tagged w/ China's Illegal Animal-Trade
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Exposing the sale of tiger hides counterfeit shoes and bootleg clothes in one of the largest markets in China/ truck runs over pedestrian/ exotic live chinese food. Also a little geography lesson as well as we flyover alaska and into russia. Check it out its a little bit of everything.
Not for the kids...Exposing the sale of tiger hides counterfeit shoes and bootleg clothes in one of the... more
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Please Protect Raccoon Dogs - Stop Deceptive Labeling of Faux Fur!
Target: U.S. Congress
Sponsored by: Care2.com
A startling investigation shows that 80 percent of jackets mislabeled as faux fur contain raccoon dog fur. U.S. law prohibits the import and sale of dog and cat fur products – but the law does not protect raccoon dogs, nor does it require labeling products with fur valued under $150.
* Learn more about faux fur issues at http://go.care2.com/16828429
Wild raccoon dogs are members of the canine family native to dense woodlands and forests of Asia, but they are domesticated in China primarily for their fur. Undercover video footage shows gruesome methods used, such as skinning them alive. Estimates of how many raccoon dogs are killed each year range from 1.5 million to 4 million.
Reps. Jim Moran (D-Va.) and Mike Ferguson (R-N.J.) have introduced the Dog and Cat Fur Prohibition Act (H.R. 891), a bill that would protect raccoon dogs and require the labeling of all fur products, thus closing the loophole that has allowed the deceptive marketing of real fur as "faux" fur.
Please urge your Representative to help close this loophole by cosponsoring the Dog and Cat Fur Prohibition Act now!
* Petition Link: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/141079863
Please Protect Raccoon Dogs - Stop Deceptive Labeling of Faux Fur!
Target: U.S.... more
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KINSHASA (Reuters) - Poachers in Congo have killed a fifth of the elephants in Africa's oldest national park this year as China buys more ivory, the park's director said on Friday.
Rwandan rebels have killed seven Savannah elephants in the past 10 days alone in the Virunga National Park, along Congo's eastern border with Rwanda and Uganda, Emmanuel de Merode told Reuters.
"We've definitely lost 20 percent of the population this year and probably more," he said. "We have rangers with them, and we're trying to reinforce them. But (the rangers) are outnumbered 20 to one."
The 790,000-hectare (2 million-acre) reserve was home to one of central Africa's largest Savannah elephant herds in the 1970s numbering around 5,000.
But a brutal 1998-2003 war, heavy poaching, corruption and mismanagement of the park have taken a heavy toll. Today conservationists believe no more than 300 elephants remain.
China, among the world's main destinations for illegal ivory, was granted permission last month to buy 108 tonnes of ivory stocks from Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.
De Merode singled out China's growing appetite for ivory as one of the root causes of this year's increase in elephant killings, as poachers attempt to launder their illegal ivory for legitimate sale.
"It's very difficult to distinguish between legal and illegal stocks," he said.
Despite the official end of the conflict in Congo, the eastern borderlands remain a volatile patchwork of rebel strongholds and militia controlled zones.
Armed clashes between rival armed groups are a regular occurrence, limiting the rangers' ability to patrol, and providing cover for poaching.
The Savannah elephant is a sub-species of the African elephant, which is classified as a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.
KINSHASA (Reuters) - Poachers in Congo have killed a fifth of the elephants in... more
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Help stop the trade in bear products, specifically bile and gall bladder.
A bill pending before Congress would amend the Lacey Act of 1981,16 U.S.C. §§3371, 3372, and ban the import, export and interstate trade of these bear parts.
Help stop the trade in bear products, specifically bile and gall bladder.
A bill... more
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UN PANEL PAVES THE WAY FOR ELEPHANT POACHING AND IVORY LAUNDERING
GENEVA, SWTIZERLAND, July 15, 2008 --/WORLD-WIRE/-- The illegal black market in ‘white gold’ seems ready to cause parts of Africa to run red with elephant blood once more after today’s decision by the Standing Committee of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to approve China as a ‘trading partner’ for over 100 tonnes of stockpiled ivory from South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe. Many conservationists and wildlife managers have been left stunned and appalled.
“Unbelievable, naïve and deadly,” stated Will Travers CEO of the Born Free Foundation and President of the Species Survival Network. “It was bad enough when Japan was approved as a trading partner more than a year ago but approving China is, in my view, like pouring petrol on an open fire.”
The reasons why China should not have been approved are numerous:
The lack of comprehensive internal law enforcement and trade controls
The steady stream of illegal ivory shipments destined for China.
The increasing involvement of Chinese nationals based in Africa in ivory trafficking
The continued high levels of elephant poaching (estimated to be running at between 20,000 and 25,000 animals a year)
The rising price of ivory (poached Sumatran ivory tusks have reportedly increased in value by 300% since 2005)
The fragile nature of most African elephant populations (only half a dozen or so African countries have robust and significant elephant herds out of a total of 36 countries that are home to the species)
“Now, in addition to all these challenges and threats, we are faced with the prospect of China and Japan bidding against each other for the ivory stockpiles, driving up the price and heightening still further the incentive to poach and smuggle ivory” said Mr Travers, speaking from Geneva where the Standing Committee of CITES is convened. “Furthermore, it will be shocking to many elephant lovers globally to learn that the decision to approve China as a trading partner was supported by WWF amongst others.
Born Free and the SSN have comprehensive records relating to massive and entrenched levels of elephant poaching over the last 10 years. Together with other conservation groups, SSN has consistently argued against any relaxation in the original ivory trade ban approved by CITES in 1989 following a decade when Africa’s elephant population fell by more than 50% from 1.3 million to 600,000. Today, elephant numbers are estimated to hover at around 475,000 – 500,000. Asian elephant numbers stand at a precarious 30,000-40,000
UN PANEL PAVES THE WAY FOR ELEPHANT POACHING AND IVORY LAUNDERING
GENEVA,... more
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Wildlife trade's dark side:
What do elephants, rhinos, great apes, bears, big cats, sharks, parrots and marine turtles have in common? They're all threatened by the illegal wildlife trade.
View images of the trade in bushmeat that international conservationists are hoping to curb. WARNING: SOME ANIMAL IMAGES ARE GRAPHIC. http://www.msnbc.com/modules/interactive.aspx?id=WildlifeTrade_2008&navid=3032492&pg=7#WildlifeTrade_2008
Great Apes:
http://www.msnbc.com/modules/interactive.aspx?id=WildlifeTrade_2008&navid=3032492&pg=7#WildlifeTrade_2008
An appetite in China for traditional medicines, and hunger in Africa for protein from apes and other wildlife, dubbed bushmeat.
There’s heavy bushmeat hunting in Central and West Africa, says Russ Mitermeier of Conservation International, and heavy poaching for meat and medicinal uses in Southeast Asia and China.
"In Central Africa alone, about one million tons of wild meat is hunted every year," estimates Liz Bennett of the Wildlife Conservation Society. "That is equivalent to 9 billion 1/4 pound hamburgers each year. It has been estimated that that includes some 28 million bay duikers; 16 million blue duikers; 7.5 million red colobus; 1.8 million red river hogs; 34,000 leopards; 15,000 chimps; and 6,250 lowland gorillas."
A 2008 report by the wildlife monitoring group TRAFFIC found that the lack of meat in refugee rations in Tanzania is causing a flourishing illegal trade in bushmeat, including chimpanzees.
Two dozen refugee camps are near wildlife areas, making it easy for poachers. The bushmeat is covertly traded and cooked after dark -- and referred to as 'night time spinach' inside many refugee camps.
'BLACK MARKET' : A Multimedia Interactive: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25677681/Wildlife trade's dark side:
What do elephants, rhinos, great apes, bears, big... more
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