Prince Charles and Prince William are calling upon world leaders to place the battle against wildlife trafficking at the top of the global agenda. At a May 21st, 2013, event in London hosted by HRH The Prince of Wales and the UK government, Prince Charles said: “As a father and a soon-to-be grandfather, I find it inconceivable that our children and grandchildren could live in a world bereft of these animals.
A federal judge has sentenced Vinh Chuong “Jimmy” Kha, and Felix Kha, to 42 and 46 months in prison for their involvement with a rhino horn trafficking ring operating in the United States. In addition to serving prison time, the Khas must pay a total of $20,000 in criminal fines and pay a $185,000 tax fraud penalty and assessment. Jimmy Kha’s Win Lee Corporation was ordered to pay a $100,000 fine. They must also pay
In less than a month’s time, Nepalese authorities have rounded up 12 suspects in three separate incidents for smuggling rhino horns and pangolin scales. On April 27th, six rhino horn traders were arrested in Bardibas (Mahottari district). Bhishma Humagain, Inspector of Police at Bardibas Area Police Office told MyRepublica.com that Bindeshwor Saha, Ashok Lama, Dev Raj Waiba, Hemant Magar, Thagendra Moktan, and
It seems that no pangolin population is safe from the deadly illegal trade: During the final ten days of April 2013, pangolins and scales were seized in the Philippines, India, Cameroon, and France. On April 20th — just days after the shocking discovery of 2,000 frozen pangolins on a Chinese fishing vessel which ran aground in Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park — the Philippine Coast Guard seized another 23 pan
A conservative estimate of pangolin trafficking from 2011 through April 20th, 2013, suggests that more than 100,000 of these small mammals could have been killed in less than three years. Since most illegal wildlife trade is undetected, we based our estimate on seizures reported by the media for the 28-month period — a total of 17,812 pangolins, accounting for scales and parts. Considering that seizures general
A Chinese fishing vessel which ran aground in Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site in the Philippines, was carrying 400 boxes of frozen pangolins in its cargo hold. Each box reportedly contained 25 to 30 kilograms of pangolins.* The 12 Chinese fishermen aboard the ship were taken into custody on April 8th and are currently being held at the Palawan provincial jail. They were charged with poachin
Last month’s rescue of 104 live pangolins in Thailand has unfortunately turned into a tragedy. According to Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand (WFFT), the pangolins were left at the police station, packed into plastic crates, without care for more than 29 hours. Although the Thai navy officers who made the arrests tried to help by returning to the police station to cool off the pangolins with water, 40 pangol
Shusen Wei, the founder of Dongying Yisheng Petroleum Product Sales Co. Ltd. and Vice Chairman of the local Dongying Chamber of Commerce, has pleaded guilty to charges arising from his involvement with a rhino horn trafficking ring operating in the United States. Wei was arrested on February 2nd, 2013, at JFK airport — en route to China — shortly after he was questioned by USFWS agents at the Original Mia
The Sumatran rhino crisis is worse than previously thought. The IUCN has released an updated population estimate of “less than 100 individuals”, essentially halving earlier estimates of 180. This devastating news was announced at the Sumatran Rhino Summit convened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Species Survival Commission (IUCN SSC), held from March 31st — April 4th, 2013, i
At least 188 rhinos were killed in South Africa during the first quarter of 2013, according to the country’s Department of Environmental Affairs. Of the 188 rhinos, 135 were killed in Kruger National Park, 17 in North West, 16 in KwaZulu-Natal, ten in Limpopo, and ten in Mpumalanga provinces. 63 suspects have been arrested in South Africa since the beginning of 2013 for rhino crimes, although none are at the