Secretary of State Clinton Calls for End to Illegal Wildlife Trafficking

National Geographic (David Braun)

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called today for a global strategy to protect wildlife in their environments and begin to dry up the demand for trafficked wildlife goods. “I’m calling for the creation of a global system of regional wildlife enforcement networks to take advantage of those networks that already are operating and the lessons we have learned from them. The sooner we get this off the ground, the better, and to that end, the State Department is pledging $100,000 to help get this new global system up and running,” she said at a Partnership Meeting on Wildlife Trafficking, attended by conservation groups and representatives of several countries at the Department of State in Washington, D.C.

How to Stop Wildlife Poachers

The New York Times (Elizabeth Bennett)

Over the past 20 years, chimpanzees, gorillas and other great apes have declined the most in areas lacking a security force to protect them. Conversely, parks and protected areas with armed guards and anti-poaching patrols — places like Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park in the Republic of Congo, Kahuzi-Biega National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda — have not only retained their ape populations, but have seen population increases.

This connection extends beyond great apes. The Albertine Rift in Central Africa has over the past 50 years demonstrated the benefits of a close tie between law enforcement and the survival of diverse species. In Asia, the government’s training and deployment of park guards in Thailand’s most important reserve, the Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary, has led to seven years of population stability in tigers and other wildlife, in contrast to dramatic declines in nearby unprotected parks.

UN Recognizes Wildlife Crime as Threat to Rule of Law

WWF

Poaching and the illicit trafficking of wildlife products were raised on the floor of the United Nations General Assembly for the first time Monday during discussions on strengthening national and international governance. World leaders gathering in New York for the global body’s 67th annual meeting highlighted wildlife trafficking along with other severe threats to the rule of law such as corruption and drug running.

In a written statement, permanent Security Council member United States highlighted “the harm caused by wildlife poaching and trafficking to conservation efforts, rule of law, governance and economic development.” The rapidly-growing illicit international trade in endangered species products, such as rhino horn, elephant ivory and tiger parts, is now estimated to be worth $8-10 billion per year globally.

India Tiger Killed by Poachers Inside Itanagar Zoo

BBC (Subir Bhaumik)

Police in India’s north-eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh are looking for a gang of poachers who entered a high-security zoo in the capital, Itanagar, and hacked a tiger to death.

Tigers ‘Take Night Shift’ to Dodge Humans

BBC

Tigers in Nepal seem to be taking night shifts in order to avoid their human neighbours, a study has shown.

Asia’s New Taste for African Lion Bones Threatens Conservation Efforts

The Herald Sun

Lion bones have become a hot commodity for their use in Asian traditional medicine, driving up exports from South Africa to the East and creating new fears of the survival of the species.

Conservationists are already angry over lion trophy hunting.

The skeletons are mostly shipped to Vietnam and Laos, feeding conservationists’ fears that the market will drive up lion poaching – just as the illegal hunting of rhinos escalates for their horns, also popular in Asian traditional remedies.