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 …
The list, collated by India’s Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), includes popular websites such as Amazon, eBay, OLX, Snapdeal, Quikr, Alibaba, Petsmart and Rediff. A meeting with the representatives from online trade portals was conducted on May 19 to sensitize them on issues regarding illegal wildlife trade, India’s environment minister …
Dar es Salaam — Police in collaboration with Interpol in Southern and Eastern zones have arrested nine people in possession of 1.2 tonnes of ivory with a value of Sh4.6 billion. These are part of a group of 256 people being held for various crimes including human trafficking, drug abuse, …
Thousands of people followed Lesbia Yaneth Urquia's coffin at her funeral on Friday. The UN, EU and other international organisations have condemned the murder on Wednesday of a prominent environmental activist in Honduras. Lesbia Yaneth Urquia was killed four months after the shooting of award-winning environmentalist Berta Caceres. Both women …
More than 6 000 rhino have been killed in Africa over the last decade and about 25 000 remain on the continent, according to a new report. The Kruger National Park (KNP) is the eye of the storm, accounting for roughly 60% of poaching incidents over the past seven years, …
Illegal gold mining is rampant in many areas of southern Peru, driven by rising gold prices. Now, for the first time, researchers have detected gold mining-related deforestation in northern Peru. The deforestation occurred along the Santiago River in the buffer zone of a protected area, and near intact forest. Most …
At least 185 environmental activists were killed last year, the highest annual death toll on record and close to a 60% increase on the previous year, according to a UK-based watchdog. Global Witness documented lethal attacks across 16 countries. Brazil was worst hit with 50 deaths, many of them killings …
BOGOTA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Three environmental activists were killed per week last year, murdered defending land rights and the environment from mining, dam projects and logging, a campaign group said on Monday. In 16 countries surveyed in a report by Global Witness, 185 activists were killed, making 2015 the …
A new report by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and Interpol has highlighted the sophistication and growth of environmental crimes across the world. These crimes range from the illegal trade of wildlife, illegal mining, illegal forestry and fishing. And despite our growing global attention towards conservation, these crimes have …
U.S. agents searched the offices of a California-based wood importer this week as part of a broadening government crackdown on imports of illegally harvested timber, according to a previously unreported federal search warrant seen by Reuters. The Department of Homeland Security agents are probing whether privately held Global Plywood & …
Environmentalists are sceptical that plans to quadruple maximum jail terms from five to 20 years will be effective Indonesia plans to quadruple maximum jail terms for animal poachers and traffickers in a major overhaul of wildlife crime laws, but environmentalists expressed scepticism on Wednesday that the changes would be effective. …
HANGZHOU -- Thirty-two people in East China's Zhejiang province have been sentenced to up to 13 years in prison for trafficking endangered animals. They were found guilty of trafficking 100 million yuan's ($15.2 million) worth of wildlife, including pangolins, bear claws and salamanders, in 10 provinces and cities, announced the …
Criminal syndicates are currently generating an estimated $258 billion from illegal plunder of the planet's natural capital, says a joint UNEP-Interpol report launched on Saturday ahead of the World Environment Day. The 'Rise of Environmental Crime' report reveals that illegal exploitation and trafficking of flora and fauna has spiked by …
The value of the black market industry behind crimes such as ivory smuggling, illegal logging and toxic waste dumping has jumped by 26% since 2014 to between $91bn (£62bn) and $258bn, according to an assessment by the UN and Interpol. Environmental crime is now the world’s fourth largest illicit enterprise …
The illegal wildlife trade goes far beyond the dreadful story of ivory poaching. The market across the world for live apes - specifically baby chimpanzees, gorillas and orang-utans plucked from their forest homes in Africa and Asia - is burgeoning. Also being traded are the heads and skulls of the …
The poaching and illegal trade of thousands of species across the global present real environmental dangers and undermine the rule of law, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said today, urging shared responsibility among the international community in tackling wildlife and forest crime. Launching its inaugural World …
More ivory has been seized than cocaine worldwide in recent years, a report has shown, warning that the “absolute limit” on the animal product is likely to see a “vicious cycle” ensue as demand increases. Hundreds of tonnes of illegal ivory are trafficked each year, the United Nations Office on …
TEGUCIGALPA – At least nine people were injured when assailants attacked Honduran and foreign environmentalists holding a demonstration earlier this weekend in memory of slain human rights activist Berta Caceres, protest organizers said. The protesters were “attacked and threatened with death – on Friday – by a group of men …
The Minister of Land, Environment and Rural Development, Celso Correia, announced in Maputo on 3 March that during 2015 the Mozambican authorities detained over 300 people in connection with poaching. He was speaking at commemorations of World Wildlife Day, at a time when the country's wild life is under serious …
TEGUCIGALPA – Berta Caceres, a Honduran indigenous leader who led demonstrations against hydroelectric projects in her homeland, was killed early Thursday at her residence in the western city of La Esperanza, a human rights activist said. Two armed men apparently arrived at Caceres’ house at around 1:00 a.m. and shot …
Specialist body tackling wildlife crime was set to close at the end of March but has been awarded four years’ worth of funding The UK’s national wildlife crime unit (NWCU) has won a late reprieve from closure after the government announced new funding on Tuesday. The specialist unit tackles wildlife …
