I used to joke with my friends that EIA were the James Bonds of the environmental movement. Having become more acquainted with the work done here, this is no longer a joke – those who work here are consistently impressive and I’m constantly in awe of those who’ll go head to head with criminals
Rhino populations are being hammered by poachers, pushing the species ever-closer to extinction to satisfy demand for rhino horn in Vietnam and elsewhere – yet despite 668 rhinos being slaughtered by poachers across South Africa in 2012, there are indications it is contemplating pushing for a legal trade in rhino horn
If 2012 has shown anything, it’s that we’re still small and that our concise reports anchored in hard documentary evidence – often obtained undercover in potentially dangerous circumstances – continue to give us the clout to punch well above our weight
Tanzania’s hardly been out of the headlines since quietly slipping in an application earlier this month to reduce international protection for its elephant populations and auction off 101 tonnes of stockpiled ivory
The international community is finally recognising that environmental crime is not some small-scale criminal activity taking place deep in the jungles of Africa or Asia but is serious, growing, transnational and, shockingly, highly organised through the involvement of notorious criminal syndicates and terrorist groups
The use of rhino horn as a recreational drug or cancer treatment in Asia is based on myths, but has escalated exponentially over the last few years. As a result, rhino in Africa and Asia are brutally slaughtered in huge numbers for their horns. The trade is attracting the attention of organised crime