Posts by Laurel Neme
National Geographic: Myanmar Feeds China’s Pangolin Appetite (2)
Myanmar Feeds China’s Pangolin Appetite New study shows open availability of world’s most trafficked mammal in town bordering China. By Laurel Neme PUBLISHED January 19, 2016 Myanmar and pangolins. Not words I normally think of together. That’s why the recent report by TRAFFIC, a wildlife trade monitoring NGO, on pangolin trafficking in Myanmar took me…
Read MoreNational Geographic: Elephants Win as Hong Kong’s Leader Says It Will Ban Ivory Trade
Shutting down the world’s largest legal ivory market would be a conservation milestone. By Laurel Neme PUBLISHED January 14, 2016 Hong Kong’s Chief Executive, Leung Chun-ying, announced plans to ban the domestic ivory trade during his 2016 Policy Address. The annual speech lays out the year’s policy agenda. In the middle of the two-hour monologue, between statements on…
Read MoreNational Geographic: Elephants Win as Hong Kong’s Leader Says It Will Ban Ivory Trade (2)
Elephants Win as Hong Kong’s Leader Says It Will Ban Ivory Trade Shutting down the world’s largest legal ivory market would be a conservation milestone. By Laurel Neme PUBLISHED January 14, 2016 A pedestrian walks past an ivory shop in Hong Kong. This shop’s owner says all his ivory products are from extinct…
Read MoreNational Geographic: Petition Seeks Ban on Trade in Fake Rhino Horn (2)
Petition Seeks Ban on Trade in Fake Rhino Horn Exclusive: NGOs express concerns that cultured rhino horn undercuts existing law and imperils wild rhinos. By Laurel Neme PUBLISHED Wed Feb 10 09:00:12 EST 2016 Trade in bioengineered rhino horn shouldn’t be allowed. That’s the contention behind a petition filed today with the U.S. Fish…
Read MoreNational Geographic: How the International Trade in Geckos Is a Scam (2)
How the International Trade in Geckos Is a Scam The coauthor of a new report says low-profile species are often hit hardest by illegal and unsustainable trade. By Laurel Neme PUBLISHED Wed Jan 06 07:00:00 EST 2016 Tokay geckos are the world’s second largest species of gecko, with males reaching lengths of up to…
Read MoreNational Geographic: Why Shutting Down China’s Ivory Trade Won’t Be Easy (2)
Why Shutting Down China’s Ivory Trade Won’t Be Easy An undercover investigation shows how Chinese businesses launder illegal ivory into the legal market and also trade in illegal rhino horn. By Laurel Neme PUBLISHED Fri Jan 08 07:00:00 EST 2016 A boy examines an ivory carving at a store in Beijing. The Chinese government has announced…
Read MoreNational Geographic: New Protections For World’s Largest Population of Giant Manta Rays (2)
New Protections For World’s Largest Population of Giant Manta Rays Peru and 12 other nations now seek to protect these creatures, whose meat and gill plates are coveted in China. By Laurel Neme PUBLISHED Fri Jan 08 11:31:10 EST 2016 Giant oceanic manta rays like this one have unique spot patterns on their…
Read MoreNational Geographic: Why Shutting Down China’s Ivory Trade Won’t Be Easy
An undercover investigation shows how Chinese businesses launder illegal ivory into the legal market and also trade in illegal rhino horn. By Laurel Neme PUBLISHED Fri Jan 08, 2016 China is the world’s largest ivory consumer, with its legal market often providing cover for illegal ivory. The intertwining of these two markets—legal and illegal—is…
Read MoreNational Geographic: New Protections For World’s Largest Population of Giant Manta Rays
Peru and 12 other nations now seek to protect these creatures, whose meat and gill plates are coveted in China. By Laurel Neme PUBLISHED Fri Jan 08, 2016 Giant manta rays captured the world’s attention last April when a fisherman in northern Peru unintentionally caught a behemoth weighing 2,000 pounds (900 kilograms). The accidental snagging of this large ray…
Read MoreNational Geographic: Why Shutting Down China’s Ivory Trade Won’t Be Easy
First posted on 2016-01-09 Why Shutting Down China’s Ivory Trade Won’t Be Easy An undercover investigation shows how Chinese businesses launder illegal ivory into the legal market and also trade in illegal rhino horn. By Laurel Neme PUBLISHED Fri Jan 08 07:00:00 EST 2016 China is the world’s largest ivory consumer, with its legal market often providing…
Read MoreNational Geographic: How the International Trade in Geckos Is a Scam
The coauthor of a new report says low-profile species are often hit hardest by illegal and unsustainable trade. By Laurel Neme PUBLISHED Wed Jan 06, 2016 For many species threatened by the illegal wildlife trafficking, such as rhinos, elephants, tigers, and bears, debates persist as to whether a legal trade in their parts and products can reduce…
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