News
Cambodian people urged to help end snaring and wildlife trafficking
The Cambodian government and wildlife conservationists have urged the people to help end the snaring crisis and combat wildlife trafficking. They called upon all Cambodians to stop buying, selling, and consuming wildlife as this would bring an end to the notorious practice of snaring wild animals. According ...
New Straits Times
Rhino horns pierce a wall between crime and affluence in Vietnam
A suspicious package listed as textiles arrived at Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport in July 2019. For fabric, the parcel was heavy, weighing in at 126.5 kilograms (278.8 pounds). Customs officials flagged the goods. On inspection, police found 55 rhino horns encased in plaster. An investigation ...
GOVI SNELL
Wildlife trafficking in Vietnam remains complex: report
The report was based on a survey carried out across 20 provinces and cities nationwide in 2019-20. Vietnam is viewed as a hotspot for transportation and consumption of wildlife products of the world. Despite the Government’s efforts to prevent the illegal trade after COVID-19 broke out, ...
VNA
Thailand says $11M seized in wildlife trafficking sting
Thailand s anti-money laundering authorities said Wednesday they have seized or frozen more than 330 million baht ($11 million) worth of assets in a sting operation against a suspected wildlife trafficking ring. The March 12 operation targeted Boonchai Bach, a Vietnamese and Thai citizen who was arrested in 2018 ...
AP news wire
Can Vietnam Prevent the Next Pandemic?
A growing awareness of the links between wildlife trafficking and SARS, COVID-19, and other infectious diseases has prompted the Vietnamese prime minister to issue an executive order to clamp down on this vast smuggling trade in endangered species. During recent months, conservation NGOs and Hanoi’s Ministry ...
Tom Fawthrop
Tiger, pangolin farming in Myanmar risks ‘boosting China demand’, conservationists warn
Conservationists have warned a sudden change in Myanmar’s law allowing the commercial farming of tigers, pangolins and other endangered species risks further fuelling demand in China for rare wildlife products. The Southeast Asian nation is already a hub for the illegal trafficking of wildlife, a trade ...
Agence France-Presse (AFP)
Transnational trust trumps trafficking
Early on the morning of January 8, a team from the Wildlife Inspection Unit in Chiang Kong, Chiang Rai province, Thailand, was conducting a search at the Bann Jam Pong morning market. They had been sent there by Wachirayut Kietthibudr, head of the Wildlife Inspection ...
MIA SIGNS
Wildlife Alliance Seize Bushmeat & Turtles
On a raid this month, Wildlife Alliance’s WRRT seized 71kg of bushmeat, 10 live Asian leaf turtles, and more than 50kg of turtle carapaces and plastrons from a restaurant in Koh Kong province. The team released the turtles back into the wild and destroyed the wildlife ...
Coronavirus outbreak may spur Southeast Asian action on wildlife trafficking
Governments across Southeast Asia have vowed to strengthen cooperation in curbing the illegal wildlife trade, suspected to have sparked the novel coronavirus epidemic. The issue will be at the top of the agenda at the Biodiversity Conference in Kuala Lumpur later this month. “What needs to ...
Imelda Abano
The challenges of campaigning against wildlife trafficking in Vietnam
In late January, WildAid and the Ho Chi Minh City-based Center of Hands-on Actions and Networking for Growth and Environment (CHANGE) launched a graphic anti-wildlife trafficking campaign focused on three animals: pangolins, elephants and rhinos. In a bold move, the organizers brought a group of bloodied, weakened statues ...
Michael Tatarski