New research by INTERPOL has found limited, but clear evidence of criminals using the Darknet to sell illicit wildlife products from critically endangered species such as rhino horn, elephant ivory and tiger parts and products. According to INTERPOL, some wildlife traders are trying to use the Darknet as a medium for conducting their business.
US President Donald Trump's announcement on June 1 that the US is withdrawing from the 2015 Paris climate agreement could have disastrous consequences for Africa’s environment and the poor, Mr. Kaddu Sebunya, the African Wildlife Foundation President, said in Nairobi on Friday.
The Constitutional Court in South Africa has reportedly dismissed an appeal by South Africa’s Department of Environmental Affairs to uphold a moratorium on the domestic trade in rhino horn. The following is a statement from Philip Muruthi, vice president for species protection from the African Wildlife Foundation:
In recognizing the need for genuine partnerships to ensure that sustainable tourism development is in harmony with and compliments conservation of the environment, wildlife and wild lands and the utilization of the natural resources in a modernizing Africa, the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) have signed a memorandum of understanding.
An employee from South African National Parks (SANParks) and a police officer were among the 13 poaching suspects arrested in the Kruger National Park this week. The group reportedly had firearms and ammunition in their possession. South Africa is home to the continent’s largest rhino population—about 20,000 rhino—and has borne the brunt of the poaching crisis.