Huge Ivory Seizure in Malaysia

Possibly the largest ever....full story here in Wildlife Extra News.

December 2011. Malaysian authorities have seized a staggering 15 tonnes of elephant ivory in Port Klang, just west of Kuala Lumpur; the sixth and by far the largest major seizure involving Malaysia in recent months, quite possibly the largest ever.

Witherspoon in Trouble for Python Purse

For some bizarre reason (hopefully just ignorance), Reese Witherspoon has pissed off animal rights activists by purchasing and carrying around a purse made out of python skin. Python skinning is horrible, brutal and repulsive. And it's illegal for her to have it at least in the State of California.

And she paid $4,000 for it. Sorry, but that's stupid enough on its own. $4,000 for a frigging purse?!

Customs Officials Meet to Discuss China/Russia Smuggling

From TRAFFIC,

Customs officers from Russia and China met last week to strengthen international co-operation in tackling cross-border smuggling of Tigers and other wildlife products.

Representatives from the Federal Russia Customs, Far East Customs Directorate, Far East Operative Customs, Siberian Customs Directorate, General Customs Directorate of China, TRAFFIC Russia and TRAFFIC China met from 16–18 November in Vladivostok, through a programme supported by WWF Russia, Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK.

During the meeting, participants carried out an analysis of the current situation regarding wildlife trafficking across the Russian-Chinese border, and discussed practical ways it could be addressed.

Sobering Tiger Statistics

Very sad. I wish I could say something inspiring or hopeful, but it's hard to feel that way when you read these kinds of stories.

For the rest of the article, go to this TRAFFIC link...

Parts of at least 1,069 Tigers have been seized in Tiger range countries over the past decade, according to new analysis of Tiger seizures carried out by TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network.

Reduced to Skin and Bones (PDF, 4 MB) shows that from January 2000 to April 2010, parts of between 1,069 and 1,220 Tigers were seized in 11 of the 13 tiger range countries—or an average of 104 to 119 animals per year.

Of the 11, India, China and Nepal ranked highest in the number of tiger part seizures, the report states, with India by far the highest number of Tiger part seizures at 276, representing between 469 and 533 Tigers. China, with 40, had the second highest number of seizures, or 116-124 Tigers, and Nepal reported 39 seizures, or 113-130 Tigers, according to the report.

TRAFFIC Says Malaysian Raid Proves Organized Crime Link

From the Malaysian Insider...

A police raid that uncovered 42 stolen vehicles and a mini-zoo of exotic animals in Taman Wahyu here yesterday is proof that wildlife trafficking is linked to organised crime, said wildlife trade monitoring group TRAFFIC.

Police said the vehicles were stolen from impound yards and were worth nearly RM1 million while at least two Birds of Paradise found in the warehouse in Taman Wahyu were said to be worth RM1 million each on the black market.

Man Arrested with Frozen Tigers and Panther in House

This happened in Vietnam. The guy was clearly trafficking in illegal parts as there were about 50 kg of bones belonging to other tigers.

Sad Orangutan Trade

Very, very sad picture of baby orangutan. Be warned.

Asian Demand for Ivory Pushing Elephants to Extinction

Be warned. Very upsetting article.

Young Lowland Gorillas Released into Nature Reserve

The UN airlifted these guys into the nature reserve so they can coalesce into a group that can survive when released back into the wild. This action is to prevent them from being eaten or poached in the meantime. (Sounds like these guys were orphaned as a result of bushmeat and illegal trafficking activities.)

Frankly, with the rate these poor animals are being decimated, I wonder sometimes if they SHOULD be released back into the wild. Wouldn't they be safer in the reserve?

Man Convicted of Illegally Trafficking Live Deer

He was transporting them across state lines from Ohio to a hunting preserve in South Carolina. The deer were not tested for disease.

He was sentenced to 21 months in prison. I hope he serves the whole term. The deer still got screwed because they ended up at the hunting preserve, but any kind of sentence for wildlife trafficking must be enforced.

Singapore a Transit Hub for Trafficking

Seems like every other month I post an article about some SE Asian country being a "hub" for wildlife trafficking (eg. Vietnam, Malaysia.) How many more are there?

Bush Meat, Trafficking Decimate Vietnam

Sounds just awful. But the problem is the high demand for these products.

From Vietnam News...

Dr Scott Roberton, head of Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), said that hunting wild animals for meat and trafficking had been happening in many countries, especially developing ones.

In Viet Nam, hunting and trade in wild animals had been alarming, he said.

A WCS study conducted at 200 restaurants in the central region found they consumed nearly 2 million wild animals per year. Among them, stag and wild boar accounted for around 70 per cent of the consumed meat, followed by turtle, snake, fox and porcupine.

The study estimated the demand of wild animal consumption nationwide at nearly 4,500 tonnes per year....

Over the last two years, authorities have discovered 57 cases of trafficking in wild animals involving more than 7,612 individuals including monkeys and Tibetan bears and elephant tusks.

$10 Million Euros in Smuggled Wildlife Seized

From the AFP...

Police seized tiger bones, anteater scales and bear gall bladders in an international operation against the use of endangered plants and animals in traditional medicine, officers said Friday.

Illegal animal and plant products with a retail value of 10 million euros (13.6 million dollars) were seized in a month-long drive carried out by forces around the world, the global law enforcement agency Interpol said.

"National wildlife enforcement authorities, police, customs and specialised units from 18 countries across all five continents worked together as part of Operation Tram which ran from 1 to 28 February," Interpol said.

Operation Tram "revealed a large amount of medicines either containing or marketing the use of illegal ingredients such as tiger, bear and rhinoceros," according to the French-based international coordinating body.

Pet Trade Taking Toll on Southeast Asia

Ugh. Just depressing.

Fighting Illegal Wildlife Trade Requires More Funding

According to this article, the current funds are not sufficient for the work involved.

Not surprising.

US a Hub for Eatin' Them Endangered Species

And here I've been yelling at China all this time. (Be warned there's a horrific picture of a cooked monkey head in this article.)

From Alternet.org...

"The United States is one of the world's largest, if not the largest, consuming nations for wildlife products. This includes wildlife used for food, whether for cultural reasons or luxury markets," says Leigh Henry, a senior policy officer for the World Wildlife Fund and the international wildlife-trade monitoring network TRAFFIC. "Since the demand continues, so does the trafficking."

Texas Father & Son Sentenced for Wildlife Trafficking

They were illegally bringing in deer from Arkansas. (Texas restricts deer importing.) Plus a little matter with stolen property.

Cherokee Man Imprisoned for Selling Gall Bladders

This culprit is a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and is serving only 6 months for illegally selling 51 bear gall bladders.

51!

Psychiatrist Arrested for Trafficking in Gall Bladders

So, it's not just rednecks in Washington State who are doing this.

From the Seattle P-I:

A Japanese psychiatrist with a home in Seattle is facing poaching and gun-possession charges following allegations that he poached several black bears and tried to smuggle gallbladders back to Japan.

In charging documents filed in King County Superior Court, prosecutors contend Dr. Tohru Shigemura made repeated trips to Washington to hunt bear, taking animals out of season and on tribal lands. Shigemura, prosecutors claim, also amassed a collection of 11 firearms without the appropriate permits

Trafficking Should be Crime Story, Not Wildlife Story

Interesting. This piece is in the Huffington Post, and it's by Bryan Christy, author of The Lizard King. He says inflated wildlife smuggling numbers are hurting the fight against the crime. I myself had no idea that the numbers were inflated.

He makes a lot of sense.

In other words, puffing wildlife smuggling to sell stories hurts efforts to fight crime.

Recall any wildlife smuggling story you've ever read or watched in the past 20 years. Now, substitute the word "cocaine" for whatever wildlife is featured in the story. Chances are you'll see a bizarre overemphasis on cocaine and how it grows and who sells it on street corners and little attention on major traffickers, their national and transnational syndicates, and the government regulators and prosecutors who failed to stop the trafficking. You will see no names beyond the lowest level traffickers. You would demand more in a narcotics trafficking story, and you would hope for more in a child trafficking story, but you won't see more in a wildlife crime story because too often wildlife crime stories are little more than eco-tourism pieces with sad endings.

In the past few years, the U.S. Justice Department's lead environmental crimes prosecutors have been making the pitch both here and abroad that investigators, prosecutors, and judges should pursue wildlife criminals as traditional criminals, charging them with smuggling, money laundering, etc. Reporting on wildlife crime likewise should treat the matter as a crime story not a wildlife story. More time should be spent on paper and money trails, less on jungle adventures. Choices count. With paltry government resources allocated to fighting international wildlife crime, journalists are often nature's best hope against smugglers. Weak reporting kills wildlife.