In 2019, the illegal wildlife trade reached staggering levels. Pangolin scales and ivory were being trafficked in massive quantities from Africa to Asia, exposing a network of crime syndicates operating at an industrial scale. The sheer volume of these shipments marked a disturbing milestone, one that revealed the global reach …
In this work, we developed an automated system to detect potentially illegal elephant ivory items for sale on eBay. Two law enforcement experts, with specific knowledge of elephant ivory identification, manually classified items on sale in the Antiques section of eBay UK over an 8 week period. This set the …
Question raised in Lok Sabha on illegal trade in wildlife, 28/07/2015. The details of incidents of smuggling of the skin of tigers including the number of such cases reported during each of the last three years and the current year, State/UT-wise are at Annexure-I. Action against offenders is taken as …
Recognizing that wild animals and plants are an irreplaceable part of the natural systems of the Earth, the United Nations General Assembly urged its Member States to take decisive steps to prevent, combat and eradicate the illegal trade in wildlife, on both the supply and demand sides. Through the new …
The onslaught on the World’s rhinoceroses continues despite numerous initiatives aimed at curbing it. When losses due to poaching exceed birth rates, declining rhino populations result. We used previously published estimates and growth rates for black rhinos (2008) and white rhinos (2010) together with known poaching trends at the time …
Poaching of elephants is now occurring at rates that threaten African populations with extinction. Identifying the number and location of Africa’s major poaching hotspots may assist efforts to end poaching and facilitate recovery of elephant populations. We genetically assign origin to 28 large ivory seizures (≥0.5 tons) made between 1996-2014, …
Nagpur: In response to a recent change suggested in the draft wildlife policy by ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEFCC) regarding distinction between hunting and use of wildlife for cultural practices, the ministry has been urged to drop the new clause by leading NGOs. Bombay Natural History Society …
This paper provides an analytical framework for assessing the impact of international trade in wildlife and wildlife products on conservation and local livelihoods. It also explores the role of factors related to particular species and their habitat, governance settings, the supply-chain structure, and the nature of the end market. The …
Twenty-one rare tortoises were seized by BSF troops while they were being smuggled across the Indo-Bangladesh border in West Bengal, officials said on Thursday. The incident happened on Wednesday when a Border Security Force (BSF) patrol near the Kalanchi border out post in the North 24 Parganas district detected some …
Organized crime and the illegal trade in natural resources continues to increasingly fuel the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) , according to a report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and partners.
African elephants could be extinct in the wild within a few decades, experts warned on Monday at a major conservation summit in Botswana. The alarming decline in numbers due to poaching was highlighted. The African Elephant Summit, held at a tourist resort in Kasane, gathered delegates from about 20 countries …
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said a Rhino Protection Force with more than 1,200 personnel would be raised to protect one-horned rhinoceros against poachers. Besides, the National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) help would be sought to bust the international rhino-poaching racket. Attending a review meeting on the anti-poaching measures and other …
Trade in large cats (Panthera and Neofelis species), and indeed other wild cats, is a clear impediment to their conservation. Myanmar is an important country for cat conservation, both because of the presence of significant populations of threatened species but equally as it is positioned strategically between China, Thailand and …
Wildlife crime is at the top of the international conservation agenda. Current strategies for addressing it focus on law enforcement, reducing consumer demand and engaging local communities in conservation. To date considerably more attention has been paid to the first two strategies than to the third. This volume of case …
With the anti-poaching squad attached to Nagpur Territorial Circle going completely defunct, there is a spurt in illegal trade of wild animals and birds listed in various Schedules of Wildlife Protection Act (WPA) 1972, not only in the city but in entire Vidarbha where the squad has its jurisdiction. On …
Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science & Technology, Environment & Forests present this Two Hundred and Fifty Third Report on "The Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Bill, 2013". The Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Bill, 2013 (hereinafter referred to as the Bill) was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on the 5th August, …
GUWAHATI, Nov 30 – Wildlife Trust of India’s international partner International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) has brought out a shocking report on the booming murky multi-million-dollar trade in wild animals and their body parts over online marketplaces. The report, Wanted – Dead or Alive, Exposing Online Wildlife Trade – …
Wanted – Dead or Alive, Exposing Online Wildlife Trade reveals that, in early 2014, an intense six-week investigation found a total of 33,006 endangered wildlife and wildlife parts and products for sale via 280 online market places across 16 countries.
Come Diwali and it is not just apparel and electronic goods doing brisk business online. It is owls as well. Rummaging through difficult-to-find data and trends, the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau's (WCCB) cyber wing has noticed how the smuggling of owls picks up during Diwali-the nocturnal bird is said to …
NAGPUR: Poaching, prey depletion and habitat destruction have decimated the world's wild tiger population to fewer than 3,200. Poaching continues to be the key threat to tigers in India - home to more than half of the world's tigers, finds a latest study conducted by Wildlife Protection Society of India …
