Category: Poaching

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1 in 5 (1800) reptiles around the world are facing extinction

Impacts on the worlds ecosystems from this many animals disappearing could have disastrous effects. The loss of this many reptiles could cause knock-on effects such as huge increase in the number of insects. As much as 30% of forest dwelling reptiles are threatened by extinction, due to their homes being cut down.

Reptiles are often quite beautiful, but we would also miss what they do- if they ceased to be there

Hunting is also adding an unhelpful pressure, as many reptile species have skins that can be made into items for human consumption.

In some countries such as the UK, it is usually looked down on so much, that you rarely see reptile skins (we have other problems) but elsewhere this is not the same. Reptiles are also very important seed dispersers

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A study found that 3/4 of oil palm concessions in Indonesia and Malaysian Borneo certified by RSPO were forest or wildlife habitat just 30 years ago!

It seems that so long as the initial cause of the deforestation was not palm oil (or perhaps not the current owners of the palm oil farm?), then even if it is immediately converted into palm oil plantations, it can be counted as sustainable.

I think that few people would claim that practices like this are sustainable

This is absurd. It should obviously be the case that if an area is deforested illegally, then it should be reforested, not get the right to permanently become part of the crop areas.

Not really good.

It essentially means that the RSPO affiliation means nothing, as those of us concerned about the destruction of the rainforest and the loss of the biodiversity that it contains cannot trust them at all. I have written in the past, about Newquay zoo getting its signs wrong on avoiding palm oil. What is clear, is that almost none of the palm oil from Indonesia can claim to be avoiding deforestation as you’d expect. Has the RSPO destroyed their authority for ever? Time will tell.

What is clear is that this is not a new thing. Back in 2016 the Huffington post wrote an article “RSPO: Completely Worthless, or Just Mostly Worthless? (UPDATED)” (click the article to read it in another tab) in which it basically outlines many of the points from this latest assessment. This study was more thorough, so can tell us the extent of the problem, but what is clear is that it is not new.

Should the RSPO be given a second chance? I would argue not. If they have not cleaned up shop in 6 years, then there is going to be little rainforest left before they actually get their act together. Can it be done? Ferrero is ranked number 1 out of 173 by WWF on sustainable palm oil sourcing. Clearly it can be done – However, brands that hold onto RSPO may well start being avoided by the eco-concerned. If they are that useless then why even look for their mark

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Fame of the Axoloti has grown over the last few years -Minecraft, but in the wild they are not doing so well

Axoloti look strange, and have got a lot of attention after being included in Minecraft. Unfortunately they are threatened with extinction

Having lost much if their habitat, the Axoloti is struggling to survive. Once widespread through the high-altitude lakes around Mexico city, the Axoloti an amphibian that is about 30cm long is restricted to just a few inland canals. Here somewhere between 50 and 1000 of these lizards live. Water pollution, habitat loss, and predation by invasive fish species such as Carp and Tilapia are all pushing this amphibian towards extinction.

Public awareness of this animal has exploded. Apart from its inclusion in games, it also features on the 50 peso coin from 2021.

Will it be able to survive? certainly there is now the will, however, it is hard to clean up waterways that lie so close to a huge city.

Time will tell if the Axoloti will survive in the wild, or whether future generations will think that they are a phantom of the game creators imagination.

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In an effort to deal with encroachment into national parks Indonesia is trying a new policy

Many of the Indonesian forest reserves, have become paper parks, with much or most of the forestation and other vegetation lost. They clear land in the hope that they will eventually be given the title to the land to make their seizures legal.

Under their new program “conservation partnership”, the settlers acknowledge that they cannot claim the land, and they have to help restore the land to how it was before they damaged it. The are then allowed to remain on the land and cultivate traditional crops and harvest non timber products like rattan and honey – but importantly, not palm oil.

This model has grown, and now 177,000 hectares is under this form of management (about 700 square miles.

It continues to be a hard balance between the protection of the forest, and allowing the people who live in these areas (both native, and those who move from elsewhere), to be able to better their lives through work. If work exists that both benefits them and the ecosystem then this is likely to succeed.

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Cheetah trade continues despite the CITES ban on their trade.

Trade of wild cheetah from east Africa (including the horn of Africa) to be kept as status symbols in the Arabian peninsula has thankfully declined, but has not been eradicated. Indeed, this decline may well be more down to better policing on the smuggling route and less down to a change in circumstance. All of the problem countries have laws banning the keeping of these animals yet these are not effectively enforced – when a cheetah or other exotic animal arrives in the Middle east it is likely too late, they are probably never going to be able to be returned to the wild. If as is usually the case, it is a cub, it is highly likely that the mother was killed in the cubs capture.

Reports of cheetahs for sale occur almost every week in the gulf states. In many states, keeping cheetahs as pets only became illegal in recent times UAE for instance only banned cheetahs as pets in 2017.

The problem is that (as readers of this blog will know) cheetah live in small and isolated populations – as a result, taking just 10 cheetah from a reserve could lead to the local extinction of the animal.

Other animals including chimpanzees orangutans and gibbons also enter these countries. It is essential that proper education of populations in countries like this is undertaken, so that they know these animals were not bred in captivity. Many of the owners would be horrified to learn that their action is causing these animals to be wiped out in the wild.

Global work on wildlife smuggling is far from over, and becomes only more and more urgent. There are many species that could be wiped out if we fail.

If you have friends looking for exotic animals as pets do encourage them not to, or we will find that our children will never be able to see cheetah in the wild where they belong.

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Poachers killed 24 rhinos in the last two weeks of 2021, that is the equivalent of 1000 a year

Rhino poaching is devastating rhino populations across Africa and Asia. Many species such as the Indonesian species are already lost or on the brink. African species are not far behind.

If you have a strong constitution, do look up images. They are not nice particularly if you have seen this animal alive, as such I have not included a picture.

Currently there are about 16,000 wild rhinos in South Africa, out of a worldwide population that might not number more than 30,000.

9 people have been arrested for this poaching. Now it is clear that the rhino poaching is down from its peak, never-the-less what is necessary is to kill the demand for rhino horn. Currently, an Asian rhino horn can be worth $400,000 with an African rhino horn being worth $20,000. Given that the average annual salary in South Africa is $2000, even $20,000 can be a life changing amount.

It is highly likely that the end of ecotourism during the epidemic is responsible for the uptick in rhino poaching, as people become desperate with their income having vanished.

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Whales are at 95% lower population than historical. This means they no longer fertilize the oceans

Whaling caused all sorts of issues. Many whale populations were decimated, and while some have recovered to some degree, few are anywhere near their population before humans started hunting them.

While we expect the human population to allow the whales to return to their former glory, this experiment may allow humans to fill their niche in the food chain for the time being

One of the things that has been missed is the incredible impact that they have on the ocean environment.

A new experiment aims to put these nutrients into the water and see if it restores dwindling fish populations. Although the nutrients that they release are usually found in the depths, the pressure means that they have to come to the surface to release their waste. This waste creates food for phytoplankton, which then is eaten by fish.

This experiment will happen off the coast of Goa, and will consist of taking rice husk waste from local factories and putting it out at sea, mixed with other nutrients. While this first experiment will be small in size, if it works it can be repeated. This will provide large amounts of food for fish, as well as absorbing carbon dioxide

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I am disgusted to be British after the latest move in parliament – hunting trophy import ban to be axed, but if we are ending the ban the British government must take responsibility

The British government promised to ban the imports of trophies in to the UK, yet they have given up after “wealthy peers” lobbied against the move and so it was dropped.

I have written on this issue many times over the last few years, as it was raised as an issue over and over again.

Should wealthy individuals be allowed to go and shoot members of an endangered species? I would argue no, never. However, we do not live in a perfect world. There are places where few tourists will go. If these incredible places can be protected by sustainably harvesting a small number of endangered animals I would argue that this is the lesser of two evils.

Continue reading “I am disgusted to be British after the latest move in parliament – hunting trophy import ban to be axed, but if we are ending the ban the British government must take responsibility”
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Killing for ivory is increasing the numbers of tusk-less females

Do elephants need tusks? It is a big question. Given the fact that they have them would suggest that they do have a purpose and therefore that life without them may be harder.

In Gorogosa national park in Mozambique, tuskless females became more common after ivory poaching become common during their 15 year civil war.

A natural evolution -due to our habit of hunting elephants with the biggest tusks increasing numbers are being born without

Being born tuskless, is not an unnatural affair. Indeed, some females have always been missing tusks. However, during the war 90% of the parks elephants were poached. If an elephant is chosen for its tusks over a period of 15 years, this gives elephants born tuskless a significant advantage. Importantly, with a death rate of 90% even if the tusks make life easier in some way, they are still going to loose them.

Elephants are dangerous animals that need to be treated with respect at the best of times. They can do much damage with their trunks and likewise throwing their weight around can easily overturn a car, As a result, while loss of tusks may be an impediment (and would appear to be so, as post poaching periods tusks usually return) it is clearly not a death sentence – and as in these periods, having tusks IS, it is not surprising that the few born without rapidly come to dominate the population.

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