The rhino is under siege again. Poaching and the smuggling of their horns has now been acknowledged as out of control. This is evidenced by the flurry of information from the field – particularly from South Africa (SA). Emails and text messages come in pretty much on a weekly basis
You might have heard there was a tiger conference in Delhi last week, you’ve probably seen news about India’s tiger population, but did you hear anything about China’s absurd comment about tiger trade? Probably not.
Being an undercover wildlife crime investigator can be stressful. Convincing the criminals you investigate that you are one of them while at the same time gathering evidence to incriminate them can be mentally exhausting. It’s like being Jekyll and Hyde. Knowing when to press and when to step back is key
This isn’t just a metaphor, but another way of looking at crime. For several years now, criminologists like Derek Cornish have been developing “crime scripts” which identify and isolate what criminal actors require to perfectly execute their parts –in terms of both tools and (spoken like a true thespian) “motivation”
Pangolins are being poached extensively and are now one of the most frequently-seized species in South East Asia. Overhunting to meet demand for their body parts has resulted in population declines which increases their value and drives further poaching in a scenario similar to the trade in rhino horn or tiger skins.
Our Senior Campaigner, Debbie Banks, reflects on the International Tiger Forum held in St Petersburg, Russia. Five Prime Ministers spoke at the meeting and committed to doubling the wild tiger population by 2022. Further actions on law enforcement and zero tolerance on trade in tiger parts are now urgently required.