Thai Police Arrest Ivory Traffickers

Police arrested two Thai nationals for trafficking in African ivory. Unfortunately, if they are found guilty, they would face a maximum of only four years in jail. The fines could be up to 40,000 baht (1,150 dollars).

The dollars part doesn't seem like much to me either, but it could be a fortune in Thailand. Anyone know?

Pangolins Saved from "Harvesting" by Trafficker

I had no idea what a pangolin was, but, thanks to Wikipedia, I now know it's a scaly anteater.

And, surprise, their "harvesting" is tied back to ....CHINA!

From Red Orbit....

In its biggest seizures of pangolins this year, Malaysia’s Wildlife and National Parks Department confiscated 98 animals from a house in Alor Setar in the northern state of Kedah.

After about three weeks of surveillance and investigations, the department’s Wildlife Crime Unit raided the house early Wednesday morning and found the smuggled pangolins along with 6.5 pounds of pangolin scales..

"We believe the animals were destined to be sold to Asian countries for their meat, as well as their scales to be used as traditional medicine," the department's enforcement chief Saharudin Anan told AFP.

Ivory Bigger than Drugs in Africa

Sad, sad, sad. Why doesn't this greed ever end? Ivory means NOTHING. It's just a material. There is no magic, no power, NOTHING to it. And even with all the public education and media attention, there is just no abatement in demand. It's just so frustrating!

From the AFP...

Trafficking in ivory and game meat has become one of the most lucrative illegal trades in Africa due to rising demand in Asia, experts said on Friday.

"In terms of monetary value, ivory trade has surpassed drugs and is now one of the most thriving illegal trade in the continent," said Karl Karugaba, the head of a panel from the Lusaka Agreement Task Force.

Wildlife Rescued in Trinidad and Tobago

Three corrupt police officers in Trinidad and Tobago robbed a couple of Venezuelan wildlife smugglers and were subsequently arrested themselves. Over 1,000 animals were rescued, including 500 bull finches and 300 picoplats, The rescued wildlife also included monkeys, parrots, macaws and other species from Venezuela.

There was also over 400 lbs of "wild meat" (I don't want to know what that could be!)

Baby Gorilla Rescued from Smugglers

A baby lowland gorilla was rescued from smugglers on Sunday, April 24. There has unfortunately been an increase in smuggling attempts in the Congo. She is thought to be about two years old, was hidden at the bottom of a bag and covered with clothes when Congolese Wildlife Authority officers arrested the suspected trafficker at Goma airport. Here is an article about it.

And here is a video about the bust and arrests.

Look at the face of the baby when it's revealed. How can you not see it's simply a frightened child? How can you feel no frigging compassion?

Gobal Smuggling Ring Uncovered in Brazil

Thanks to animalblog.co.uk for this big story.

Brazilian federal police arrested 72 people on Wednesday on suspicion of running an international smuggling ring that traded half a million wild animals, including jaguars and monkeys, each year.

Police said it was the biggest single operation in the past decade against rampant illegal wildlife traffic in the South American country. Brazil is one of the world's hotspots for animal smuggling because of its rich diversity of animals.

Zambian Police Officers Caught in Ivory Trafficking

ZAMBIA Wildlife Authority (Zawa) yesterday arrested four people, including two police officers, in Kafue for trafficking in ivory and rhino horns worth more than K1 billion.

Zawa director general, Lewis Saiwana said in Lusaka yesterday that the suspects were arrested for trafficking in 72 pieces of elephant ivory and five pieces of rhino horns.

...For such huge ivory, Dr Saiwana said the poachers killed 36 elephants but, however, said it was suspected that the animals were killed from neighbouring countries and not in Zambia.

36 elephants? That's a huge slaughter in my opinion.

US Fish and Wildlife Offers Ivory Identification Guide

Wonder if something is made from illegal ivory? US Fish and Wildlife has a guide for identification.

From the web page....

This is a web version of the Identification Guide for Ivory and Ivory Substitutes by Edgard O. Espinoza and Mary-Jacque Mann, published in cooperation with the CITES Secretariat, and was developed to give information about a nondestructive and visual means of tentatively distinguishing clearly legal ivory from suspected illegal ivory at ports of entry....

One point which must be emphasized: while the methods described in this handbook are reliable for the purposes described (i.e. tentative visual identification, and "probable cause" to seize as evidence), an examination of the carved ivory object by a trained scientist is still necessary to obtain a positive identification of the species source.

The Economist Looks at Illegal Wildlife Trade

Leave it to The Economist to provide an insightful analysis of CITES' effectiveness in actually preventing illegal trade in wildlife and their parts. It's a good article and worth your time and thought...whether you agree with it or not.

The point is not that bans never work. They can, especially in the short term or when species are in dire danger. But their longer-term success depends on three factors. First, they must be coupled with a reduction in demand for the banned products. If a ban helps to shift people's tastes, so much the better. Second, they must not undermine incentives to conserve endangered species in the wild. Third, they have to be supported by governments and citizens in the countries where these species live. If these conditions are not met, bans are unlikely either to reduce trade or to maintain endangered species. They may even make matters worse.


Photo by IFAW Think Twice.

Swiss Cat Trafficking

Are you kidding me? The Swiss?

French animal rights activists in the Alpine Haute-Savoie region suspect Swiss involvement in an alleged cat-trafficking ring in which 450 cats have been nabbed since January.

"We suspect Swiss criminals of stealing cats to sell them to medical laboratories or tanneries, because some believe that cat skins can help ease rheumatic pain," said Patricia Dolciani, head of the animal protection SPA office in Thonon on Friday.

It gets even better.

According to Dolciani, some 10,000 cat skins are treated per year in two tanneries across the border in Switzerland.

The sale of cat leather is prohibited in France, BUT NOT IN SWITZERLAND.

I am so disillusioned!

Photo by eaglerm.