CrowdifyClub Category: Wildlife Conservation
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Hong Kong authorities seize 'record' ivory haul
Authorities in Hong Kong have announced what they say is the world’s largest ever seizure of about 7.2 tonnes of ivory tusks with an estimated street value close to HK$72m (£7m).
If the size of the haul is verified, it will replace the current record held by Singapore for a seizure of 7.138 tonnes of ivory tusks in 2002.
The EU’s environment commissioner, Karmenu Vella, told the Guardian: “The authorities of Hong Kong did a great job with this massive ivory seizure. It indicates that ivory trafficking continues at shocking levels. But it showcases how coordinated enforcement action brings results. Our EU action plan against wildlife trafficking is a significant part of this coordination.
Full story at http://bit.ly/2u7nD1e
Source: The Guardian
Japan's Rakuten retail site bans ivory sales
One of Japan's largest online retailers has banned the sale of ivory, closing a major marketplace for the controversial trade.
Rakuten is accused of being the world's largest online retailer for elephant ivory, but will now phase out its sale.
The trade is legal in Japan for items imported before 1989 - but no new stock can be brought into the country.
Many other countries have banned the trade outright over concerns that it contributes to elephant poaching.
Full story at http://bbc.in/2u6YB2b
Source: BBC News
Seven right whales found dead in 'devastating' blow to endangered animal
Seven North Atlantic right whales have been found floating lifelessly in the Gulf of St Lawrence, off Canada, in recent weeks, in what is being described as a “catastrophic” blow to one of the world’s most endangered whales.
The first whale carcass was reported in early June. Within a month, another six reports came in, leaving marine biologists in the region reeling.
“It’s devastating,” said Tonya Wimmer of the Marine Animal Response Society, a charitable organisation dedicated to marine mammal conservation in the region. “This is, I think, the largest die-off they’ve ever had for this particularly species, at once.”
The global population of North Atlantic right whales – which live along the eastern seaboard of Canada and the US and can reach up to 16 metres in length – is thought to be around 525, meaning that more than 1% of the population has died in the past month. “So it is catastrophic in terms of potential impact to this population.”
Full story at http://bit.ly/2u7dVvU
Source: The Guardian
The dark side of wildlife tourism: thousands of Asian elephants held in cruel conditions
Thousands of elephants being used for entertainment across Asia are kept in cruel, abusive conditions fuelled by the growing tourism industry, World Animal Protection has found.
Three out of four elephants surveyed in south-east Asia’s popular tourist destinations are living in harsh conditions where they are being used for rides, with mostly steel or wooden saddles, and tied in chains less than three metres long.
The scale of suffering experienced by elephants is “severe”, according to the animal rights NGO which assessed almost 3,000 elephants living in 220 venues in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Nepal and Sri Lanka, and India between mid 2014 and late 2016.
Full story at http://bit.ly/2tLDkKH
Source: The Guardian
Despicably cruel' deer dog poaching condemned in Cumbria
There are concerns that dogs are being used to poach deer in Cumbria.
Poachers usually use search-lights and rifles, but The South Lakes Deer Management Group said it was becoming more common to use specially-trained lurchers to hunt.
In the past year the remains of 17 deer, thought to have been killed by dogs, have been found within a three-mile radius of the village of Rusland.
The management group condemned the poaching as "despicably cruel".
Full story at http://bbc.in/2tLFo5L
Source: BBC News
Hong Kong seizes largest ivory haul in 30 years
Authorities in Hong Kong this week made their largest haul of contraband ivory in more than 30 years, amid surging illegal wildlife seizures fuelled by lax regulations and buoyant demand from mainland China.
The former British colony situated at the mouth of China's Pearl River Delta is one of the world's top global transit hubs for endangered species and their products, such as shark fin, pangolin skin and rosewood furniture.
Customs officials on Thursday said they had seized 7,200 kg (15,873 lb) of ivory tusks, valued at around HK$72 million ($9.22 million), at a cargo warehouse beside the city's harbor.
The ivory was discovered in a 40-foot container from Malaysia declared to hold frozen fish, beneath which officers found the tusks.
Full story at http://reut.rs/2u7w24T
Source: Reuters
Prepared by @SydesJokes
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