Huffington Post: This Elusive Bird Isn’t Safe From Traffickers

03/03/2016 Laurel Neme Freelance Journalist and Author Male Javan banded pitta by Doug Janson via Wikimedia Pittas are a birdwatcher’s prize. Called “jewels of the forest” for their glorious plumage, these shy, secretive birds are almost impossible to spot in the wild. But head to Indonesia’s massive wild bird markets, and they’re a common sight, according…

Read More

National Geographic: 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, 2016 Trade in bioengineered rhino horn shouldn’t be allowed. That’s the contention behind a petition filed today with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service by the Center for Biological Diversity, a U.S.-based group that uses science and…

Read More

National Geographic: One Country Will Destroy Its Ivory—and Pray for Elephants

    Sri Lanka also becomes the world’s first country to apologize that elephants are being killed for their ivory. By Laurel Neme PUBLISHED Mon Jan 25 12:04:00 EST 2016 During the past several years, I’ve watched country after country destroy their stockpiles of confiscated elephant ivory, preventing that ivory from somehow slipping back into the black market and…

Read More

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…

Read More

National 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 More

National 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 More

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…

Read More

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…

Read More

National Geographic: Chinese Researchers Explore How to Implement Ivory Ban

China has a 3,000-year tradition of carving ivory. Shutting down its thriving ivory market won’t be easy. By Laurel Neme, National Geographic PUBLISHED Tue Dec 15, 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…

Read More