'Expect mass culling next': Botswana lifting of ban on elephant hunting angers conservationists
Botswana has lifted its ban on elephant hunting in a country with the world's highest number of the animals, a decision that has brought anger from some wildlife protection groups and warnings of a blow to lucrative tourism. The southern African nation is home to ...
Japan will tighten controls on its internationally maligned ivory market in July, requiring dealers to prove via carbon dating that specimens were legally obtained, the Environment Ministry said Friday. "By shutting down the movement of ivory of unknown origin, the domestic market is moving closer ...
Botswana has rejected claims of a surge of elephant poaching made by a leading conservation charity and put on display carcasses of animals allegedly slaughtered for ivory — some with tusks still intact. Elephants Without Borders (EWB) claimed two weeks ago that it had discovered ...
DNA sleuths bolster case against three key African ivory cartels
DNA tests on smuggled elephant tusks have identified three major ivory cartels in Africa and are helping investigators bolster the criminal cases against some of the most dangerous traffickers, researchers said Wednesday. Around 40,000 African elephants are killed every year for their tusks, which are ...
WWF urges Yahoo Japan to restrict ivory trade on auction site
The Japanese arm of the World Wide Fund for Nature urged Yahoo Japan Corp. on Thursday to impose tighter restrictions on sales of ivory items on its auction site, saying it serves as a major platform for the ivory trade and encourages poaching. Among the ...
Major retailer Ito-Yokado to ban tenants from selling ivory items
Major Japanese retailer Ito-Yokado Co. has asked tenants at its shopping malls to stop selling ivory products, joining a growing list of Japanese companies that have banned such sales amid international efforts to stamp out African elephant poaching. According to a company official, the supermarket ...
The conservation group said Thursday that Japan should ban in principle all ivory trade within the country, saying its domestic market undermines international efforts to abolish illegal trade in ivory.
Environment chief denies claims that Japan is center for illegal ivory trading
Environment Minister Masaharu Nakagawa denies claims that Japan has been a hotbed for illegal ivory exports even after a wildlife watchdog urged Japan to stop fueling the internationally outlawed trade practice. "We have been bolstering distribution management in the market and taking necessary measures," following ...
Watchdog urges Tokyo to curb 'rampant' illegal ivory exports to China
A survey of 430 shops and stalls in tourist areas of Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto, conducted by investigators posing as customers, found nearly 5,000 items made from elephant tusks.
Online retailers in Japan not doing enough to stop illegal ivory trade: report
A conservation group concluded that operators of e-commerce websites are not doing enough to crack down on illegal sales of items made from elephant tusks.
Rakuten bans ivory sales via online mall as activist outcry grows
Online retailer Rakuten bans ivory products from its shopping site in response to international criticism that it is abetting illegal trade in ivory.
African and Asian investigators break up ivory smuggling syndicate
Seven smugglers involved in the illegal ivory trade from Uganda to Singapore have been arrested as a result of an 18-month investigation by African and Asian law enforcement officials, a countertrafficking organization said. The operation netted a top Kenyan customs officer and shipping agents who ...
