CITES

Elephant poaching in Africa falls but ivory seizures up

Geneva - Muslimchronicle

Elephant poaching in Africa declined for a fifth straight year in 2016 but seizures of illegal ivory hit records highs, the CITES monitor said Tuesday, calling it a "conflicting phenomena". In its latest report, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species also noted that despite the overall fall in poaching, Africa's elephant population has continued to drop "due toRead more

Chinese buyers fuelling ivory surge in Laos

Nairobi - Muslimchronicle

Surging demand from Chinese visitors has made Laos the world's fastest-growing market for ivory, conservation group Save the Elephants said Thursday. China, currently the world's largest ivory market, has pledged to phase out its sales by the end of the year but with ivory trinkets still popular among Chinese consumers demand is shifting across the border. Ivory sales have increasedRead more

Endangered species poached in protected areas

Geneva - Arab Today

Illegal poaching, logging and fishing of sometimes critically endangered species is taking place in nearly half of the world's most protected natural sites, environmental campaigners WWF warned Tuesday. Natural world heritage sites such as Australia's Great Barrier Reef, Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Galapagos Islands support large populations of rare plant and animal species.Read more

SA government says no to unregulated trade in rhino horns

Cape Town - Arab Today

A Constitutional Court order setting aside the moratorium on domestic trade in rhino horns does not mean unregulated trade in rhino horns, Minister of Environmental Affairs Edna Molewa said on Thursday. "Whilst we are studying the implications of the order handed down by the Constitutional Court, it should be noted that the court's decision should not be construed to meanRead more

China to ban ivory trade by end of 2017

Beijing - Arab Today

China will ban all ivory trade and processing by the end of 2017, the government said, in a move hailed by conservationists as a "game changer" for African elephants. African ivory is highly sought after in China, where it is seen as a status symbol, with prices for a kilo (2.2 pounds) reaching as high as $1,100. "To better protectRead more

Burning ivory, waging war: world battles poaching in 2016

Nairobi - Arab Today

It was one of the most momentous events in the battle against poaching: 11 giant pyres of elephant tusks going up in flames in Kenya as the world looked on. The largest-ever destruction of ivory, which took place in April, was the pinnacle of efforts to jolt mankind into stopping the slaughter of wildlife, while sending a powerful message toRead more

At CITES wildlife trade meeting

Johannesburg - Arab Today

The world's largest wildlife meeting wrapped up late Tuesday with conservationists hailing progress in tightening rules on trafficking of endangered species including sharks, grey parrots and pangolins. But the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) conference in Johannesburg also exposed sharp differences over how to best protect Africa's elephants and rhinos. Ten days of talks ended a dayRead more

Global trade in African grey parrots banned

Johannesburg - Arab Today

Delegates at a global wildlife conference on Sunday voted to ban international trade in African grey parrots, one of the world's most trafficked birds. Prized for their ability to mimic human speech, the birds are a highly sought-after pet, but their numbers have been decimated in recent years by poaching and the destruction of their forest habitats. The Convention onRead more

Zimbabwe, Namibia to push for ivory trade

Johannesburg - Arab Today

Southern African countries will Monday fight for permission to sell their ivory stockpiles, as an international wildlife conference debates how best to regulate the often illegal trade and protect Africa's elephants. Targeted for their tusks, the continent's pachyderms have been decimated by poaching, with a new study showing the number of African elephants has fallen by around 111,000 in theRead more

Sharks: feared predator

Johannesburg - Arab Today

Sharks may elicit less sympathy than elephants or rhinos, but experts say the feared predators are under increasing pressure from unmanaged commercial fishing and desperately in need of further protection. Unregulated fishing and international trade in shark products for human consumption have led to a precipitous drop in numbers. An estimated 100 million sharks are killed every year, according toRead more