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Members of the Pilanesberg National Park Anti-Poaching Unit (APU) stand guard as conservationists and police investigate the scene of a rhino poaching incident April 19, 2012. Elephant and rhino poaching is surging, conservationists say, an illegal piece of Asia's scramble for African resources, driven by the growing purchasing power of the region's newly affluent classes. In South Africa, nearly two rhinos a day are being killed to meet demand for the animal's horn, which is worth more than its weight in gold. Picture taken April 19, 2012. To match Feature AFRICA-POACHING/ REUTERS/Mike Hutchings (SOUTH AFRICA
Black bear body parts are harvested all over the world, used in Asian medicine and cooking. Until this year, New York was one of a few states where the trade was unregulated.
With the scope of global crime — and particularly organized crime — threatening emerging economies and fomenting international instability, Yury Fedotov called for concerted world action to combat the trend.... “Today, most criminal organizations bear no resemblance to the hierarchical organized crime family groups of the past,” he told the meeting. “Instead, they consist of loose and informal networks that often converge when it is convenient and engage in a diverse array of criminal activities, including the smuggling of counterfeit goods, firearms, drugs, humans, and even wildlife to amass their illicit profits.”
…of reasons Ted Nugent belongs in a padded cell. Nugent has settled with federal prosecutors for illegally killing a black bear in Alaska. Activist and musician Ted Nugent has signed a plea agreement with federal prosecutors admitting he illegally shot and transported black bear in Southeast Alaska two years ago, according to the agreement.....
Dublin police think an Irish Traveller gang, consisting of criminals linked to the international rhino trade, was behind the latest in a spate of holy relic raids to hit the Irish Republic.
IFAW: Grace Ge Gabriel We don’t meet or talk to criminals often. But that’s exactly what I did last November in Bangkok. At a meeting on the implementation of the Asia Regional Response to Endangered Species Trafficking (ARREST) program, a former poacher sat among us and we also talked on the phone with a current wildlife trafficker. The poacher explained how easy it was to kill a tiger in the wild, “just kill an elephant first and let the decaying meat to attract tigers”. He got phone orders from wildlife traders whom he never met. As a poacher, he was paid very little money yet shouldered a much higher risk than the trader. He was caught and put in prison. He quit when he came out. “It got harder to find wild animals and the money was not worth the risk”, he said. The trader, however, was a completely different story. He told us how easily he makes a killing by getting wildlife from poachers and selling it at a high price to the end market. Anonymity, money and connections are all on his side. He bribes corrupt officials to turn a blind eye to his criminal activities. We asked him if he would change from trafficking wildlife to drugs, his answer was an emphatic “No”. To him, wildlife trafficking is a high-profit, yet low-risk profession. This was proved yet again recently with the release of Anson Wong, one of world’s most notorious wildlife traffickers. In February, he walked out of Malaysian prison a free man after serving only 17 months and 15 days of a 5-year sentence.....
JAKARTA, Indonesia, Apr 19, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- A public-private partnership set up to save the Javan Rhino from extinction has reported that its goal of increasing the existing population in Ujung Kulon National Park by 25 per cent over five years is making progress -- 12 months after the team was set up. The Javan Rhino Conservation Working Group (CWG) is a multi-disciplinary team made up of experts from Ujung Kulon National Park, local NGOs, private sector companies and academics. This week, the CWG reported on its first year in operation. Important steps have been taken to improve protection of the rhino habitat within Ujung Kulon, and cut down on encroachment by local communities and poaching. And video from new camera feeds set up within the rhino habitat has revealed a flourishing community of an estimated 35 individual rhinos, including -- critically -- several juveniles.....
"What many of us don't realise is that the illegal wildlife trade is one of the main causes of species extinction in the wild. So while people often buy these animals as a result of their appreciation for their beauty and character, they are in fact threatening the future of the species," Al Mubarak said on the EAD website.
Ever since their stunning discovery of a tiger cub hidden in a smuggler’s bag in 2010, wildlife authorities at Thailand’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport have been on the lookout for others attempting such crazy schemes. Now, it seems that vigilance has paid off. Critically endangered tortoises, water dragons and even American paddlefish that can grow up to two-meters long, were among the surprising list of wildlife that unsuccessful smugglers have tried to slip past security at Suvarnabhumi International Airport so far this year
More than 60 representatives from logistical and transport companies met last week in Beijing to examine ways to counter wildlife trafficking. The meeting on control of trafficking in endangered wildlife products was co-hosted by China’s CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) Management Authority, Ministry of Transportation, Ministry of Railways, State Civil Aviation Administration and State Post Administration.
Three Somalis are among the latest people arrested in a crackdown on elephant poaching in the country.
Indonesia has more unique species of mammals, birds, and butterflies than any other country in the world. This diversity has made it a hot-spot for illegal wildlife trafficking, which loses the country an estimated 80 million dollars a year.
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – Chinese workers in Zimbabwe are buying up the local wildlife for dinner, feasting on endangered tortoises, pythons, leopards — and even village dogs.
Viewed as prestigious dishes, they would be expensive to serve at banquets back in China. But in Zimbabwe they are relatively cheap. Worse yet, in this cash-strapped country there’s a lack of resources to thwart the appetite for endangered game, conservation groups say....
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GRAPHIC CONTENT: Ivory poaching still a big problem in Africa, James Murdoch gives evidence to The Leveson Inquiry in London, dangerous booby traps found on a trail in Utah, and more in today’s daily brief
KINSHASA/KRUGER NATIONAL PARK, South Africa (Reuters) - The hit job was done by professionals who swooped over their quarry in a helicopter before opening fire.
Money laundering, cocaine trafficking largest contributors to annual global criminal proceeds of $2.1 trillion, says U.N..... Other criminal enterprises which added to UNODC's $2.1 trillion estimate were counterfeiting; human trafficking; and trafficking in oil, wildlife, timber, fish, art and cultural property, gold, human organs, and small and light weapons.....
21st UN Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice... Opening Statement Vienna Austria, April 23, 2012 Madam Chairperson, thank you for the floor. We are pleased to see you leading our work today and during the coming week, and pledge our assistance as you help make this Crime Commission a productive one. Since the genesis of this Commission, we – its member states – have collectively identified new and emerging crime trends in order to develop appropriate tools, harness resources and work collaboratively to target, penetrate, and dismantle the threats they represent to security and development. During this time, we have also witnessed the impressive adaptability of criminal organizations to both law enforcement actions and to new opportunities for profit. Today, most criminal organizations bear no resemblance to the hierarchical organized crime family groups of the past. Instead, they consist of loose and informal networks that often converge when it is convenient and engage in a diverse array of criminal activities, including the smuggling of counterfeit goods, firearms, drugs, humans, and even wildlife to amass their illicit profits. At the same time, largely due to pressure from committed countries, terrorist organizations in some cases are turning to crime and criminal networks for both resources and facilitation in order to sustain their networks and fund their operations. We have seen that terrorist organizations can overcome differences in motivation and ideology to use criminal organizations to launder their money, acquire funds, and move people and materials across borders. There are even instances where terrorists are evolving into criminal entrepreneurs in their own right, engaging in illicit activities to finance their operations. In order to explore these evolving partnerships of convenience further, the United States will host a side-event tomorrow at 9:00 am. This side-event will serve as an opportunity to analyze crime-terror interaction and explain why it is expanding. We welcome participation and attendance from all interested Crime Commission delegates. Madam Chairperson, I would now like to turn my remarks to this year’s thematic debate topic. The United States believes that violence against migrants, migrant workers and their families, including violence perpetrated by organized criminal groups, poses a serious challenge to states and requires multilateral cooperation among all countries towards its eradication. Migrants, especially women and children, who attempt to cross international borders in an irregular fashion, are highly vulnerable to abuse and crime, including human trafficking, and the United States recognizes that states have an obligation to treat them humanely with full protection of their rights. To this end, the thematic debate should serve as an opportunity to explore the range of measures within the context of the crime prevention and criminal justice system to prevent, to investigate and to prosecute crimes against migrants and their families, including violations of their legal rights. In particular, some of these measures can be found in the application of the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its Protocols on Migrant Smuggling and on Trafficking in Persons. These legally binding instruments contain the agreed upon tools to facilitate international cooperation and to afford protections to migrant witnesses who testify in criminal proceedings or become victims of trafficking. In addition, the Migrant Smuggling Protocol includes provisions aimed at deterring the endangerment of migrants and the infliction of inhuman or degrading treatment upon migrants. The Migrant Smuggling Protocol also requires states parties to take appropriate measures to prevent the infliction of violence against smuggled migrants. In support of the thematic debate, the United States has submitted a draft resolution on promoting cooperation in preventing violent crime against migrants, migrant workers and their families. We are very pleased and honored to be working in close collaboration with Turkey in this regard. In the coming days, we welcome further discussions on this draft resolution with all Crime Commission partners. In closing, I would like also to give special mention to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the technical assistance and capacity building that it undertakes on a global basis. The United States provided a record $41 million toward UNODC’s assistance efforts in 2011, including in support of the anti-crime legal framework. We continue to view the organization as an important force multiplier for bilateral assistance efforts and look forward to continuing our partnership in 2012 and beyond. Thank you for the opportunity to speak, and we look forward to a productive week.
WildlifeMargrit: Important info for both consumer and business owner alike What do laws on Wall Street financial reform, child labor, human trafficking, wildlife protection, jobs promotion, and food and product safety all have in common? Despite separate enforcing agencies and very different subject matter, they are all part of an ever-growing body of federal, state and municipal laws that are normally thought of as addressing social and safety concerns but increasingly affect companies’ supply chains. These laws include restrictions of certain imports or sales to the government;
extensive certification, inspection and monitoring requirements; and
requirements to publicly disclose compliance with the above on company websites or financial statements.
These laws can apply to companies all the way down the supply chain to the providers of parts and material inputs. Companies need to be aware of these new and untraditional supply chain requirements, some of which are still evolving and being implemented. Failure to do so can lead to fines, seizures, lost business, poor public relations, civil and even criminal liability. Below, we briefly highlight several laws that can have unexpected consequences on import and supply chain compliance. >>> Wildlife Protection <<<
The Lacey Act wildlife protection statute was enacted in 1900 to combat interstate trafficking of protected wildlife, fish and plants. The Act was subsequently amended to apply to transportation across international borders and logging. The 2008 Farm Bill amended the Lacey Act by expanding its protection to a broader range of plants and plant products (including many wood products) and made it unlawful to import, export, transport, sell or purchase in interstate or foreign commerce any plant product “taken, possessed, transported, or sold” in violation of U.S. federal or state law, Indian Tribe law, or any foreign law that protects plants.[8] The Lacey Act also makes it unlawful to import certain plant products without an import declaration that includes the genus and species of each plant product. Violations can result in civil or criminal penalties, including prison and forfeiture of the imported product.
The breadth of companies covered by the new Lacey Act provisions is made clear by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) raid of Gibson Guitars of Nashville, Tennessee in November 2009. FWS had received information that Gibson was importing illegally harvested rosewood and ebony fingerboard blanks from India, where laws restrict the thickness of wood products that may be exported. FWS agents seized wood, guitars, computers and electronic files. The case is still pending. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is currently considering several amendments to these Lacey Act provisions, including revisions related to the declaration requirement, how to deal with composite plant materials and a de minimis exception (e.g., for packaging materials).
POACHER WAS PART OF AN EIGHT-MEMBER GANG THAT ENGAGED
KENYA WILDLIFE SERVICE RANGERS IN A FIERCE SHOOT-OUT NAIROBI (Xinhua) -- Kenyan authorities have gunned down one suspected poacher, arrested six others and recovered guns and ammunition in three different incidents across the country. Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) said the suspected poacher was gunned down in Kora National Park in Tana River County in the coastal region and his AK47 rifle plus 27 rounds of ammunition were recovered. "The poacher was part of an eight-member gang that engaged KWS rangers in a fierce shoot-out. "A hot pursuit for the rest of the gang is underway," the wildlife body said in a statement released in Nairobi.....
VICE profiles Patrick Brown, a photographer who has been documenting the illegal trade of endangered animals in Asia.... Brown and Ben Davies have been documenting the illegal trade of endangered animals in Asia for more than ten years, covering its dealers, stockpiles, trafficking routes and markets. They knows that poachers are but a small part of a much bigger contraband industry that is centuries old.
"A poacher who kills a rhino and removes its horn in India gets $350," Brown explains. "By the time it reaches Hong Kong, the horn is worth about $95,600 per killogram." Money fuels illegal animal trade, as it does any other form of smuggling, but the demand and value of these animals is built upon false beliefs and superstition.
Rhino horns have no medicinal purpose, but myths about their effect on health and potency have pushed their value to more than five times the price of gold in black markets. Animal trade thrives on novelty and on the belief that exotic animals exude certain powers. More and more people are becoming aware of the myths, but sellers are also adapting. As Patrick Brown explains, porous rhino horns are now often soaked in Viagra before they reach the market....
An appeals court in the East Region of Cameroon has sentenced a group caught trafficking 44 ivory tusks to one year jail terms and damages of FCFA 100 million (US$ 200,000) to be paid to Cameroon’s Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife (MINFOF). The judgment comes three months after a lower court sentenced the same suspects to just 30 days in jail term and a fine of less than FCFA 5 million. The ruling sparked a wave of condemnation from members of the international community, including WWF and LAGA, prompting Cameroon’s wildlife ministry to lodge an appeal.
As I Kid I remember having Tiger Skin used as Carpet in one of my Uncle's Guest Room where I was fascinated with the Beauty of it and Later in the Future When I grew Up I thought this Skin will also be displayed in my home. But As I grew Up I was more exposed to Suffering and Painful Death that these Animals are put on beside their Skins or Bones being used as Luxury Items. I am now at the age of 23 have been creating awareness and campaign against Animal Cruelty and Abuse...
Traditional Chinese medicines often exist in a legal, scientific, and ethical grey area. Despite concerns over ingredients sourced from protected animals and limited evidence of their effectiveness, the market in these products is still very, very large. And now, two new studies have looked at the health and legal implications of a number of these remedies, and have found some rather disturbing results.
Taken by wildlife photographer Nick Brandt, he has managed to capture them in their natural environment with many of the pictures taken in the Amboseli region of East Africa.
The World Customs Organization (WCO) launches its second major project to combat illicit wildlife trade with a strong focus on integrity-related issues, as global conservation efforts to protect the environment are increasingly being undermined by illegal trafficking and corruption, opening the doors to unacceptable behaviour that defies all laws and boundaries. Sponsored by the Government of Sweden, the Great Apes and Integrity (GAPIN) Project is aimed at assisting a selected number of WCO Member Customs administrations in their fight against the illicit trafficking in wildlife protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).....
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