China’s Illegal Ivory Trade Escalating Out of Control – Save the Elephants

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Save the Elephants Press Release

The illegal ivory trade is exploding in China, overwhelming efforts to enforce the law, according to the results of the first detailed research on the markets of Beijing and Shanghai since 2002, published today by Save the Elephants and The Aspinall Foundation.

Skyrocketing demand for ivory in China – the wholesale price of raw elephant tusks has tripled in just four years since 2010 – have sparked a booming trade in smuggled ivory that is … Read More

Heads I Win, Tails you Lose – China’s Tiger Trade

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The focus of this article is the state of our feline friends – the tigers in the heart of East Asia – China. China’s intent in abiding by the laws that prohibit the commercial trade of these endangered species is highly suspect. Contrary to its initial ban on tiger bone trade for medicinal uses in 1993, China is actually encouraging the captive-breeding of tigers as a constant source for the fast expanding and ironically legalized domestic trade in tiger skins. … Read More

Brahmaputra-Salween Landscape Including Namdapha In Trans-border Plan

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Feasibility assessment for an ambitious trans-border protected area management plan covering three national parks straddling China, Myanmar and India will be done next year. A three day conclave was held in Myanmar with representatives from the three countries, to develop a strategic programme for climate change adaptation and management of the biologically rich Himalayan ecosystem. The Brahmaputra-Salween landscape comprises several remote but key protected areas in the Eastern Himalayas, including Gaoligongshan National Nature Reserve in China, Namdapha Tiger Reserve in … Read More

Crucial Breakthrough in Cracking Extensive Wildlife Smuggling Ring

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The alleged kingpin of an extensive smuggling network that traded in plant and animal wildlife, Veeriya Shekhar of Manipur, was detained at the Chennai airport by immigration authorities and handed over to the Chhattisgarh police. It is believed that he was at the core of an illegal wildlife trading network that dealt in tiger and leopard bones, deer antlers, pangolin scales and red sandalwood. Information about Shekhar’s role emerged after interrogation of persons who had been arrested during a series … Read More

Leopards Poached More Aggressively than Tigers

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Six leopards are poached for every tiger that is killed. Leopard skins are in great demand in China. Their bones are also often passed off as tiger cub bones. Leopards are also involved in a lot of man-animal conflicts and are often killed with brutality for straying into human habitations.

In 2010, 180 leopards were killed through poaching whereas the total number killed stands at 328. In the first six months of 2011, there have already been 79 poaching related … Read More

China Premier Warned of Tiger Pledge ‘Mockery’

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EIA’s personal letter highlights gap between China’s promises and actions for wild tiger conservation.

PRLog (Press Release) – May 19, 2011 – THE Environmental Investigation Agency has written a personal letter to Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao to warn him that significant failings within a key state department in China are making a mockery of his pledge to “vigorously combat poaching, trade and smuggling of tiger products”.

At last November’s Global Tiger Forum in St Petersburg, five leaders of Tiger Range … Read More

Workshop: Conservation of Endangered Black-necked Cranes

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A 2-day workshop, called ‘Cranes Calling’, was held in New Delhi for knowledge-sharing and information exchange among experts on conservation of Black-necked Cranes. The workshop was organized by WWF-India, MoEF, BNHS and Indian Bird Conservation Network (IBCN) and included delegates from India, China and Bhutan. Union Minister Jairam Ramesh was the chief guest. Mr. Ramesh remarked that conservation of Black-necked Cranes deserves special attention, not only because of the significance to nature, but because of the opportunities it brings for … Read More

Wild India’s Grim Reapers — Interview with Belinda Wright, WPSI

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In an interview to CI, Belinda Wright, Executive Director, Wildlife Protection Society of India, talks to Prerna Singh Bindra about the growing illegal trade in wildlife.

Belinda Wright, tiger conservationist and wildlife campaigner, is the Founder and Executive Director of the Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI). Born in Kolkata, she has spent her entire life working with wildlife in India. She was a internationally renowned wildlife photographer and Emmy Award winning documentary filmmaker before turning to full time Read More

Prices of big cat parts in China doubles

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Environmental Investigation Agency’s (EIA) new investigation has revealed that skins and other body parts of Indian wild tigers and leopards are being sold openly in China and at much higher prices than before.

The investigation carried out by an international NGO, Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), states that the prices of tiger and leopard parts in Chinese markets have doubled since 2005: tiger skins are selling for 11,660-21,860 dollars, leopard skins for 1,020-2,770 dollars. The fact that the prices have escalated  … Read More

Sinister start to new year for big cats

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LUCKNOW: With three tiger deaths reported from UP and Uttarakhand over the past ten days, new year has started on an ominous note for the big cat. Even as investigations into the cause of death are still under way and officials predictably rule out foul play in at least two cases, experts feel that warning sounded off by the minister for forest and environment Jairam Ramesh could be coming true sooner than expected.

The minister had recently expressed concern at … Read More

Indian Tiger is Tibet’s Second Skin

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Armed with a spycam, Belinda Wright entered Tibet posing as a buyer of tiger skin. To her horror, she not only found the endangered animal’s skin openly sold on the streets but also used as clothing by Tibetans.

Tibet is every bit as magical as I expected it to be. Its desolate and wind swept plains, mist-covered mountains, and stoic and friendly people, exceed one’s dreams. But Tibet also broke my heart when I visited its villages and towns in … Read More

China Fails to Stop Tiger Trade

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That’s the message of a new report published by the Environmental Investigation Agency, which recently conducted undercover investigations into the illegal big cat skin and bone trade in China.

‘China has really run out of excuses. They tell us they are doing their best, but we have been warning them about this for years and there are still huge gaps in their enforcement effort. If they can put a man into space, they can do more to save the wild … Read More