Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | A Zimbabwean high court has dropped charges against the professional hunter, Theo Bronkhorst, who led the expedition that killed prized lion Cecil last year, his lawyer said Friday. “The high court has said the charges were flawed and, therefore, should be set aside,” lawyer Perpetua …
Read More »Elephant poaching costs Africa tourism $25 million
Paris, France | AFP | Stopping the killing of elephants for their tusks could add some $25 million (23 million euros) to Africa’s annual tourism income, more than offsetting the anti-poaching spend, a study said Tuesday. While the figure pales in comparison to the estimated value of the black market …
Read More »Humanity will wipe out Earth’s wildlife soon
Paris, France | AFP | Nearly three-fifths of all animals with a backbone — fish, birds, amphibians, reptiles and mammals — have been wiped out since 1970 by human appetites and activity, according to a grim study released Thursday. On current trends, that plunge in stocks of global wildlife …
Read More »Cuddles and Kalashnikovs: Protecting DR Congo’s mountain gorillas
Rumangabo, DR Congo | AFP | A powerful combination of love and guns is helping rebuild an endangered gorilla community in the jungles of war-torn eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Threatened with extinction, some of the world’s last remaining mountain gorillas live on either side of the border between Rwanda …
Read More »All global trade banned in endangered pangolins
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | The shy, scale-covered pangolin is to receive the highest level of protection against illegal trade to try to save it from extinction, after a vote Wednesday by delegates at a global conference. The reclusive, gentle mammal is prized as an edible delicacy and ingredient …
Read More »African elephants ‘suffer worst decline in 25 years’
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | The number of African elephants has dropped by around 111,000 in the past decade, a new report released Sunday at the Johannesburg conference on the wildlife trade said, blaming the plummeting figures on poaching. The revelation, the worst drop in 25 years, came amid …
Read More »Elephants divide meeting aimed at saving species
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | The world’s biggest conference on the international wildlife trade got underway Saturday in Johannesburg, but African countries lashed out at Western charities for “dictating” how they should protect their elephants. Over the next 12 days thousands of conservationists and top government officials will thrash …
Read More »Fate of Africa’s rhino, elephants to dominate wildlife meet
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | Global conservationists and policymakers meet in South Africa from Saturday to chart a way forward in the fight against escalating wildlife trafficking that could drive some species to extinction. The plight of Africa’s rhino and elephants, targeted for their horns and tusks, is expected …
Read More »GORILLAS: Kwita Izina with a difference
This year’s Kwita Izina, the infant gorilla naming annual ceremony was held with a difference that highlighted to innovativeness of the organisers, the Rwanda Development Board (RDB). This year, the Kwita Izina events included the first ever Kwita Izina Conservation and Tourism Exhibition. Held in Kigali over a three-day period …
Read More »Why Kenya’s Move To Burn Ivory Stockpiles will Backfire
OPINION: Last week on Saturday, the President of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta participated in setting to fire 11 pyres and finished ivory goods representing more than 6,000 dead elephants. But will this action really save the elephants which are facing extinction? Many think it’s a gamble and evidence is there to …
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