Ivory Trade
Los Angeles Times: Terrorism and the Ivory Trade (OpEd)
The Shabab, which took responsibility for the deadly Westgate Mall attack in Nairobi, uses proceeds from ivory to fund its terrorist operations. By Laurel Neme, Andrea Crosta and Nir Kalron October 14, 2013 If the world needs another reason to get serious about combating elephant poaching, here’s one: The attack by terrorists on Westgate Mall…
Read MoreNational Geographic: Al Shabaab and the Human Toll of the Illegal Ivory Trade
Posted by Laurel Neme in A Voice for Elephants on October 3, 2013 By Laurel Neme, Andrea Crosta, and Nir Kalron As the bloody stain from Al Shabaab’s attack in Nairobi spreads, we grieve not only for those who died or were injured, and their families and friends, but also for the many innocents…
Read MoreNational Geographic: A Powerful Weapon Against Ivory Smugglers: DNA Testing
Posted by Laurel Neme in A Voice for Elephants on May 23, 2013 Hong Kong Customs seized 113 ivory tusks in a cargo shipment at Hong Kong International Airport on April 30 this year. Officers detected the ivory when they X-rayed a consignment labeled “spare parts” being shipped from Burundi, Africa to Singapore via Hong Kong. DNA analysis…
Read MoreNational Geographic: Chaos and Confusion Following Elephant Poaching in a Central African World Heritage Site
Posted by Laurel Neme in A Voice for Elephants on May 13, 2013 As poachers fired on forest elephants inside the Dzanga-Ndoki National Park, a World Heritage Site in the Central African Republic (CAR), the impotence of foreign governments and non-governmental organizations in preventing the slaughter of wildlife amid political chaos was, once again, revealed. Earlier this week, the World…
Read MoreNational Geographic: New Promises Follow Elephant Slaughter in Chad and Cameroon
Posted by Laurel Neme in A Voice for Elephants on March 27, 2013 In the aftermath of the largest elephant poaching episode thus far in 2013, Central African governments met to coordinate and adopt an emergency plan to combat the killings. But is it too little, too late? On March 14-15, at…
Read MoreMongabay.com: Elephant and Rhino issues to be debated at CITES 16th Conference of Parties
By Laurel Neme, special to mongabay.comMarch 04, 2013 Part 2 of 3PART 1: Overview | PART 2: Reflections of CITES Secretary-General John Scanlon When the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) meets from March 3-14 in Bangkok for its 16th Conference of Parties (CoP16), elephants and rhinos will be at the…
Read MoreMongabay.com: Overview of the CITES 16th Conference of Parties: Interview with CITES Secretary-General John Scanlon
Overview of the CITES 16th Conference of Parties in Bangkok By Laurel Neme, special to mongabay.com March 01, 2013 Part 1 of 3 When countries meet in Bangkok, Thailand for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) 16th Conference of Parties…
Read MoreNational Geographic: A Young Voice for Elephants: Celia Ho
Posted by Laurel Neme in A Voice for Elephants on February 21, 2013 “I take every chance to share my campaign and the difficulties elephants are facing,” says Celia Ho, a 14-year-old student from Hong Kong who launched a campaign to stop ivory consumption after reading Bryan Christy’s “Blood Ivory” article in National Geographic. Her young voice represents a…
Read MoreNational Geographic: Poachers Capitalize on Chaos in Central Africa
Posted by Laurel Neme in A Voice for Elephants on February 5, 2013 Poachers are capitalizing on the disarray in the Central African Republic (CAR) and appear to be moving freely in a search of elephants. Late last year several columns of Sudanese poachers, up to 200 well-armed men, were spotted traveling across northern CAR toward…
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