Friday 20 July 2018

Major investigation exposes horrific tiger slaughterhouse in the Czech Republic


Czech Republic authorities raided premises in Prague and other locations, revealing a nightmarish tiger slaughterhouse at the centre of an international criminal trade ring.
Dubbed Operation Trophy, the raids were the culmination of two-and-a-half years of work and employed more than 200 enforcement officers from customs, police and the Czech Environmental Inspectorate (CEI).

In the illegal slaughterhouse, they found:
* a freshly killed tiger, shot through the eye to leave its skin undamaged
* a boiler for preparation of tiger glue
* many tiger claws, bones and skins
* dozens of dead animals, often in a state of decay.


Read more at https://eia-international.org/major-investigation-exposes-horrific-tiger-slaughterhouse-czech-republic

Canada: Black bear poaching operation busted by Quebec wildlife ministry.


 Sixty-four people allegedly involved in a black bear poaching operation have been caught by Quebec’s Ministry of Forests, Wildlife and Parks.

According to a statement from the ministry released Wednesday, the individuals were illegally trapping and selling black bear gall bladders. The gall bladders — specifically the bile inside — apparently are used by some practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine, said Jasmin Larouche, director of wildlife protection for the Saguenay—Lac-St-Jean region.

The suspects, who come from the Saguenay, Mauricie, Côte-Nord and Laval regions, face 121 charges and could have to pay up to $328,000 in fines, Larouche said.

Tuesday 17 July 2018

South Africa almost doubles lion bone export quota


South Africa is to nearly double the number of captive lion skeletons to be exported, from 800 to 1,500 a year.

There have been significant shipments of lion parts in the past 10 years to South-East Asia and China where they are marketed as tiger, further exacerbating demand for the world’s most endangered big cats.

There are fewer than 4,000 tigers left in the wild and they are still being targeted by consumers who want ‘the real thing’.

Leopards are also being targeted for their bones and body parts, again for the markets in SE Asia and China .

Tuesday 10 July 2018

107 Wildlife trackng cameras destroyed by poachers in Cambodia

At least 107 cameras deployed for tracking endangered wildlife in the northeast provinces of Cambodia were dismantled or destroyed by poachers, according to a provincial environment official on Thursday.

Mondulkiri Provincial Environment Department director Keo Sopheak told The Post that the dismantling of the cameras showed that poaching in the Sre Pok and Phnom Prich wildlife sanctuaries continued at an alarming rate.

Sopheak said that data his team collected from other cameras indicated that poachers stole and destroyed cameras in the two wildlife sanctuaries. They wore civilian clothing but were armed with AK-47 and M-16 rifles.

“We cannot identify the perpetrators as the data collected from the other cameras’ vantage points allow us to only make out their bodies.

“Nonetheless, the Environment Department has filed a complaint with the Mondulkiri provincial police and the provincial Military Police requesting that they investigate further and arrest those responsible,” he said.

Meanwhile, Sopheak estimated that the cost of the damaged cameras was about $30,000.