CAWT News

Hormats speaks out on illegal wildlife trade

Richard Thomas — Thu, 17 May 2012 16:35:14 +0000

Key meeting to address poaching threat in Central Africa

Richard Thomas — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 15:04:51 +0000

30th March 2012—The U.S. embassies of Gabon and the Central African Republic are hosting a workshop April 3-5, 2012, in Libreville, Gabon, in response to the growing threat of poaching and trafficking of protected and endangered species.

Participants will include law enforcement and government officials plus representatives of environmental organizations from Cameroon, Central African Republic, Gabon, Chad, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Equatorial Guinea.

Concern over Cheetah trafficking

Richard Thomas — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 16:16:00 +0000

March 2012—CAWT Partner, the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF), has concerns that illegal cheetah trafficking continues to be very active, particularly in northern Africa. In 2011, 27 cases involving illegal trafficking of 70 cheetahs were reported to CCF.

Rhino horn smuggling ring smashed in US

Richard Thomas — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 14:39:25 +0000

US, February 2012—An 18 month long investigation by the US Fish and Wildlife Service has led to the arrest of seven people accused of being part of an international rhino horn smuggling ring and the confiscation of gold ingots and cash each valued at $1 million.

Zero rhino poaching in Nepal in 2011

Richard Thomas — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 15:19:09 +0000

February 2012—In 2011, Nepal recorded zero rhino poaching. It was a remarkable achievement given the global surge in illegal killing of rhinos.

Speaking at an event held to celebrate this remarkable conservation success, Krishna Acharya, Director General of Nepal’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC) and Chief Enforcement Officer of the South Asian Wildlife Enforcement Network (SAWEN), attributed the achievement to the co-ordination between government agencies, conservation partners, local communities, and security forces.

Enforcement heads agree to get tough on illegal tiger trade

Richard Thomas — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 11:12:07 +0000

Bangkok, Thailand, 16th February 2012—Heads of police and customs from the 13 tiger range states have agreed to improved cross-border collaboration and other measures to tackle the illegal trade in the Asian big cats.

UK Government commits £1.3 million to species protection

Richard Thomas — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 10:29:26 +0000

February 2012—The UK Government has awarded £1.3 million to species conservation projects around the world. Four of the 13 projects benefitting from funds secured through the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) are run by CAWT partners.

They include awards of £50,000 each for two IUCN specialists groups—those dealing with African Elephants and African Rhinos. The money will support efforts to promote conservation of these species and to tackle poaching and illegal trade in their products.

INTERPOL to host summit on Environmental Compliance and Enforcement

Richard Thomas — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:28:13 +0000

Project Predator launched

Richard Thomas — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 11:52:06 +0000

December 2011—INTERPOL and the World Bank have launched Project Predator, a global enforcement initiative to protect and save the world’s last remaining wild Tigers.

In the early 1900s, Tigers were found throughout Asia and numbered more than 100,000 animals. Current estimates indicate that fewer than 3,200 remain in the wild.

Rhino horn demand leads to record poaching

Richard Thomas — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 10:52:48 +0000

South Africa, November 2011—More rhinos have been killed in South Africa in the past 10 months than were killed in all of 2010, new poaching numbers reveal. Statistics from South Africa National Parks show that 341 animals were lost to poaching by the end of October 2011, compared to a record total of 333 last year.

South Africa’s grim milestone comes on the heels of an announcement by WWF last week that rhinos have gone extinct in Viet Nam. The carcass of Viet Nam’s last Javan Rhino was found with a gunshot wound and without its horn.

In September 2011, CAWT partners were instrumental in convening a workshop in South Africa of key stakeholders, including government representatives from rhino range States and others, to devise ways to address the growing rhino poaching crisis.