Press Releases and Updates

Record Rhino Poaching in South Africa

Eight rhinos found dead in one day after a year of record losses

Elephants Under Increased Threat From Illegal Ivory Trade

Elephants are under increased threat from illegal ivory trade.

Massive Illegal Ivory Seizures in Asia and Africa

Massive seizures of illegal ivory have taken place in Asia and Africa.

WWF Works to Fight Wildlife Crime

WWF encouraged authorities to hand down a maximum sentence to a suspected tiger smuggler that was put on trial on August 10, 2011 in a West Sumatra, Indonesia district court.

Baby Gorilla Poaching Attempt Thwarted

An infant mountain gorilla was rescued from poachers in Rwanda.

A Pivotal Moment for Commercial Whaling

Since 1986, there has been an internationally agreed upon moratorium on commercial whaling. But a few countries have elected to ignore, or find ways around the ban.

WWF and Partners Create a Hotline to Stop Poaching in Namibia

A free and confidential phone hotline launched in Namibia as a proactive measure to stop potential acts of poaching.

Snakes on a plane (and turtles and spiders and…)

A man was detained at Thailand’s international airport as he tried to smuggle almost 200 live animals.

Wildlife enforcement in South Asia gets a boost

A new chapter in South Asian regional cooperation for strengthening wildlife law enforcement began with the formal launch of the South Asia Wildlife Enforcement Network, which was announced at an inter-governmental meeting in Bhutan in January 2011.

Gabon seizes massive cache of ape parts and leopard skins

Law enforcement officials in Gabon have arrested five men accused of possessing illegal animal products, including those of endangered species. 

Myanmar border markets are deadly trade gateway for tigers

Rare and endangered Asian big cats are sold in black markets along Myanmar, Thailand and China’s shared borders, facilitating a deadly illicit trade in tigers and other endangered species says TRAFFIC and WWF’s joint report “The Big Cat Trade in Myanmar and Thailand.”

More than 1,000 tigers reduced to skin and bones in last decade

Parts of at least 1,069 tigers have been seized in tiger range countries over the past decade, according to new analysis of tiger seizures carried out by TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network. Reduced to Skin and Bones shows that from January 2000 to April 2010, parts of between 1,069 and 1,220 tigers were seized in 11 of the 13 tiger range countries—or an average of 104 to 119 animals per year. Of the 11, India, China and Nepal ranked highest in the number of tiger part seizures, the report states, with India by far the highest number of tiger part seizures.

Veteran anti-poaching ranger awarded top WWF honors

Anatoly Belov, a long-time Russian anti-poaching ranger working on the frontlines of protecting tigers has been awarded the 2010 WWF Duke of Edinburgh Conservation Medal. The medal was first given in 1970 and is awarded annually by WWF for outstanding service to the environment.

WWF and TRAFFIC Highlight Dangers of America's 5,000-Plus Backyard Tigers

With more tigers in captivity in the U.S. than survive in the wild, the United States needs a centralized federal database to monitor the big cats, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) said today.  Weak U.S. regulations could be helping to fuel the multimillion dollar international black market for tiger parts, according to a new review released today by WWF and TRAFFIC, the world’s largest wildlife trade monitoring network.

Rhino Day Trumpets Poaching Crisis

Africa’s rhinos received a massive—and loud—show of support during Rhino Day on September 22. South Africans all around the country blew their vuvuzelas as a symbolic call for immediate action to stop rhino poaching through strengthened law enforcement and strict legal penalties.

African rhino poaching crisis

Live tiger found in luggage

A two-month-old tiger cub was found sedated and hidden among stuffed-tiger toys in the luggage of a woman at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport on Sunday.

Russian Tiger Habitat Gets a Boost With Protection of Key Tree Species

The Russian government has introduced measures to protect Korean Pine, a key species found in Amur Tiger habitat in the Russian Far East.

Police Detained Members of Illegal Tiger Trading Syndicate in Riau, Sumatra

On July 17, 2010, police detained two people involved in the Sumatran tiger illegal trading syndicate in Pekanbaru, Riau Province of Sumatra. Yoga Rusdiansyah, 26, and Hidayat Saldi, 45, are under investigation.  Yoga was caught with six decapitated tiger heads, five tiger pelts and seven kilograms of tiger bones. The tiger body parts were set to be exported to Malaysia. Based on Yoga’s testimony, he has conducted illegal activities for three years with up to five packages sent in one month. Hidayat’s status is still under further investigation.

Vietnam’s Environmental Police dig their claws into illegal big cat trade

Vietnam’s Environmental Police have confiscated two frozen tigers and a frozen leopard in the central province of Nghe An.

Centenarian supporter of WWF attests to disappearance of wildlife

David Ankoh has what it takes to have his name entered into the Guinness Book of Records. He is 109 years old living in the sub Saharan country of Cameroon where life expectancy for men is about 50, is a father of 88 children, lives in a village at the periphery of the Boumba-Bek National Park and is not only a witness to a disappearing abundance of wildlife, but is also a strong supporter of WWF work in the area.

Breakthrough

Significant findings have come to light in the ongoing investigation into the suspected poaching of a Javan rhino in Vietnam’s Cat Tien National Park, perhaps the last of its kind.

The First Family

A few years ago, India’s Panna Tiger Reserve made global headlines when all of its tigers were lost to poachers. Now Panna is once again in the news, this time for three very good reasons. This spring, a trio of cubs were photographed with their mother, marking the very first time in recent conservation history that a translocated tiger has given birth in the wild.

A United Stand

Experts from seven countries laid the foundation for a South Asia Wildlife Enforcement Network (SAWEN) as a coordinated regional response to combat illegal wildlife poaching and trafficking at a special meeting convened in the Nepali capital of Kathmandu this week. Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka agreed to establish a secretariat and an outline work plan for the new network.

Swedish hunters help save Amur tigers

The Swedish Association for Hunting and Wildlife Management is helping Russian tiger conservation efforts thousands of miles away by sharing its secrets to raising prey animals like deer and wild boar.

Poachers Nabbed with Three Amur Tigers

This month, suspected members of a Chinese poaching gang were captured by Russian border patrol after sneaking into a tiger sanctuary near Kymen-Rybolov, a Russian village near the Chinese border.

Hope for the Future: Rare Photo of Pregnant Sumatran Rhino

Images of the near-extinct Sumatran rhino were recently captured by WWF-Malaysia and the Sabah Wildlife Department’s camera traps. Experts believe that this rhino is pregnant, giving hope for the species and adding urgency to the enforcement of anti-poaching laws in the region’s forest and wildlife reserves.

CITES: Failure or veiled success?

It was the second week of March and nearly 2,000 wildlife trade experts and delegates from over 150 countries were in Doha, Qatar to participate in the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES, the United Nations wildlife trade treaty.

WWF and TRAFFIC: Marine Species Get a Raw Deal at CITES Wildlife Convention

World Wildlife Fund and TRAFFIC called on nations to focus on science instead of politics as marine species emerged the big losers from a United Nations conference on endangered species trade that ended today. Proposals to better protect marine species such as the Atlantic bluefin tuna, corals and several shark species were repeatedly rejected at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which meets once every three years.

Update: Fishing countries must respect Doha message on tuna, says WWF

At the close of the world’s largest wildlife trade convention meeting, global conservation organization WWF welcomed the statement today by the regional fisheries management organization in charge of the Atlantic bluefin tuna fishery – the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, ICCAT – that its members should agree and implement a scientifically sound recovery plan for the species when they meet in November in Paris, France.

Thailand’s Environment Minister Wins Prestigious Getty Award for Efforts to Wipe Out Wildlife Trade

Suwit Khunkitti, Thailand’s Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, has been named the winner of the 2009 J. Paul Getty Award for Conservation Leadership, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) announced today. He is being honored for his efforts to eliminate illegal wildlife trade, save tigers, elephants and sea turtles, and create wildlife corridors and sanctuaries in Thailand.

WWF and TRAFFIC: Sharks Take a Beating as CITES Turns Down Most Bids to Reel In Shark Overfishing

Sharks got little respect today as governments at a United Nations meeting on wildlife trade voted against stronger international trade controls for five shark species, which are in severe decline because of overfishing for their high-value fins and meat. 

CITES Throws a Lifeline to Rhinos Amid Global Poaching Crisis

World Wildlife Fund (WWF) welcomed new protections for rhinos around the world – which are suffering a major upsurge in poaching –  in a new decree issued today during the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) meeting.

WWF and TRAFFIC: Ivory Sales Proposal Fails at CITES Meeting

Requests from Zambia and Tanzania to hold one-off sales of their ivory stockpiles failed during a United Nations species trade meeting today that comes during a worldwide poaching crisis.

Compromise on Tigers, Big Loss for Corals at Wildlife Trade Conference

World Wildlife Fund (WWF) welcomed improvements over trade in tigers and other Asian big cat species at a United Nations meeting on wildlife trade but was disappointed that overharvested red and pink corals – which are heavily imported into the US -- were not given the highest protection.

Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Trade Ban Fails

World Wildlife Fund is dismayed that discussion of a long-awaited proposal to ban international commercial trade in Atlantic bluefin tuna was cut short today at the world’s largest wildlife trade convention when an immediate vote was pushed through.

CITES UPDATE

Urgent law enforcement action by governments in Central and West Africa and South-east Asia is crucial to addressing the illicit ivory trade, according to a new analysis of elephant trade data released today.

Chinese medicine societies reject tiger bones ahead of CITES conference

WWF and TRAFFIC welcome a World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies (WFCMS) statement urging its members not to use tiger bone or any other parts from endangered wildlife.

CITES can help save bluefin tuna, stem wildlife poaching crisis

Governments meeting March 13 for the largest wildlife trade convention will have a unique opportunity to help preserve the world’s oceans and simultaneously stem a worldwide poaching crisis.

World Wildlife Fund Welcomes US Support for International Trade Ban on Atlantic Bluefin Tuna

World Wildlife Fund (WWF) officials said they welcomed today’s announcement that the United States government will vote for a ban on international commercial trade in Atlantic bluefin tuna during the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), the world’s largest wildlife trade meeting which takes place later this month.

Release of rhino poachers exposes widespread enforcement failures

The release of six alleged rhino poachers from custody two weeks before a meeting of the largest wildlife trade convention is emblematic of the chronic lack of political will to enact enforcement efforts required to save these endangered species.

Year of the Tiger Begins with Big Cats in Serious Trouble Around the World, Including Here in the U.S.

As many Asian countries prepare to celebrate Year of the Tiger beginning February 14, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) reports that tigers are in crisis around the world, including here in the United States, where more tigers are kept in captivity than are alive in the wild throughout Asia. As few as 3,200 tigers exist in the wild in Asia where they are threatened by poaching, habitat loss, illegal trafficking and the conversion of forests for infrastructure and plantations.

Nepal expands critical tiger habitat

Kathmandu, Nepal- The Government of Nepal announced today an expansion of Bardia National Park in the Terai Arc Landscape by 900 sq km, which will increase critical habitat for tigers.

Asia's Biggest 'tiger' Unveils Promise For Wild Tigers

China received praise here today from the International Tiger Coalition (ITC) for promising to work with its neighbors to end tiger trade and bring back wild tigers.

Tiger experts call for urgent action to save species

More than 250 experts, scientists and government delegates from 13 tiger range countries this week called for immediate action to save tigers before the species disappears from the wild, citing the urgent need for increased protection against tiger poaching and trafficking in tiger parts.

Tiger Rescue Points to Urgent Need for More Patrols

A five-year-old male Tiger was freed from a poacher’s snare on Sunday after it was found by WWF’s Wildlife Protection Unit (WPU) just off a highway that cuts through the Belum-Temengor forest complex in the northern state of Perak.

Wildlife Conservation Needs More Funding And Cooperation, WWF's Carter Roberts Tells Congress

Illegal wildlife trade, habitat loss, and a multitude of other threats are pushing some species – such as tigers, elephants and turtles -- to the brink of extinction, World Wildlife Fund CEO Carter Roberts told Congress today. He urged greater cooperation between government agencies, a commitment to saving wild species in their natural habitats and increased funding for biodiversity conservation.

World Bank debunks tiger farming benefits

Experimenting with tiger farming is too risky and could drive wild tigers further toward extinction, the World Bank told a key international wildlife trade meeting today.

Elephant-size loopholes sustain Thai ivory trade

Legal loopholes and insufficient law enforcement mean that Thailand continues to harbour the largest illegal ivory market in Asia, says a new report from the wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC.

Norway, Japan prop up whaling industry with taxpayer money

The governments of Norway and Japan are using taxpayer money to subsidize their unprofitable whaling industries, according to a first-time analysis of the economics of whaling.

Cameroon Officials Stage Successful Bushmeat, Poaching Raid

More than a ton of illegal bushmeat – including primate and elephant meat – was seized in the Congo Basin last week and 15 wildlife poachers arrested in an unprecedented police operation.

Illegal trade devastates Sumatran orangutan population, TRAFFIC Report Says

Lack of law enforcement against illegal trade in Indonesia threatens the survival of orangutans and gibbons on Sumatra, a new study by the wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC shows.

Turtles no longer turn to souvenirs in Dominican Republic

Critically endangered hawksbill turtles are no longer being sold as tourist souvenirs in the Dominican Republic after a powerful government campaign cracked down on shops illegally trading such items. More than 99 percent of these souvenirs have been withdrawn or confiscated, the wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC reports.

Illegal Tiger Trade Conviction Sets Important Precedent

Eating the Wild: Bushmeat crisis global, pervasive and still a threat

Asian elephants under threat as illegal ivory prices soar in Vietnam

Southeast Asia’s few surviving elephants are under increasing threat from booming illegal ivory prices in Vietnam, according to a new market analysis released by TRAFFIC – the world’s largest wildlife trade monitoring network, and a joint program of IUCN and WWF.  

WWF Takes Aggressive Action to Save Nepal’s Tigers

Nepal’s Suklaphanta (Sook-lah-fahn-tah) Wildlife Reserve was once considered prime tiger habitat because of abundant prey and the relative scarcity of competing predators. A sustainable population in this protected area is crucial for maintaining the genetic diversity of tigers in the region. Because of concerns that Suklaphanta’s tiger population was shrinking due to illegal poaching, WWF and partners began conducting more frequent and comprehensive surveys of the tigers.

Elephant and ivory trade in Myanmar

Border Guard Funds Soccer Trips Through Elephant Smuggling

A border guard in Myanmar takes bribes to smuggle elephants into Thailand so he can travel to World Cup soccer matches, according to an undercover investigation by TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network of World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The report found that so many live elephants have been smuggled to support “elephant trekking” tourism in Thailand that some parts of the Myanmar appear to have lost their elephant populations.

Wildlife Consumption in China Rising

China’s traditional medicine trade has grown at annual rate of 10 percent since 2003, with exports valued at 144 million dollars to North America alone says a new report from TRAFFIC that reviewed wildlife trade in China in 2007.

Flawed U.S. Regulations Make Tigers in Captivity Vulnerable, New Report Shows

Huge gaps in U.S. regulations for tigers held in captivity could make the big cats a target for illegal trade, wildlife trade monitoring group TRAFFIC and World Wildlife Fund found in the first-ever comprehensive report on captive tiger regulations across the United States

China approved for controlled ivory imports from Africa

China has been approved as a buyer of legally stockpiled African elephant ivory under strict conditions. The decision was made today at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) meeting in Geneva, Switzerland.

A Bitter Pill to Swallow

Two reports from TRAFFIC, the world's largest wildlife trade monitoring network, on traditional medicine systems in Cambodia and Vietnam suggest that illegal wildlife trade, including entire tiger skeletons, and unsustainable harvesting is depleting the region’s rich and varied biodiversity and putting the primary healthcare resource of millions at risk.

International organized smuggling group charged with trafficking Amur tiger body parts and 480 bear paws

On 27 May 2008, Primorskii regional court handed out its verdict in the trial of three Russian and three Chinese individuals charged with trafficking Amur tiger body parts and 480 bear paws, for which they had tried to pass to China in August 2007.

Wildlife Protection Bill Advances in House

WASHINGTON – Legislation to protect endangered and iconic animals, including leopards, cheetahs and gray wolves, passed a key congressional panel today and was cleared for a vote by the full U.S. House of Representatives.  World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) chief scientist, Dr. Eric Dinerstein, testified in support of the bill at a hearing in September.

Body Part by Body Part, Sumatran Tigers Are Being Sold into Extinction

WASHINGTON – Laws protecting the critically endangered Sumatran Tiger have failed to prevent tiger body parts being openly sold in Indonesia, according to a TRAFFIC report launched today.

Lack of meat for Africa’s Largest Concentration of Refugees Causing Large Scale Poaching

Washington - A new report released by TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network, and WWF finds that the lack of meat in refugee rations in East Africa is causing a flourishing illegal trade in wild meat, threatening wildlife populations and creating a food security issue for rural communities.

Tigers get more protection in Russia’s Far East, says WWF

Vladivostok, Russia--Today the Russian Government created a new national park that is habitat for the endangered Siberian tiger in the country’s Far Eastern region after six years of research and negotiation by World Wildlife Fund. Roughly the size of Rhode Island, Anyuiskii National Park—1562.5 square miles--is the largest of three protected areas established by the Russian government in 2007.

Wild Salmon Illegally Caught in Russia and Shipped to the U.S.

WASHINGTON--East Asian countries are importing between 50 and 90 percent more Russian Sockeye salmon thanRussia is reporting as caught and much of it is destined for theU.S. according to a new report from TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network, and WWF.

New treaty boosts protection of gorillas says World Wildlife Fund, TRAFFIC

PARIS – Today’s new agreement endorsed by nine African countries to better protect gorillas is a major conservation achievement, said World Wildlife Fund and TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network.

New Treaty Strengthens Gorilla Protection

WWF Chief Scientist Testifies on Behalf of Great Cats, Rare Canids and International Cranes

WASHINGTON- Dr. Eric Dinerstein, Chief Scientist and Vice-President for Conservation Science at World Wildlife Fund testified before the Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, and Oceans of the House Committee on Natural Resources today on three bills - H.R. 1464, the Great Cats and Rare Canids Conservation Act of 2007, H.R. 1913, the Great Cats Conservation Act of 2007, and H.R. 1771, the Crane Conservation Act of 2007. Modeled on the highly successful conservation programs for elephants, rhinos, tigers, great apes, sea turtles and neotropical migratory birds, the bills would establish conservation programs to protect some of the world's most endangered and iconic species.

Cross border haul of Illegal bear and tiger parts seized in Russian Far East

Customs and the Frontier Service in the Primorskii province in the Russian Far East have seized a massive cache of illegal wildlife products bound for China.

Luxury Store Owner Convicted for Wildlife Trafficking

Bangkok - A Bangkok luxury store owner was convicted today for breaching Thailand's wildlife protection law. The store owner, Mr Reyaz Ahmad Mir, an Indian national from Kashmir, pleaded guilty to charges of illegally importing and selling "shahtoosh" shawls made from the wool derived from poaching highly endangered Tibetan Antelopes (Pantholops hodgsonii).

WWF Photographs Three-Legged Sumatran Tiger That May Have Survived Capture, Escaped from Snare

WASHINGTON - A WWF camera trap inside an Indonesian national park has captured photographs of a Sumatran tiger in the wild that appears to have escaped from a snare by cutting its paw off.

World's largest photo mosaic of tiger unveiled at CITES; World leaders urged to end tiger trade

WASHINGTON - A two-storey-high photo mosaic of a tiger, created from personal photos of nearly 25,000 tiger lovers worldwide, was unveiled in The Netherlands today to urge world leaders to end all trade in tigers. Individuals from more than 140 countries contributed their pictures to it.

Study: Viable Tiger Populations, Tiger Trade Incompatible

The Hague – In the cover story of this month’s BioScience journal, leading tiger experts warn that if tigers are to survive, governments must stop all trade in tiger products from wild and captive-bred sources, as well as ramp up efforts to conserve the species and their habitats. The paper, “The Fate of Wild Tigers,” describes the wild tiger's population decline as "catastrophic" and urges international cooperation to ensure the animal's continued existence in the wild.

WWF Experts at Global Tiger Forum Available to Discuss Big Cat Conservation, China Tiger Trade Ban

Kathmandu, Nepal – The world’s leading tiger experts and delegates from at least 12 countries are gathering in Nepal this week to discuss the future of the world’s endangered wild tigers at the International Tiger Symposium and Global Tiger Forum. WWF and TRAFFIC scientists, policy experts and wildlife trade authorities are available to provide updates and comment on the meetings.

Lifting Chinese Tiger Trade Ban a Death Sentence for Wild Tigers say WWF and TRAFFIC

WASHINGTON- Any easing of the current Chinese ban on trading products made from tigers is likely a death sentence for the endangered cats, according to a new TRAFFIC report released today by World Wildlife Fund and TRAFFIC-the wildlife trade monitoring program of WWF and IUCN.

The Real Story of Illegal Wildlife Traders Who Smuggle 'Snakes on a Plane'

The storyline of this summer's blockbuster might seem far fetched but illegal wildlife trade specialists know the plot all too well. In recent years, there have been several instances of people literally smuggling snakes on a plane.

Thai police bust smugglers selling rare shahtoosh wool in Thailand

WASHINGTON - For the first time in Thailand, Thai authorities busted a major smuggling ring involved in the illegal trade of shahtoosh wool, which is only obtained by killing the endangered Tibetan Antelope. During a raid on three Bangkok stores located in a high-end tourist area, police seized over 250 purported shahtoosh shawls which are well known in the fashion world for their exceptional quality. A single shawl requires wool from three to five dead antelopes.

Illegal Trade is Propelling Rare Turtle Toward Extinction, New Report Finds

WASHINGTON - A new report released today finds that the illegal trade in the Roti Island snake-necked turtle, found only on one island in Indonesia, has left it all but extinct in the wild. Exotic pet enthusiasts in Europe, North America and East Asia are fueling the illegal trade for the turtle, often without realizing that they are contributing to its demise. No legal trade of this species has been allowed since 2001.

WWF Experts Available For Comment On Avian Flu, Bird Trade and Wildlife Impacts

WASHINGTON - World Wildlife Fund has two experts available to discuss avian flu, the impact to wildlife and North American quarantine policies.