Posts Tagged ‘poaching’
The WildLife: Rhino DNA Index System & Role in Anti-Poaching Efforts, Cindy Harper
The Rhino DNA Index System (RhODIS) is a secure database containing DNA profile data of individual rhinoceros. The extraction method has been optimized and is now used to individually identify rhinoceros horns from stockpiles and to link recovered horns to poaching cases. The information contained in this database has assisted in a number of…
Read MoreNational Geographic: Elephants in Cameroon and Chad face Imminent Threat
Posted by Laurel Neme in A Voice for Elephants on December 5, 2012 Gangs of heavily armed elephant poachers have crossed the Central African Republic (CAR) from Sudan and are reported to be close to the southern Chad and northern Cameroon borders. Several columns of Sudanese poachers, comprising between 150 to 200 men riding on…
Read MoreRanger in Kruger National Park catches two rhino poachers
Two men asked a ranger in South Africa’s Kruger National Park ranger to kill and de-horn a rhino, saying it was easier for him to do so. The ranger played along, saying he couldn’t use his official weapon and that the poachers would have to supply the rifle. He set up another meeting and…
Read MoreUS Government pledges to fight Wildlife Trafficking, Remarks by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton
The U.S. will intensify its efforts to combat the illegal wildlife trade, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said at an event on “Wildlife Trafficking and Conservation: A Call to Action” held on November 8, 2012. “Over the past few years wildlife trafficking has…
Read MoreNational Geographic: Elephant Poachers Caught in Chad, Protection Efforts Stepped Up
Posted by Laurel Neme in A Voice for Elephants on October 5, 2012 In late July and early August in the Mayo Lemie and Chari Baguirmi regions of southwestern Chad, poachers slaughtered 63 elephants. The government launched a massive land and aerial search with 200 soldiers to track down the perpetrators. After several skirmishes,…
Read MoreMilitarization of Elephant Poaching
This interview in Yale360 with Jeffrey Gettleman talks about his recent report in The New York Times that brutal armed groups in Africa (including African armies) are slaughtering thousands of elephants for their ivory tusks in order to sustain their militia and conflicts. In it, he raises the question of whether the United States should be…
Read More373 rhinos killed so far this year in South Africa alone, yearly death toll likely to surpass 550
The South African government reports 373 rhinos have been killed for their horns so far this year. If this poaching rate of 1.5 rhinos killed per day for the first eight months of 2012 continues, South Africa could lose over 550 rhinos in 2012 — a 25 percent jump from 2011’s record rhino death…
Read MoreIndia’s Prime Minister proposes strengthening wildlife crime fighting
India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on September 5, 2012 said the government would strengthen the country’s Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and noted a proposal for expanding the number of regional offices, field units and forensic labs of the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau as well as creation of a national database on wildlife crime and…
Read MoreUpdate on the Chad elephant poaching situation
Update on the Chad elephant situation: On August 15, Chad’s High Administrative Authority informed Stephanie Vergniault, president of the wildlife organization SOS Elephants, that the Chadian army seized 30 tusks from the recent Chari –Baguirmi poaching. With the army in pursuit, the poachers tried to cross the river with them but ultimately abandoned the…
Read MoreNew wildlife forensics lab to be commissioned in Kenya to fight wildlife poaching and crime.
Great news! On Monday (13 August, 2012) the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) will commission the construction of $700,000 wildlife forensic and genetics laboratory at its headquarters in Nairobi. This new lab will be able to provide legal evidence necessary in courts to convict suspects for wildlife crimes. It will help not only to link…
Read MoreMongabay.com: Elephant slaughter continues in Chad, another baby rescued
Laurel Neme, special to mongabay.comAugust 07, 2012 ‘Toto’, a 3-week-old male elephant rescued by SOS Elephants. Photo courtesy of SOS Elephants Elephant poaching persists in southwestern Chad as poachers slaughtered more elephants on August 3, the second time in less than two weeks. In the first attack, the week of July 23, poachers killed 34…
Read More