Archive for ‘ivory’

  |  
03/11/2019

Machynlleth crocodile skull raid prompts trade warning

Seized crocodile skullImage copyright DYFED-POWYS POLICE
Image caption Trade in some species, including some types of crocodiles, is banned outright

People buying animal “souvenirs” have been warned they must check they are legal after police seized a number of crocodile skulls imported from China.

Police are investigating the finds after searching two properties in Machynlleth, Powys, on Wednesday.

Dyfed-Powys Police and North Wales Police said they had found “numerous” skulls across the searches.

Animal trade charity Traffic said importers and buyers must make sure they had the correct permits.

Richard Thomas, from Traffic, said some people would buy things such as skulls as a “talking point”.

Trade in some species, including some types of crocodiles, is banned outright, but others can be bought and sold as long as the exporting country issues permits.

Earlier this month, police seized a skull of a critically endangered Siamese crocodile from a man in Chippenham, Wiltshire, after he paid about £30 to a buyer in China.

Wiltshire Police said the man bought it as an “unusual” house ornament and had no idea that it was protected.

No further action was taken against him when police decided he had made an honest mistake.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora is the main worldwide agreement controlling trade in wild animals and plants, and is signed by more than 180 countries.

In 2016, the UN estimated that the annual value of illegal wildlife trade was between $7bn-$23bn (£5.4bn-£17.8bn).

Traffic said demand for such items as horns, ivory, bones and skins was “driving unprecedented wildlife population declines”.

Source: The BBC

Posted in "numerous", "unusual", Animal trade charity, bones, Buyers, China alert, Chippenham, Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, correct, crocodile skull, declines, Dinosaur, driving, DYFED-POWYS POLICE, horns, house ornament, imported, importers, ivory, ivory trading, Machynlleth, North Wales Police, permits, Powys, prompts, protected, raid, skins, souvenirs, Trade, traffic, UN, Uncategorized, unprecedented, warning, wildlife population, Wiltshire, Wiltshire Police | Leave a Comment »

08/09/2019

How a ban on sale of wild African elephants to zoos could affect China

  • International watchdog to vote on whether to extend restrictions to southern African countries that are the biggest exporters
  • If passed, China may find it hard to buy elephants from Africa
An elephant is hoisted into Chongqing zoo in southwestern China, on loan from another Chinese zoo. Photo: Reuters
An elephant is hoisted into Chongqing zoo in southwestern China, on loan from another Chinese zoo. Photo: Reuters

China, one of the leading buyers of African elephants, could face difficulty in acquiring the mammals if a widening of a ban on their sale to zoos is ratified next week by the global regulator of wildlife trade.

A motion further restricting the sale of live elephants was on Sunday supported by 46 countries at the committee stage of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites) in Geneva. It will go to a final vote on August 28.

The sale of elephants from West, Central and East Africa is already banned – but there is a lower level of protection for them in southern African countries such as South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe, which are the top three exporters of wild elephants to overseas zoos, according to Cites.

Keeping elephants caught from the wild in zoos is considered cruel by conservation and animal rights groups.

Conservationists criticised Zimbabwe’s capture of 35 baby elephants that were exported to a Chinese zoo in February. There was also uproar from activists in 2015 when a video filmed in a Chinese zoo showed two dozen elephants bought from Zimbabwe exhibiting signs of distress.

Zimbabwe was among 18 countries that opposed the potential ban at the committee stage, along with the United States – another leading buyer of elephants from Africa. China was one of 19 countries that abstained, while the European Union’s 28 countries did not vote.

If the motion is passed, China and the US – both known to be buying elephants from Africa and keeping them in so-called captive facilities or zoos – may find it hard to source the animals from the continent. Zimbabwe has come under global scrutiny
for its capture and sale of elephants to captive facilities including zoos and safari parks in China and the US.

Peter Knights, founder and chief executive of WildAid, an environmental organisation in San Francisco, explained that Cites still allowed the movement of live elephants for on-site conservation efforts such as moving the animals back into the wild or to a national park where they had been depleted.

“This is not primarily a conservation issue but more about animal welfare,” he said. “As highly social, intelligent animals, African elephants do not usually do well in captivity, requiring very large areas, and often developing behavioural problems in captivity and not usually reproducing successfully – indicating far from ideal housing.”

According to Humane Society International, which promotes animal welfare, Zimbabwe has sold more than 100 baby elephants to zoos in China since 2012, with a further 35 reportedly awaiting export.

On Monday, 55 elephant specialists protested to the US wildlife management agency about plans for the country’s zoos to import juvenile elephants caught in the wild from Zimbabwe. They asked the agency to prohibit imports of wild-caught elephants for captivity in US facilities.

“We are vehemently opposed to the proposed imports,” the experts wrote in a letter to the agency. “Young elephants are dependent on their mothers and other family members to acquire necessary social and behavioural skills. Male calves only leave their natal families at 12 to 15 years old and females remain for life. Disruption of this bond is physically and psychologically traumatic for both the calves and remaining herds and the negative effects can be severe and lifelong.”

The letter said that eSwatini, formerly Swaziland, had sold a total of 11 wild elephants to two American zoos in 2003, and a further 18 to three US zoos in 2016.

‘Hundreds’ of elephants are being poached each year in Botswana

Concerns about keeping elephants in zoos come at a time when the animals remain under threat in Africa from poachers who kill them for ivory.

Southern African countries such as Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Zambia are pushing to reopen the trade in ivory. Zambia is seeking to have the classification of its elephants downgraded to allow commercial trade in registered raw ivory with approved trading partners.

Other countries, including Kenya, Nigeria and Gabon, are seeking the highest possible levels of protection for all of Africa’s elephants.

Two previous attempts at regulating the ivory trade failed to curb poaching, which has caused elephant numbers to dwindle over the past two decades. A 2016 study estimated that 30,000 to 40,000 elephants were being killed every year, with about 400,000 remaining in total.

Knights, of WildAid, said that between 1975 and 1989 – the first period in which the ivory trade was regulated – half of Africa’s elephants were lost. During the second attempt at regulation between 2008 and 2017, participating countries claimed to have addressed the problem but poaching increased.

“It is clear that we cannot control ivory trade and that legal trade stimulates poaching and demand for ivory, rather than substituting for it as some countries suggest. The price fell by two-thirds when China banned domestic sales,” Knights said, adding that demand for ivory came primarily from Asia.

“Most seized shipments are en route to China. It has banned all sales and is making a great effort to crack down on illegal trade.”

Source: SCMP

Posted in affect, africa, African countries, African elephants, ban, Botswana, buy, China alert, Chongqing zoo, Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites), elephants, eSwatini, European Union, Gabon, Geneva, hoisted, Humane Society International, International watchdog, ivory, Ivory trade, Kenya, mammals, Namibia, Nigeria, poaching, safari parks, sale, San Francisco, South Africa, southern, Swaziland, Uncategorized, US, US-China relationship, vote, West, Central and East Africa, wild, WildAid, Zimbabwe, zoos | Leave a Comment »

11/05/2014

Chinese premier vows to combat poaching, ivory smuggling – Xinhua | English.news.cn

Visiting Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said here Saturday that China is strongly committed to protecting wildlife and will spare no effort in combating poaching and ivory smuggling.

The premier made the remarks to Chinese and foreign journalists after visiting the Ivory Burning Site Monument in the Nairobi National Park with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta.

In 1989, then Kenyan President Daniel Arap Moi burned 25 tons of ivory and other hunting trophies in the park. To mark the incineration, the Kenyan government reserved the burning site and set up a monument.

China highly appreciates and respects Kenya’s hardworking effort and remarkable achievement in wildlife protection, Li said, adding China shares Kenya’s considerable emphasis on the issue.

“Our visit to the monument together shows that the two sides are cooperating in good faith to jointly combat poaching and ivory smuggling, and protect wildlife,” the Chinese leader said.

It also indicated that the Chinese government is determined to provide any assistance within its capabilities to help Kenya build the capacity to protect wildlife, he added.

Li said that as a signatory to the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, China has always abode by the pact.

To counter the rising global ivory smuggling and illegal trade over recent years, he said, China has been taking a series of legal actions and creating inter-agency action mechanism to fight against the crime.

Earlier this year, China destroyed 6.1 tons of confiscated ivory, and will continue to strengthen cooperation with Kenya and other countries on ecological and wildlife protection, Li said.

China will promote such a concept in the world — protecting wildlife is to safeguard our common homeland, and protecting biological diversity is to ensure the colorfulness of the Earth, he said.

via Chinese premier vows to combat poaching, ivory smuggling – Xinhua | English.news.cn.

Related articles
Enhanced by Zemanta

Posted in China alert, Economics, Good news, ivory, poaching, Social & cultural | Leave a Comment »

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
  |  
CCChang

Law of Unintended Consequences

continuously updated blog about China & India

ChiaHou's Book Reviews

continuously updated blog about China & India

What's wrong with the world; and its economy

continuously updated blog about China & India