Tag Archives | illegal animal trade

China’s New Delicacy: Rat Meat

May 7, 2013

(ANIMAL NEWS) CHINA — China’s had its share of questionable food practices, from infected pigs and ducks to dog meat. But Chinese food safety reached an all time low last week as the Ministry of Public Security revealed a disturbing new practice of traders selling rat meat disguised as lamb. Sixty-three people involved were arrested for “buying fox, mink and rat and other meat products that had not undergone inspection.” The traders would soak the rat meat in gelatin, red pigment, and nitrates in order to wrongly label it as mutton. Thankfully, the Chinese government is trying to focus on improving food safety as the prime minister Li Keqiang has labeled it as a priority. It’s encouraging to see the government choosing the policy of transparency and publicly discussing these issues to hopefully bring about a swift resolution. Read on for more on this distasteful news. — Global Animal

 

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Rangers Forsake Endangered Rhinos

May 1, 2013

(POACHING) JOHANNESBURG — Possibly betrayed by the very people sworn to protect them, the last 15 rhinos in Mozambique have met a horrible fate. A group of 30 rangers of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park are due in court this month to face accusations claiming they aided poachers in search of these rhinos, leading to the slaughter of all 15 animals. The world’s rhino population is a major concern, making this a terrible tragedy for an already troubled species. Continue reading to find out more on what might be a heartbreaking betrayal. — Global Animal  

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Year Of The Snake: A Year For Change

April 16, 2013

(ANIMAL WELFARE) While many turn a blind eye, there is no denying that the exotic snake skin trade continues to be big business in the fashion industry. Not only is this cruel fashion trend disastrous for several snake species, but it also allows for the inhumane killing of animals who are skinned alive and left to die in agony. In the article below, contributor Niqui Stubbs sheds light on the shocking reality behind this illegal trade. Read on to learn about the dangers of supporting the exotic animal skin fashion industry and how companies are urging the public to “keep wildlife out of your wardrobe.” — Global Animal

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Great Ape Populations Dwindle As Illegal Trade Thrives

March 6, 2013

(ANIMAL TRADE) According to a UN report released this week, nearly 3,000 great apes are killed or captured in the wild each year because of the thriving illegal trade—usually to be sold as exotic pets, bought by disreputable zoos, or exploited by tourism. The study also revealed that approximately more than 22,000 great apes were lost to the illegal animal trade between 2005 and 2011. This comes as startling news considering that the international trade in chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, and orangutans is currently banned under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Read on to learn more about the illegal animal trade’s devastating effects on great ape populations. — Global Animal

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Activists Demand Cruelty-Free Google Ads

March 5, 2013

(ANIMAL TRADE) Google is currently under fire by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) after the conservation advocacy group accused the Internet giant of allowing advertisements that promote products made from elephants and whales. On Tuesday, the EIA claimed that there are approximately 10,000 ads on Google Japan promoting the sale of ivory. The organization wrote to Google CEO Larry Page in February requesting the removal of such ads, but Google has yet to respond to the letter or remove any of the offending ads despite its policy which states that the company “doesn’t allow the promotion of products obtained from endangered or threatened species.” Read on to learn more about the international ivory trade and its online presence. — Global Animal

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Prince William Stands Up For Elephants (VIDEO)

March 5, 2013

(ANIMAL TRADE) In a video addressed to more than 2,000 delegates at the 12-day Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora in Bangkok, Britain’s Prince William calls upon our world’s leaders for stronger action on the worldwide illegal ivory trade. In the video released earlier this week, the 30-year-old Duke of Cambridge urges, “We must do more to combat this serious crime if we are to reverse the current alarming trends. If not, we could soon see some populations of these creatures, or even an entire species, disappear from the wild.” Fortunately, at the opening of the conference, Thailand’s Prime Minister, Yingluck Shinawatra, also promised to amend Thai laws that currently allow for elephant tusks to be smuggled into Thai and Chinese markets. Read on to learn more about the growing ivory trade crisis and watch Prince William’s video below. — Global Animal

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The Biggest Animal Killer On Earth

March 5, 2013

(WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING) Vixay Keosavang, or more infamously known as the “Pablo Escobar of wildlife trafficking,” is the single largest known wildlife trafficker in Asia. Xaysavang Trading, one of Mr. Vixay’s companies, recently perpetrated one of the biggest swindles in environmental crime history according to rhino horn smuggling experts. Despite overwhelming evidence, officials in his homeland of Laos have refused to pursue any sort of investigation into his awful empire, leaving him essentially untouchable. Without stopping him, wildlife officials say that there is little hope of dismembering a business empire that they say connects Africa to Asia and ultimately, to customers of ivory and traditional medicines in China and Vietnam. Read the article below to unveil the sad truth behind the most villainous wildlife smuggler to ever exist. — Global Animal

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11,000 Gabon Elephants Poached Since 2004

February 16, 2013

(POACHING) Earlier this week, the Wildlife Conservation Society announced that the Gabon’s Minkebe National Park, once home to Africa’s largest forest elephant population, has lost 11,100 individuals to the illegal ivory trade in less than a decade. Surveys suggest that one in every three elephants in what was once a sanctuary for forest elephants has been taken for ivory trinkets. In a statement delivered by Gabon’s presidency, executive secretary of the country’s national parks agency, Lee White, said the future of Africa’s elephants would be compromised if rapid action were not taken. Read more about how this astonishingly sad statistic came to be. — Global Animal

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