Last year we raised the alarm about a new Chinese Government policy which repealed a 25-year ban on use of tiger bone and rhino horn in traditional medicine. A document issued in March 2019 by the Government of Shaanxi Province appears to implement the new policy and makes no reference to the November 2018 claims that a full ban is in effect.
At a special All-Party Parliament China Group event yesterday (2 April), hosted by Rebecca Pow MP, MPs heard how international trade in the body parts of Asia’s endangered tigers and leopards is banned – but that they are still poached for their skins, bones, teeth and claws because of demand among Chinese consumers.
Vietnamese customs has seized over nine tonnes of ivory in a container shipment from the Republic of Congo, thought to be the largest ivory seizure ever made.
With Member State experts due to meet today (27 March) to discuss the future of the European Union‘s domestic ivory market, Belgium has added momentum to efforts to ban the trade across the bloc.
If you live in the UK, we ask you to call on your local MP to join our campaigners at an event in Parliament on 2 April 2019 to explore how the UK can work with China to become big cat conservation champions.
Scientists have announced that only 10 vaquita porpoises are estimated to survive in the world – virtually assuring the animal’s extinction without bold and immediate action.