“Poaching is depleting our valuable natural resources, especially elephants and rhinos in our game reserves and national parks. Very unfortunately, this business involves rich people who have formed a very sophisticated network,” These chilling words come from Tanzania’s minister for Tourism and Natural Resources, Ambassador Khamis Kagasheki, speaking at a workshop organised by Tanzania National Parks (Tanapa) workshop in Iringa.[…]
Read moreBlinding acceleration and phenomenal athleticism are true keys to cheetah’s hunting success in the wild, according to the results of a ground-breaking, high-tech study into the biomechanics of wild cheetahs published this week in Nature magazine. Click here to read more
Read moreSome good news to end the week. Kenya’s President Kenyatta is backing up his words with action; pushing through much tougher penalties for poaching and adding an extra 1,000 KWS rangers. Click here to read the story from Nairobi’s Capital FM
Read moreIt has long been a gripe of ours that too many safari drivers are over zealous in trying to get their clients up close with the animals, especially cheetahs. It is really distressing – and damn annoying – to see a magnificent animal like a cheetah surrounded by a posse of game drive vehicles. More importantly it interferes with the[…]
Read moreAt last! Kenya is starting to make good on promises to get tough on poaching, poachers and anyone helping them. At least 32 Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) senior officers have been suspended to make way for investigations into increased poaching activities in their areas, Kenya’s The Standard reported Saturday (June 8th). The suspended officers include those in charge of parks[…]
Read moreSome good news at last! In one of the swiftest responses to the recent reports of escalating poaching of elephants and rhinos, Kenya’s Cabinet has approved a complete overhaul of the country’s national wildlife legislation by approving the Wildlife Bill and Policy. Click here to read the article by Dr Paula Kahumbu in the Guardian.
Read moreUnless Western and African nations can turn things around fast, in order to protect the 400,000 or so left, then the elephants of Africa, pretty much all of them will soon be gone. Click here to read Matthew Scully’s chilling article Inside the Global Industry That’s Slaughtering Africa’s Elephants It’s a long article so maybe make yourself a cup of[…]
Read morePOACHING has been around for hundreds of years. The conquest by imperial colonisers and settlers of the African continent has brought that evil, known as poaching, along with it. Udo Froese has an interesting take on the subject of poaching. Well worth reading. Click here to read the article from Namibia’s New era newspaper
Read moreCanned hunting is a fast-growing business in South Africa, where thousands of lions are being bred on farms to be shot by wealthy foreign trophy-hunters. It’s sickening. The easy slaughter of animals in fenced areas is called “canned hunting“, perhaps because it’s rather like shooting fish in a barrel. A fully-grown, captive-bred lion is taken from its pen to an[…]
Read moreFor “blood diamond” read “blood ivory” and it is the blood of Africa’s fast-diminishing population of elephants that is being spilled. The scene of the latest massacre is a National Park, which is part of a transboundary World Heritage Site shared by CAR, Cameroon and the Republic of the Congo. Irina Bokova, the director-general of UNESCO, has already called on[…]
Read moreImagine a Maasai warrior, or a Maasai woman, adorned with beads. It is one of the most powerful images of what has been described as “tribal Africa”. Dozens of companies use it to sell products—but Maasai elders are now considering seeking protection for their “brand”. Click here to read the article by Cordelia Hebblethwaite in Kenya’s Daily Nation.
Read moreNo sooner has the Kenya Wildlife Service announced that it is launching a major countrywide hunt for poachers who killed 4 rhinos in one week across the country than we hear that more rhinos (including calves) have been slaughtered in the Oserian sanctuary near Lake Naivasha. The rate of killings shows no sign of slowing down. THE Kenya Wildlife Service is[…]
Read moreExcellent article from Dr Roz Reeve, David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation representative at CITES Click here to read Dr Reeve’s article
Read moreYou couldn’t make this stuff up. Click here to read the story from Uganda’s New Vision newspaper.
Read moreThe global conservation organisation has applauded Kenyan MPs for their commitment to amending the Wildlife Act to make penalties for wildlife crime more stringent. Click here to read Martin Mwita’s article from Kenya’s Star newspaper
Read moreConservationist Braam Malherbe asks if rhinos have reached the tipping point in their survival and looks at the true situation regarding the poaching crisis. Click here to read the article from iafrica.com which also looks at the possible solutions currently being considered.
Read moreSecretary general calls poaching ‘grave menace’, and will urge central African governments to recognise spiralling illegal trade Click here to read the full article from the Guardian
Read more“It seems abundantly obvious to me … the rhino horn trade has been banned for 35 years, yet rhinos are still highly threatened and on the brink of extinction.” Click here to read the full article from South Africa’s Mail & Guardian
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