Is it time to reconsider a legal global trade in tiger, elephant and rhino products? That was the question being debated last Thursday (October 17) at an EarthWatch Institute event held at the Royal Geographical Society in London.
On Friday, October 4, EIA joined the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust's iWorry campaign International March for Elephants to call for an end to all ivory trade
Elephants are currently being slaughtered for their ivory at a rate not seen in decades, their homes in Africa and Asia transformed into bloody killing fields to supply the market demand for everything from elaborate carvings to trinkets and chopsticks
Thailand’s protected areas contain the largest remaining stocks of Siam rosewood, coveted in China as a sign of wealth and prosperity. Exporting Thai rosewood is illegal, but smugglers are stealing billions of dollars worth each year
Last week, EIA campaigners were at an international workshop on the conservation of tigers and other wildlife, held in Kunming, China.It was organised by the State Forestry Administration of China (SFA), and attended by all tiger range countries (except Myanmar/Burma) plus several NGOs along with a large delegation of Government representatives from China.
Too often, and too commonly, environmental crime is seen as a ‘victimless’ crime. But the grim reality is that alongside the terrible toll taken on endangered species such as tigers, elephants and rhinos, the activities of highly organised transnational wildlife crime syndicates also exact a huge price in human life.