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tagged w/ Animal Trade
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As Income Rises, So Does Animal Trade
The New York Times
December 19, 2010
As Incomes Rise, So Does Animal Trade
By BETTINA WASSENER
HONG KONG — Four suitcases full of ivory, intercepted by customs at Suvarnabhumi International Airport near Bangkok. Rare tortoises, openly for sale at a fair in Jakarta, the Indonesian capital. More than 2,000 frozen pangolins — scaly anteaters — seized from a fishing vessel off China.
Oh, and a 2-month-old tiger cub, alive but sedated, found inside a suitcase, also at the Bangkok airport.
If you think all of this sounds like old news — didn’t we see this in the 1970s and ’80s? — think again.
Every one of these incidents, documented by Traffic, the wildlife trade monitoring network, took place within the past few months. They provide just a glimpse of the massive trade in endangered animals — and their bones, skins and other organs — that is taking place across Asia.
And they illustrate that half a century’s worth of efforts by governments, international organizations and conservationists have failed to stem wildlife trade and the extinction of numerous animals and plants.
Yes, conservation projects have helped preserve individual species, but over all the trade in rare creatures has grown, not shrunk — thanks largely to rising demand from an increasingly affluent Asia.
“I’ve been doing this job for close to 20 years,” said Chris R. Shepherd, who helps oversee Traffic’s Southeast Asia operations, “and I can say it’s never been anywhere near as bad as it is now.”
In the 1970s, when international conservation efforts began to take off, the issue was one of largely niche demand from wealthy consumers in the West. Now, however, the picture has changed radically.
Rapid growth across developing Asia over the past decade or two has caused wealth to increase quickly across much of the region. Credit Suisse, in a recent study, estimated that parts of Asia, including China, India and Indonesia, have seen the average wealth per adult soar between 100 percent and 400 percent since 2000.
Along with many of its neighbors, China is now a giant consumer of items like machinery, cars, washing powder, clothes and — yes — python-skin handbags and tiger penises, bear bile and other ingredients for traditional medicines or meals that once belonged to the aristocracy.
“Over the past 20 years, the nature of the demand has changed, thanks to a rising middle class in Asia,” said Colman O’Criodain, a wildlife trade policy analyst in Switzerland for the environmental group W.W.F. International.
James Compton, senior program director for Asia at Traffic, said from Beijing, “Whether it’s high-end luxury stores or the man on the street corner selling dried sea horses — you can see animals and animal parts being sold quite openly. Wildlife trade is now quite pervasive in Asia.”
The problem, experts say, is often not a lack of top-level political will. Many Asian countries, like those elsewhere, ban the trade of rare plants and animals. Rather, the problem is enforcement on the ground and growing demand from populations that are often simply not fully aware of just how endangered the creatures they are consuming are.
Wildlife species with high commercial value have declined drastically, and many are now rare, endangered or even locally extinct, Traffic wrote in a report about Southeast Asia in late 2008.
Figures are hard to come by, as only select species can be closely monitored. But here are a couple of examples to illustrate the scale of some the population declines:
•Some species of sharks are thought to have declined 90 percent. Considered a status symbol in Chinese culture, the soup made from pricey shark fins is now within the reach of many, many more people than it once was.
• There are now thought to be as few as 3,200 tigers left in the wild globally, down from 100,000 a century ago. Despite their acute rarity and international bans on tiger trade, officials throughout most of the tiger range countries, which span Russia and much of Asia, are intercepting the claws, skins or bones of about 100 tigers every year, a report published by Traffic last month found.
On the upside, attitudes are starting to change. Shark’s fin soup, for example, is becoming a decidedly uncool meal to serve in Hong Kong, the main hub for trade in the fins.
And in mainland China, where there was barely any coverage of animal welfare and related topics a decade ago, the media are now engaged, said Jill Robinson, founder of the Animals Asia Foundation, which campaigns for animal welfare and the conservation of endangered animals.
The sale of bear bile — often harvested from animals kept in tiny cages, and used in traditional medicine to cure ailments as varied as headaches and hemorrhoids — is legal in China, and demand is booming. But many doctors are starting to turn away from its use, not least because of a growing realization that bile from bears farmed in such conditions is often diseased, Ms. Robinson said.
Unfortunately, these efforts, commendable though they are, make only a small dent. Unlike in the West, where generations of children have grown up with nature programs, populations in Asia are not yet sensitized to issues like conservation, said Mr. O’Criodain of the W.W.F.
And while some countries have pretty advanced projects for preserving terrestrial species, “most consider the resources of the high seas — including overfished species of fish — as up for grabs,” he added.
Often, said Mr. Compton of Traffic, it is actually the rarity of the animal that makes it attractive to consumers, driving up its price.
For example, in Vietnam, where it is illegal to sell bear bile, a milliliter, or one-fifth of a teaspoon, of fresh, liquid bear bile can fetch as much as $30 on the black market, Animals Asia said.
Such prices mean fines and other penalties are an insufficient deterrent to often impoverished local populations.
“Wildlife crime is becoming more and more organized and sophisticated, and enforcement capacities are not managing to keep up,” said Mr. Shepherd of Traffic.
“The political will is changing; we’re seeing a lot of high-level commitments. But we need to see that translate into action on the ground. Otherwise, it will just be business as usual.”
For some species, even the welcome change in awareness may already simply be too little, too late.The New York Times December 19, 2010 As Incomes Rise, So Does Animal Trade By... more-
- EthicalVegan
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African Gorillas Face Future Extinction
PHOTO: The consumption of a silver-backed gorilla. (National Geographic)
Though most of our species in the more developed countries won’t even care about this, I feel compelled to report this tragedy of environmental disaster wrought by our lesser fortunate brethren in Africa specifically between the countries of Congo, Uganda, and Rwanda, all sites of genocides and the abuse of human rights in modern history.
There are multiple factors negatively affecting the population of African gorillas living in the Congo Basin. Of course, humans are one of them. Due to the violent militants and rebels ethnically cleansing their areas, it has forced thousands of refugees towards the wild, mainly the Congo Basin. Refugee camps are in wild demand of any food especially the meat of an ape. Insurgents and militias further harm gorillas by aggressively encroaching into the wild to extract precious – and illegal – minerals along with much needed lumber cutting down trees and ruining habitats for gorillas.
To top it all off, the epidemic of Ebola, a deadly virus for both humans and apes, especially apes, which became known to the public due to the strange infections of monkeys in the U.S being is accelerating the rate of mortality for these gorillas. This virus that originates from the Ebola River near Congo spreads through things such as spit, or soil rarely through human contact. Consequently, gorillas with their habits and movement patterns fell victim to an Ebola epidemic in the late 1900’s worsening their immune system and killing thousands of these gorillas.
Think environment activists have time? Think again. Within the next decade, the gorillas in the Greater Congo Basin will completely disappear as activities such as mining and poaching continue to rapidly increase as demands for the end-products also increase. Ninety percent of both infected gorillas and the natural habitats will decrease in the same timeframe of roughly ten to fifteen years according to the United Nations Environment Program, a surprise for those who had thought gorillas in the Congo Basin would lose the same amount of their habitat by the year 2030.
A nightmare for environment activists, the lack of gorillas in the region of Central Africa will have significant impacts on the levels of their community, ecosystem and ultimately the biosphere leading to other environmental casualties as well.
Unlike the cases of whales, tigers, and others being terribly cut down by humans in the animal kingdom, the decreasing population of gorillas in Central Africa (already around the number of seven hundred gorillas, a gloomy statistic when compared to the previous population in the 20th century) is even harder to prevent. You can’t exactly hunt down militants in politically unstable areas in Africa, and you can’t exactly hand out vaccination to a line of gorillas to prevent their deaths in the Ebola outbreaks.
The rangers at these wildlife sites are nearly helpless as well due to the lack of outside support for Interpol’s Environmental Crime Program and such other programs. More than 180 rangers have already been killed by those who illegally garner resources at the expense of the species of gorillas.
There simply is no room for optimism only reality.
http://inewp.com/?p=1862PHOTO: The consumption of a silver-backed gorilla. (National Geographic) Though... more-
- julesrs007
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- 1 year ago
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Wildlife Smuggling: Why Does Wildlife Crime Reporting Suck?
Did you read the story about the illegal trade in gorilla testicles? Have you seen the one about parrots poached in Brazil using glue? How about the news bulletin last week about the guy at LAX with Australian lizards strapped to his chest?
Generally there are two kinds of wildlife crime stories in the media: the weird news item showing a smuggler in flagrante (a stunned German tourist with a marmoset hidden in his beard) and the "in-depth" overseas report. I want to focus on the latter because too often these overseas reports kill endangered species.
After a description of a featured [mammal] [reptile] [bird] enjoying the best day of its life, chances are that any overseas report you've encountered went something like this:
Illegal trade in wildlife is a $10 billion a year industry, second only to trade in illegal drugs. Last summer [fall, winter, spring] I visited [foreign country] and found [mammal, reptile, bird] for sale. Here's a photo. Then I interviewed an NGO official who told me that [mammal, reptile, bird] is near extinction. So, I joined up with a ranger and went with him on patrol--notice the spectacular scenery--and sure enough the ranger caught somebody [picture] with a [mammal, reptile, bird]. Insert quote. Conclude with a personal reflection on man's inhumanity to [mammal, reptile, bird].
Starting with the first sentence, as above, these stories are factually wrong. And after that, they spiral into something that often reads like an eco-tourist's vacation diary.
Almost every news report on the illegal wildlife trade gives its value at between 6 billion and 20 billion dollars a year, and they invariably compare it to the markets for illegal drugs and guns. Google search "second only to drugs." Unfortunately, there is absolutely no basis for these numbers.
I first heard the six billion, second only to drugs description from a convicted smuggler who told me he had been hearing the same statistic for 20 years so if it was true he should be left alone since it meant he was in a zero-growth industry. Then I heard U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Agents use the statistic, and then NGO leaders. I grew suspicious when I asked an NGO official her source for the figure, and she responded, "Why do you want to know?"
In most cases, stories cite Interpol for the figures, or the State Department, or an NGO, which in turn cites Interpol.
I contacted Interpol to find out some details on the figures and got a response from Bill Clark, Interpol Secretary, who lives in Israel. Clark knew the statistic and its sourcing to Interpol. He said: "We have no idea where the media gets its numbers, but it's not from Interpol." In fact, he added, "Interpol has no reliable data on which to base an estimate."
The six-billion-dollar figure has been increased every few years to get the ten and twenty billion figures often reported. Clark said that a newspaper in Nairobi had recently published "$31bn annually!"
So what? We all know illegal wildlife trade is big and that illegal traders are bad, so (apart from accuracy) who cares if we spice up the numbers a little?
Click on link for complete article.Did you read the story about the illegal trade in gorilla testicles? Have you seen the... more-
- EthicalVegan
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- 2 years ago
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Tens of Thousands of Animals Drowned as Cattle Ship Sinks off Lebanon
Nearly 40,000 (that's FORTY THOUSAND!!!!) sheep and cows have drowned!!!!-
- EthicalVegan
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- 2 years ago
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YouTube - IFAW Efforts for Whales
Pierce Brosnan on Capitol Hill Asking for Your Support-
- julesrs007
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- 2 years ago
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4 of the world’s rarest tortoises stolen
Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust's pre-release breeding dacility in Madagascar.
Thieves have stolen four of the world's rarest tortoises from Durrell Wildlife Conservation. Critically endangered Ploughshare tortoises stolen from breeding facility
June 2009.
Trust's pre-release enclosures inside Baly Bay National Park, Madagascar. The theft took place during the night on the 6th May and comes as a major blow to the conservation of the Ploughshare tortoise, a species that is on the edge of extinction and classified as Critically Endangered.
Conservationists believe the four tortoises are destined for private collections in Europe, USA or Asia unless they are found quickly.
Overseas collectors - Baly Bay is an extremely poor region and traffickers pay local people to find the animals. However, the real problem lies with the buyers and the collectors who encourage the illegal trade in endangered animals with no thought for the conservation of the species. Durrell hopes law enforcement agencies in Madagascar and abroad will do more to clamp down on this global trade.
While attempts have been made by the Madagascan government to try to halt the smuggling, the recent political unrest in the country has enabled international dealers to increase their efforts to profit from Madagascar's natural heritage. A tough stance is needed both within Madagascar and in the countries where illegal animals are sold before another species is sent to extinction by the greed of the illegal trade of biodiversity.Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust's pre-release breeding dacility in... more-
- julesrs007
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Asia's Appetite for Turtles Threaten Extinction to Florida's Species
The reptiles, especially softshell turtles, are prized in China as food and as a source for traditional medicines. U.S. experts fear the trade could lead to extinctions.
The turtle tank at Nam Hoa Fish Market is empty, but not to worry: The manager of this bustling Chinatown store says he has plenty in back.
As Asian economies boomed, more and more people began buying turtle, once a delicacy beyond their budgets. Driven in particular by Chinese demand, Asian consumption has all but wiped out wild turtle populations not just in China, but in Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and elsewhere in the region.
Now conservationists fear that the U.S. turtle population could be eaten into extinction.The reptiles, especially softshell turtles, are prized in China as food and as a... more-
- julesrs007
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- 3 years ago
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Dogs in Asia – a wretched existence
The Dog Trade in Asia
The trade in dog meat in Asia is booming – the meat from millions of dogs is part of restaurant menus across the continent. It is a brutal business, with animals deliberately maltreated and killed in the most appalling ways.
Several Asian countries have a long tradition of eating cats and dogs. In Vietnam, Korea and parts of China, dog meat is believed to be healthy. Until recently only small amounts were eaten, but in recent years, consumption has risen sharply. Demand is currently so high that intensive fattening is taking place in some kennels.
The traditional ways of keeping and slaughtering dogs in Asia also cause incomprehensible suffering. Consequently, the slaughter of dogs and cats has been banned in Hong Kong since 1950, and the animal protection laws in The Philippines and Taiwan introduced similar bans in 1998 and 2003 respectively.
Estimates put the number of dogs slaughtered each year in China at around 20 million. As a result of the country’s rapid economic growth, dogs are now mass-market products, and government subsidies for private dog fattening facilities are driving this trend. There are currently around 100 dog farms in China, and the number is rising. Plans have already been drawn up for one new farm with some 10,000 dogs.
A bloody tradition -- In the past, dog meat was seen as a luxury in China and unaffordable for the majority of the population. It was eaten almost exclusively in winter, as it was thought to warm the body from within. But living standards are improving rapidly, and dog meat is more and more a part of the middle class diet throughout the year. Among younger Chinese, dog meat has a trendy reputation.
Animal suffering as a cure-all? -- The belief that dog meat is healthy and increases potency is still common, and it is sometimes used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). However, its effects have never been proven. One thing is certain, though – the animals suffer and die in the cruellest circumstances.
The dogs are crammed into tiny stacked cages and often transported for several days without food or water. VIER PFOTEN’s latest research in China has revealed that dog meat can be bought at most large markets. The conditions are shocking: the dogs have bloodied, broken snouts, and they are beaten to death or strangled.
This barbaric slaughter is deliberate – the mistaken belief that the animals’ painful death improves the taste and potency of the meat (due to increased adrenalin levels) is still widespread. The dogs are beaten repeatedly on the head and snout until they die an agonising death.
Opposition to animal cruelty also exists in China – Chinese animal welfare campaigners often free dogs, storm restaurants and stop animal transporters. But legislation would put a stop to the suffering of millions of dogs. Countries such as Taiwan and The Philippines have already set a good example, but China still needs animal protection legislation which includes a ban on the consumption and slaughter of cats and dogs.
The Dog Trade in Asia The trade in dog meat in Asia is booming – the meat... more-
- julesrs007
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- 3 years ago
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China's Extreme Animal Cruelty
The Beijing Olympics – no fair play for animals
On 8 August the eyes of the world will be focused on Beijing as the Olympic Games gets underway. Chinese culture and history are truly fascinating, but the shady side of the Asian superpower is increasingly coming under the spotlight, and human rights questions such as the conflict in Tibet have caused outrage around the world. A less well-known fact is that China’s record in large-scale intensive farming is also extremely poor.
Cruelty to animals exists around the world, not just in China. But in many fields of commercial animal husbandry, China is among the poorest performers in the world. It is the largest producer of rabbit meat, a market leader in breeding animals for fur, the world’s second-biggest poultry producer (after the USA) and an important location for the illegal trade in wild animals. China also accounts for half of global egg and pork production. These are just a few examples of a deadly trend emerging in the global economy.
The lack of fundamental animal welfare standards in China is causing unspeakable animal suffering. The latest research by VIER PFOTEN has revealed dreadful conditions. Photographs of fur and rabbit farms, wild animal markets and the trade in dogs and cats show the true extent of animal cruelty.
China’s increasing prosperity is driving this development. More and more people in the world’s most populous country can now afford animal products and are copying Western consumerism – with all of its dreadful consequences for people, animals and the environment.
But the interests of Western businesses and consumer demand for cheap goods are the major contributors to this situation. Large companies are thoughtlessly importing animal cruelty into China. Consumers in Europe, the USA and elsewhere must also take their share of the blame, as they buy the goods produced there. For example, the vast majority of Chinese furs are sold abroad.
Using examples from China, VIER PFOTEN aims to draw attention to the serious animal protection problems in the global economy. The five rings of the Olympic flag are a fitting symbol – they represent the five continents and show that improving animal conservation in China is a global challenge.
--> Please Sign the FOUR PAWS Protest against the trade in animal cruelty!
http://www.four-paws.org/olympics2008
The Beijing Olympics – no fair play for animals On 8 August the eyes of the... more-
- julesrs007
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