Mongabay.com: Leuser’s Legacy: how rescued orangutans help assure species survival

30th March 2016 / Laurel A. Neme Mongabay.com Meet two blind orangutans: Leuser and Gober, their offspring, and the people of the SOCP rescue group. Together they’re creating a future for Indonesian orangutans. Agribusiness is rapidly razing the prime forest habitat of Sumatra’s 14,600 remaining orangutans; replacing it with vast stretches of oil palm plantation. The species’…

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Huffington Post: For Pangolins, A Long Hard Road to Freedom

 03/18/2016   by Laurel Neme Freelance Journalist and Author   This pangolin was recently rehabilitated and released in Vietnam. Photo courtesy of Save Vietnam’s Wildlife. Pangolins are scaly anteaters about the size of a house cat. They’re presumed to be the world’s most trafficked mammal, with an estimated 100,000 plucked from the wild every year in Africa and…

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National Geographic: Happy Ending for Smuggled Pangolins

Wildlife Watch 16 rare scaly anteaters are back in the wild after being rescued from Vietnam’s illegal wildlife trade. By Laurel Neme PUBLISHED March 15, 2016 This story was updated to reflect that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today issued a preliminary finding to a scientific petition submitted by conservation groups, saying that Endangered Species Act…

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National Geographic: 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 by surprise. While I’ve followed…

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National 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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Huffington Post: Chinese Researchers Explore Options for Ivory Ban

    Posted: 12/16/2015    When Chinese President Xi Jinping announced in September 2015 that China would, together with the United States, work toward a complete domestic ban on ivory, it was a welcome step in the fight against elephant poaching. Yet it was also only the first step in a long road. Now comes the…

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Huffington Post: Hong Kong Open to Closing Ivory Trade Markets (3)

By Laurel Neme Posted: 11/06/2015    In a major policy shift, Hong Kong–the world’s largest retail market for elephant ivory–says it may now consider banning its ivory trade. “The Government is open-minded on the ban on domestic trade” was how a spokesperson for Hong Kong’s Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) put it in an email…

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Huffington Post: How Legal Markets Fuel Ivory Smuggling in Hong Kong

Posted: 10/27/2015  Hong Kong’s legal ivory market fuels ivory smuggling and elephant poaching says a new report by WildAid, an international nongovernmental organization that aims to eliminate illegal wildlife trade. Together with undercover video by independent investigators provided to WildAid and WWF-Hong Kong, the report, Illusion of Control, released Oct 23 in Hong Kong, reveals that ivory traders…

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National Geographic: In Hong Kong, Kids Take Action to Stop the Illegal Ivory Trade

      Schoolchildren are working together to raise awareness of the toll of the illegal ivory trade.  Photograph by Katrina Shute Laurel Neme for National Geographic Published April 24, 2014 Part of our weekly “In Focus” series—stepping back, looking closer. Hong Kong schoolchildren are transforming attitudes about elephant ivory through small actions that are having…

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National Geographic: Good News for Animals in Nepal: A Full Year Without Poaching

  Bucking the worldwide trend, Nepal continues its successful fight against poaching.   Laurel Neme for National Geographic Published March 12, 2014 On World Wildlife Day, March 3, Nepal celebrated 365 days with zero poaching. No rhinos, tigers, or elephants were killed. It’s the second year of such success in Nepal. In 2011 the country also had…

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