Wildlife News Archive 1987-2012
This list of articles spanning 1987-2012 is composed of news from around the world related to wildlife trafficking, animal parts trafficking, the impact of over-hunting and illegal hunting, and all forms of wildlife poaching and illegal fishing. The Wildlife Trafficking News Archive is meant to provide background or sources to the current wildlife trafficking situation and is listed in roughly reverse chronological order by year and month. Due to the number of more recent articles, years are grouped together and organized on separate pages.
For a comprehensive list of news articles and media reports published by wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC please see their respective lists. News specific to wild elephants can also be found on Save The Elephant’s ElephantNews.org news groups for Asian elephants and African elephants or on their news feed. For in-depth journalism exposing wildlife traffickers and other environmental criminals please visit the Oxpeckers.org website.
The News Archive is maintained solely for research purposes by PoachingFacts. All articles are copyright their respective owners, agencies, and are subject to their country’s copyright laws. Please support the agencies and organizations who provide this content. This page is continually being updated and articles are added retroactively.
Articles from 2012
December 2012
USAID makes new program announcements for wildlife trafficking
November 2012
Interpol Conducts ‘War’ on Poaching in Africa
Bushmeat Stories: Voices from the Congo Basin
South African court gives Thai rhino poacher record sentence – Chumlong Lemtongthai.
Joy as rhino smuggler gets 40 years – Chumlong Lemtongthai.
South African court gives Thai rhino poacher record sentence – Chumlong Lemtongthai.
Thai man pleads guilty to South African rhino smuggling – Chumlong Lemtongthai.
Rhino butchers caught on film at North West game farm
Green bean boxes hid ivory worth 15 million AED – 215 pieces of ivory, worth $4.08 million (2012), seized by Dubai customs at Jebel Ali Port.
October 2012
Charting transnational poaching networks between Uganda and Tanzania
Tanzania and Zambia National Bureaus bet to enhance cross-border Cooperation against Wildlife crime
World leaders make a commitment to strengthen efforts against wildlife trafficking – Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
September 2012
Elephants Dying in Epic Frenzy as Ivory Fuels Wars and Profits – A shocking report on Ugandan military personnel sniping a large elephant herd from a helicopter and selling the ivory, one of many incidents of poaching by military forces in Africa.
Ivory Investigation Sparks Coverage and Inquiries in the Philippines – Religious leader at center of ivory smuggling controversy.
August 2012
Peru police seize thousands of dried seahorses
Mali: Local communities are heroes in the fight against elephant poaching
Chinese Bear Paws Tickle the French
July 2012
Video: Thai Customs Seize Half a Ton of Ivory from Kenya
What’s gender got to do with it? Bush meat consumption in the Congo Basin
May 2012
Op-Ed: Illegal Wildlife Trade: A Survey of Greed, Tragedy, and Ignorance.
Vietnam “Cancer Cure” Horn Habit Threat to World Rhinos
Zimbabwe: One gunned down in shootout
Zimbabwe: Poachers gunned down in shootout
April 2012
Over-hunting bush animals threatens food security of Central Africa’s rural communities
Indonesia Punishes Wildlife Traffickers
Poaching masterminds arrested during a LATF-ZAWA joint operation in Zambia’s Southern province
March 2012
Key meeting to address poaching threat in Central Africa
Rhino Wars: Rivaling the price of gold on the black market, rhino horn is at the center of a bloody poaching battle. – Gideon van Deventer “boere rhino mafia.”
Concern over Cheetah trafficking
Poachers from Myanmar pose hurdle to tiger census
February 2012
Rhino horn smuggling ring smashed in US
Enforcement heads agree to get tough on illegal tiger trade
UK Government commits £1.3 million to species protection
Articles from 2011
December 2011
Video: 2011 Worst Year For elephant Ivory Killings in Decades
Project Predator launched – INTERPOL and World Bank.
Zimbabwe: 220 poachers arrested, Parliament told
Chinese authorities stop auction of tiger bone wine in China
September 2011
Zimbabwe: Three poachers killed
August 2011
Mother bear kills cub and then itself – Bear in captivity at bear bile farm kills itself to escape the harsh conditions. Bear behavior experts suggest this report may have been fabricated.
Operation BONAPARTE nets close to 400 wildlife goods
Laos: Authorities shut down bear farm that extracted the animal’s bile
CITES reviews monkey business and more
July 2011
United States: Art Dealer Arrested In ‘Staggering’ African Elephant Ivory Seizure – Victor Gordon later plead guilty to ivory smuggling.
EUROPOL and Ireland Identify Organised Crime Group Active in Illegal Trading of Rhino Horn
June 2011
Russia Seizes Animal Parts – Bears, spotted dear, and mammoth ivory make their way to China.
May 2011
Infamous Poacher Narayan Chand Gets Five Years Imprisonment
Illegal Bear Bile Trade Rampant in Asia
February 2011
Sumatran tiger poacher arrested in Indonesia
January 2011
Suspects nabbed and wildlife contraband seized during LATF/ZAWA sting operation
Another King pin of illegal elephant ivory trafficking arrested in Tanzania – Li Guibang.
Lusaka Agreement Task Force Officer awarded for combating illegal ivory trade
Articles from 2010
December 2010
We Broke Into A Poacher Network And Found One Tiger Is Killed Every Two Weeks…
November 2010
Myanmar border markets act as deadly trade gateway for Tigers
ミャンマーの国境地域の市場がトラにとって致命的な取引経路に – Japanese-language version of above article.
INTERPOL co-ordinated Operation RAMP targets illegal trade in endangered reptiles
October 2010
Rhino case struck off roll – Clayton Fletcher, Gert Saaiman, Frans Andries van Deventer.
Charges against alleged poacher dropped – Clayton Fletcher, Gert Saaiman, Frans Andries van Deventer.
No ruling yet in rhino horn case – Clayton Fletcher, Gert Saaiman, Frans Andries van Deventer.
Sansar’s Successors – Indian poacher’s compatriots, friends, and competitors.
Blood Ivory: Ivory Worship – Article as seen in National Geographic magazine.
September 2010
Four suitcases filled with ivory seized in Bangkok
Six months for international wildlife trafficker in Malaysia
UK Government bans rhino horn exports
Too Close for Comfort: Thailand’s Tiger Temple
Major ivory seizures in DRC, Hong Kong and Kenya
August 2010
Sansar Chand Is India’s Dealiest Poacher. Here Is How He Has Escaped Legal Traps For 40 Years
Cambodia launches unit to tackle wildlife trafficking
July 2010
10 years for rhino horn smuggler – Vietnamese national arrested in South Africa.
Major ivory seizure in Thailand – 765 kg of ivory.
Second major Malagasy wildlife seizure in Malaysia inside five weeks – Tortoises, frogs, and reptiles.
June 2010
At Russia-China Border, Bear Paws Sell Best
LATF and ZAWA jointly carry out an operation
South Africa: Muti poachers: Vulture population could be decimated by World Cup
SA vultures killed to predict World Cup winner
May 2010
INTERPOL’s Operation Mogatle targets illegal ivory and rhino horn across southern Africa
Ivory Trade Threatens African Elephant
Millions seized in rhino horn smuggling group – “Boere rhino mafia” George Clayton Fletcher, Gerhardus Bartlomeus Saaiman, Kumaran Moodaley, Frans van Deventer.
LATF concludes consultations on disposal of 6.5 tonnes ivory seized in Singapore in 2002
April 2010
Thai Customs seize 1.4 tonnes of ivory – 1,390 kg of ivory.
The Hunted: Did American conservationists in Africa go too far? – Article about conservationists and researchers Delia and Mark Owens.
March 2010
Progress in some areas at CITES, but marine proposals fail
Bid to Relax International Ban on Sale of Ivory is Rejected
Clampdown on medicines made with endangered plants and animals hailed a success
February 2010
Asian ivory trade poses danger to African elephant
January 2010
UK agency seizes more than a tonne of live coral – Trafficked from Southeast Asia.
Almost 200 ivory pieces seized in Hong Kong – 186 pieces marked as 285 pieces of “white wood.”
Tigers and other farmyard animals – An expose on China’s captive tiger population.
Articles from 2009
December 2009
Suspect of illegal export of elephant tusks to Vietnam arrested in Zanzibar
Czech zoo sends rare Northern White rhinos to Kenya
November 2009
New strategy to combat global wildlife crime
Spider man caught – Man arrested in Brazil, coming from Paraguay, with 900 live spiders in luggage.
October 2009
Experts call for urgent action to save wild Tigers
Live coral seized at Manchester airport, UK
eBay ivory trader gets 10 months
Vietnamese urge Koreans not to travel for bear bile – Popular and lucrative traditional medicine begins to draw health-conscious tourists.
September 2009
Customs and Border Protection cracks egg smuggling attempt
August 2009
UK Government takes over CAWT chair
Crocodile hides in inspectors’ sights – Mexico’s Federal Environmental Protection Agency (PROFEPA) gets training in reptile skin identification.
LATF and KWS jointly recover pieces of elephant tusks
New hunting law passed in Russia
July 2009
Ha Noi’s Environmental Police seize frozen Tiger and Tiger bones
Spiralling demand threatens Asian pangolins
June 2009
May 2009
Need for concerted efforts in curbing illegal trade in wild fauna and flora
April 2009
Investigation on illegal export of live specimen from Tanzania to Holland and Hong Kong
March 2009
Joint law enforcement operation boosts fight against cross border wildlife crime in Zambia
Articles from 2008
November 2008
August 2008
Thousands of Rare Gorillas Found in Congo’s “Green Abyss”
July 2008
CITES Secretariat endorses CAWT efforts – Coalition Against Wildlife Trafficking.
May 2008
U.S. One of the Largest Ivory Markets, New Study Says
Articles from 2007
December 2007
Historic Burning of Pelts in Srinagar – “The End of an Era”
February 2007
Increased Demand for Ivory Threatens Elephant Survival
Five things not to eat for Chinese New Year
Abalone to come under international trade controls
Articles from 2006
November 2006
September 2006
Beijing’s Penis Emporium – Journalist reports on a restaurant that serves a variety of unusual dishes.
August 2006
African Elephants Slaughtered in Herds Near Chad Wildlife Park
July 2006
Racing to Know the Rarest of Rhinos, Before It’s Too Late
Articles from 2005
November 2005
Poaching Devastates DR Congo’s Hippos – Poachers in Democratic Republic of Congo use heavy weapons to get bushmeat.
Articles from 2002
April 2002
15 More Elephants Killed in Kenya; Toll Hits 25 in April.
Articles from 1997
November 1997
The Poaching Problem – Elephant poaching.
Articles from 1994
October 1994
High Prices for Bear Gallbladders Encourage Poaching
Articles from 1991
November 1991
The Killing Fields – A look at culling elephant populations as a means of management.
Articles from 1989
January 27, 1989
Zimbabwe Losing War To Save Rhino (alternate link)
Articles from 1987
November 1987
Elite Zimbabwe Squad Wages War to Save Endangered Black Rhino (alternate link)
March 1987
The Rhino Wars: Zimbabwe is Shooting Poachers Who Menace the Rare Black Rhino (alternate link)