CITES: Breeding tigers for trade soundly rejected—WWF/TRAFFIC

Raising captive tigers for trade in tiger parts was rejected by CITES member countries today © Save the Tiger Fund Click to enlargeThe Hague, The Netherlands, 13 June 2007—Raising captive tigers for trade in tiger parts was rejected by CITES member countries today and China was urged to phase out its large-scale commercial tiger farms, a major victory for wild tiger conservation.

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CITES: DNA test confirms tiger meat for sale at Chinese farm

Tiger meat was allegedly served in the Xiongsen Bear and Tiger Mountain Village farm restaurant © WWF/Canon/Homo ambiens-R.Isotti-A.Cambone Click to enlargeThe Hague, The Netherlands, 12 June—The CITES governing body today announced it has asked the Chinese government to investigate a tiger farm implicated in illegally selling tiger meat.

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Caribbean marine turtles: CITES action on over-exploitation

Over-exploitation is threatening the survival of Hawksbill Turtles in the Caribbean region © Steven Broad/TRAFFIC Click to enlargeThe Hague, Netherlands, 12 June 2007—Over-exploitation of marine turtles in legal fisheries and through illegal harvest and trade poses a major threat to the survival of marine turtles across the Wider Caribbean Region, according to a new report launched today by TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network.

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CITES: Conservation Bite for Sawfish—WWF/TRAFFIC

The extraordinary toothed rostrum of sawfishes is sometimes traded as a curiosity item © Colin Simpfendorfer Click to enlargeThe Hague, The Netherlands, 11 June 2007—Trade restrictions have been approved for sawfish—large rays related to sharks, with distinctive toothed snouts.

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CITES: Brighter future for the European eel

Grading eels by size, Japan © F Muto/TRAFFIC Click to enlargeThe Hague, The Netherlands, 11 June 2007—The future of the European eel looks brighter after governments representatives attending the CITES Conference accepted a proposal from the European Union to list this fish species on Appendix II of the convention. Appendix II allows trade in a species under strict conditions.

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CITES fails to list sharks

CITES delegates failed to list Porbeagle, despite overwhelming evidence the species met the listing criteria © C Lisa Natanson NOAA / NMFS Click to enlargeThe Hague, The Netherlands, 8 June 2007—Two shark species highly prized for their meat and fins have not gained trade protection under CITES, the Convention for International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

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In the picture: world’s largest tiger mosaic unveiled

International Tiger Coalition members in front of the giant tiger mosaic © Astrid Deilmann/WWF Click to enlargeThe Hague, Netherlands, 7 June 2007—A two-storey-high photo mosaic of a tiger was unveiled at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) meeting today to urge world leaders to end all trade in tigers.

The mosaic was created from personal photos of almost 25,000 tiger lovers worldwide. People from at least 146 countries contributed.

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CITES: Tropical tree left stranded

A Cedrela odorata tree illegally felled and milled for cash, Peru © WWF-Canon / James Frankham Click to enlargeThe Hague, The Netherlands, 7 June 2007—On the fourth day of the CITES Conference, the European Union withdrew its proposal to include Cedrela—a group of tropical trees species found in Latin America – in CITES Appendix II, which allows trade in a species under strict conditions.

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Alarming upsurge in rhino poaching

Rhino horns are highly valuable and traded internationally, mainly for use in traditional medicines (c) WWF-Canon / Martin Harvey Click to enlargeThe Hague, The Netherlands, 6 June 2007—An increase in the volume of rhino horn entering illegal trade from Africa since 2000 could be placing some rhino populations at serious risk, according to new research from TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network.

Poaching is most severe in Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where 60% of the rhino population was illegally killed between 2003 and 2005.

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