Survived more than 30 years of work in some of the world’s most dangerous places, only to be stabbed in his bed NAIROBI, Kenya––Nairobi police homicide detectives appear to believe that renowned elephant ivory and rhino horn trafficking investigator Esmond Bradley Martin Jr., 75, was murdered on February 5, 2018 in connection with a […]
China halts ivory sales, but leads the world in live elephant imports
No more “state-approved ivory dealers” BEIJING, China; HARARE, Zimbabwe––All trade in elephant ivory is now illegal in China, effective January 1, 2018, except in Hong Kong, which is reportedly soon to enact a similar prohibition, to take effect in 2022. “From now on, if a merchant tells you ‘this is a state-approved ivory dealer’… […]
Cryptozoologist & taxonomist Colin Groves, “The Ultimate Classifier,” 75
Member of International Primate Protection League advisory board since 1975 CANBERRA, Australia––Colin Groves, 75, called “The Ultimate Classifier” by the Society of Conservation Biology, a member of the International Primate Protection League advisory board since 1975, and a cofounder of the anti-pseudoscience organization Canberra Skeptics, died in Canberra, Australia, on November 30, 2017. Born in […]
Tweeting hunting is “horror show,” Trump pledges elephant verdict “next week”
Allies urged Trump to spare the emblem of the Republican Party WASHINGTON D.C.–– “Big-game trophy decision will be announced next week,” announced U.S. President Donald Trump via Twitter on November 19, 2017, meaning the week after Thanksgiving, “but will be very hard pressed to change my mind that this horror show in any way […]
Trump stalls elephant & lion trophy imports after meal of shark fin soup
Appointees had put elephants & lions back on trophy hit list WASHINGTON D.C.––Tweeting “Put big game trophy decision on hold until such time as I review all conservation facts,” U.S. President Donald Trump on November 17, 2017 unexpectedly suspended U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services decisions –– trumpeted by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and praised by both […]
Rhinos worldwide put at risk in South African crap game
Can rhinos survive a real-life test of libertarian economic theory? JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA—The South African Constitutional Court on April 5, 2017 opened the way to legal trade in rhino horn––and probably more illegal rhino horn trafficking worldwide––by dismissing an appeal from the South African Department of Environmental Affairs to keep a moratorium on domestic sales of […]
Fatal cheetah attack spotlights big cat breeding industry
Lions & tigers bred for heads & bones PHILIPPOLIS, Karoo, South Africa––A captive cheetah on March 18, 2017 fatally mauled the three-year-old son of Jacob Pieterse, an employee at tiger breeder and filmmaker John Varty’s Tiger Canyon wildlife farm and tourist attraction. Police spokesperson Motantsi Makhele told media that the victim died while being […]
Court of Appeals rules airlines have right to ban hunting trophies
Verdict issued against rhino shooter Corey Knowlton, Safari Clubs, & coplaintiffs DALLAS, Texas––The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on March 20, 2017 ruled that Delta Airlines is under no legal obligation to carry hunting trophies. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling against trophy hunter Corey Knowlton, […]
The untold story of the conflict in Laikipia, Kenya
by Sebastian Mwanza (Sebastian Mwanza is media representative for the Africa Network for Animal Welfare) Heavily armed pastoralist groups numbering about 10,000 from the Samburu, Baringo, Pokot and Isiolo districts of central Kenya, bringing more than 135,000 cattle with them, have over the past four months forcefully moved into ranches and conservancies in Laikipia county, […]
Kenya crisis shows need to transition out of animal agriculture
The issue is not just grazers vs. wildlife U.S. and European concern over the drought-driven conflict besetting central Kenya in early 2017 tends to focus on the impacts afflicting wildlife, wildlife habitat, and eco-tourism. This is understandable because these are the aspects of Kenya most often seen by outsiders, as viewers of wildlife documentaries, films […]