Wildlife products are used as a status symbol around the world. Known as conspicuous consumption, the rising cost of certain wildlife products allows users to display wealth and elite status by consuming these products. Such consumption is considered to be one of if not the primary driver behind the recent… read more
Wildlife and traditional medicine
Wildlife products have been valued for use in various medicines for millennia. The use of wildlife products, which often are derived from threatened or endangered species, is still prevalent in traditional medicine, particularly in Asia. At current rates, species such as the pangolin are being driven towards extinction because of… read more
Militarizing Conservation
In a move that demonstrates how real the ongoing poaching crisis is, Kenya burned 15 tons of ivory on World Wildlife Day. 20-25,000 elephants are being illegally killed each year across Africa. Increasingly, governments have attempted to stop poaching by increasing the militarization of their conservation efforts. Many countries employ… read more
A look to a gloomy 2015
2014 was a gloomy year for several iconic species. The Southern White Rhino was particularly hit hard, with 1,100+ killed in South Africa alone. As South Africa is home to 90% of the world’s rhino population (which currently stands less than 30,000 for all species of rhino), these numbers are… read more
New proposed protection for the African Lion
On October 27, 2014, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) proposed to list the African lion as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). This move comes after a March 2011 proposal to list the African lion as endangered from a coalition of conservation groups. African lions are currently… read more
Zambia ends trophy hunting ban
Zambia recently announced the end of a twenty month ban on trophy hunting. This announcement came from Zambia’s Minister Of Tourism and Arts, Ms. Jean Kapata, who replaced the previous minister Ms. Sylvia Masebo after she was fired for being found guilty of abuse of power and lying under oath. As noted… read more