Eagle heads, bear penises, cougar meat part of Washington State wildlife black market – ‘For them, it’s not a living animal, it’s a way to make a buck’

13 February 2013 (KIRO TV) – An exclusive KIRO 7 Investigation uncovers stunning proof of animals being killed illegally to sell their parts for profit. South Sound reporter Richard Thompson shows how state Fish and Wildlife detectives caught criminals out to make a buck, even if it meant wiping out wildlife critical to the Northwest […]

Minnesota moose population plummets, as ticks eat them alive in warmer climate – ‘The moose population has been in decline for years but never at the precipitous rate documented this winter’

By Deborah Zabarenko, Environment Correspondent; Editing by Doina Chiacu9 February 2013 WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The population of moose in northeastern Minnesota dropped by 35 percent since last year, prompting state officials to cancel this year’s fall hunt and conservationists to blame warming temperatures for the massive creature’s decline. “The state’s moose population has been in […]

Elephant poaching skyrockets in Africa rain forest zones – 11,000 Gabon elephants slaughtered in under a decade

By Jean Rovys Dabany and Richard Valdmanis; Editing by Pravin Char6 February 2013 Libreville, Gabon (Reuters) – Poachers have killed more than 11,000 elephants in Gabon’s Minkebe National Park rain forest since 2004, Gabon’s government said on Wednesday, with the massacre fueled by increasing demand for ivory in Asia. The densely-forested central African country is […]

Solomon Islands villagers kill 900 dolphins in conservation dispute – ‘There are proper charges of corruption in what has happened in the community’

By Suzanne Goldenberg 24 January 2013 (The Guardian) – Villagers in the Solomon Islands have slaughtered up to 900 dolphins in the course of a dispute with a conservation group, Earth Island Institute. Accounts of the dispute vary. The islanders say the Berkeley-based conservation group failed to pay them, as agreed, for stopping the traditional […]

U.K. authorizes guns for Madagascar despite threat of lemur extinctions – ‘Illegal hunting of protected species is becoming a major conservation issue’

27 January 2013 (mongabay.com) – Britain has authorized the export of thousands of guns to Madagascar, according to TanaNews.com, sparking concerns that the firearms could be used for hunting endangered lemurs. Data from the UK government’s Strategic Export Controls website shows that licenses for the export of 3,174 guns to Madagascar were granted between August […]

Religion, Chinese government drive global elephant slaughter – ‘No one has ever talked about the role of religion in driving today’s ivory trade’

By Rhett A. Butler24 January 2013 (mongabay.com) – By some estimates, more than 30,000 elephants were slaughtered across the savannas and forests of Africa and Asia for the ivory trade during 2012. The carnage represents as much as 4 percent of the world’s elephant population. Accordingly, some conservationists are warning that elephants face imminent extinction […]

Rhino poaching hits new record in 2012

11 January 2013 (mongabay.com) – 668 rhinos were killed in South Africa during 2012 according to new figures released by the South African government. The total, which represents a 49 percent rise over the 448 killed in 2011, reveals the heavy toll the black market trade in rhino horn is taking on one of Africa’s […]

Extinction looms as Indonesia opens forests for logging – ‘We’ll see the extinction of all the charismatic species in 10 to 20 years’

By Michael Bachelard, Indonesia correspondent for Fairfax Media15 January 2013 (Sydney Morning Herald) – Some of the richest and most biodiverse forests in Indonesia will soon be opened up for commercial exploitation under a plan drafted by the new government of Aceh. The chairman of the Aceh parliament’s spatial planning committee, Mr Anwar (who goes […]

An avalanche of decline: Snow leopard populations are plummeting

By Erica Santana 3 January 2013 The trading of big cat pelts is nothing new, but recent demand for snow leopard pelts and taxidermy mounts has added a new commodity to the illegal trade in wildlife products, according to the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA). Traditionally, the market for large cat products has centered around tiger […]

Narwhal tusk-smuggling ring cracked by U.S. Justice Department

By Ned Potter5 January 2013 (ABC News) – The narwhal, a kind of Arctic whale, has been called “the unicorn of the sea” because of the long, straight, often spiraling tusk that males of the species can grow.  It is illegal to import the tusks into the United States because narwhals are listed by the […]

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