year investigation links Holzindustrie Schweighofer to destruction of Europe’s last remaining virgin forests in Romania http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/oct/21/holzindustrie-schweighofer-austrian-timber-firm-accused-of-illegal-logging
Namibia: Poachers Nabbed in Mashi Conservancy http://allafrica.com/stories/201510211459.html
Meghalaya: An international transit point for illicit trade of elephant tusks http://thenortheasttoday.com/meghalaya-an-international-transit-point-for-illicit-trade-of-elephant-tusks/
Botswana: Anti-Poaching Benchmarking Good Move – Kgathi http://allafrica.com/stories/201510210404.html
How Zoos are Distorting Our View of the Natural World http://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/how-zoos-are-distorting-our-view-of-the-natural-world/
Is Crocodile Oil The New Coconut Oil? http://www.refinery29.com/2015/10/96053/crocodile-oil-skincare-ingredient
Woman held with geckos near Bangladesh border
Read more at http://www.thestatesman.com/news/bengal/woman-held-with-geckos-near-bangladesh-border/98250.html#R2EMaj8dMMQBjdOV.99
PAKISTAN: Foiled: Seven rare falcons recovered http://tribune.com.pk/story/974771/foiled-seven-rare-falcons-recovered/
CITES officials can never be accused of not looking after their fellow members – at the
expense of the world’s wildlife.
Zimbabwe court says local Cecil hunter to face trial next month http://iusbpreface.com/2015/10/21/zimbabwe-court-says-local-cecil-hunter-to-face-trial-next-14963/
SUMATRA/INDONESIA Orangutan Information Centre.
We are shaken by the news of a male orangutan at the popular tourist site of Bukit Lawang having been severely wounded, likely attacked with machetes judging from his wounds. He was found and then rescued by our rescue team yesterday morning (19 October 2015), and is now in safe hands under the intensive care of the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme. Some of the photos are too horrific to share.
The OIC team is a lifeline for so many orangutans in desperate situations, and we hope that he will survive his injuries thanks to their help. Please make a donation and help them save more precious lives: https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/orangutan-rescue/
Aircraft fight Sumatran fires as Indonesian minister looks to counter no-deforestation pledges http://news.mongabay.com/2015/10/aircraft-fight-sumatra-fires-as-indonesia-minister-looks-to-relax-no-deforestation-pledge/
Manhunt for poachers after elephant death
http://www.chronicle.co.zw/manhunt-for-poachers-after-elephant-death/
I-1401 targets illegal animal products trade in Washington http://www.kxly.com/news/spokane-news/i1401-targets-illegal-animal-products-trade-in-washington/35972594
Carbon emissions from Indonesia’s peat fires exceed emissions from entire U.S. economy http://news.mongabay.com/2015/10/carbon-emissions-from-indonesias-peat-fires-exceed-emissions-from-entire-u-s-economy/
Illegal wood imports to US are way down, but still worth as much as $3b a year http://news.mongabay.com/2015/10/illegal-wood-imports-to-us-are-way-down-but-still-worth-as-much-as-3b-a-year/
