Chinese Must Pay More for Tiger Penis, Rhino Horn, and Other Endangered Animal Products

Posted on August 4, 2014 by GarryRogers

“Rare animals are widely used in traditional Chinese medicine for supposed health benefits, and are also consumed as a mark of status.”

GR: New laws place poached animals off limits, but only if the buyer knows the animal was poached.

“Profits for endangered species and their body parts are sky-high. Ivory can go for $1,000 a pound on the streets of Beijing, and the pangolin — an anteater whose scales are used to disperse blood stasis and promote pus discharge, and whose meat is considered a delicacy — can fetch up to $324 a dish at local restaurants. A report published in March noted that the pangolin is the world’s most heavily trafficked endangered animal.”

Source: news.vice.com

GR: Primitive beliefs become global problems as personal wealth rises.

Protect tigers: Keep them out of American backyards

Posted on July 29, 2014 by GarryRogers

Remind President Obama that our government’s inaction to close loopholes on captive tigers leaves wild tigers–and people–vulnerable.

Source: support.worldwildlife.org

GR: Today is International Tiger Day (http://bit.ly/WZDSsv). Please sign the WWF petition for regulation of captive tigers in the U.S. And remember to sign the AVAAZ petition to close Chinese tiger farms (http://bit.ly/1nLlPRY).

International Tiger Day

Posted on July 27, 2014 by GarryRogers

The official International Tiger Day Poster for 2014.

Source: tigerday.org

GR: During the past century, we lost 97% of all wild tigers. Habitat loss and hunting eliminated 97,000 of the 100,000 tigers we had a century ago. At this rate, all tigers living in the wild will be extinct in 10 years! Celebrate International Tiger Day and encourage others to join in.

Global Eco Crime Report

Posted on June 19, 2014 by GarryRogers

Environmental Investigation Agency: Very good coverage by Nirmal Ghosh of yesterday’s Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime report.

Organised green crimes escalating.

FROM a Colombian rebel group that controls a tungsten mine to armed African groups that sell ivory, organised environmental crime is outpacing the ability of law enforcement agencies to control it, according to the Geneva-based Global Initiative a…gainst Transnational Organised Crime (Gitoc).

The reason: The impunity of so-called “kingpins” of crimes ranging from illegal wildlife trade – alone worth around US$19 billion (S$23.7 billion) a year – and illegal fishing estimated at US$23 billion, to logging and the trade of toxic waste.

Source: havehest.wordpress.com