We need to talk about the future of zoos. There are about 1,500 formal and many more informal zoos in the world, holding between three and four million animals, displayed for our curiosity and amusement. It’s fair to ask: to what end?
CITES is a convention ostensibly dedicated to wildlife protection that does nothing other than enable trade on a massive scale with minimal regulation and oversight, resulting in plummeting wildlife populations. They need to rehaul their system or step aside, so a conservation-focused rather than a trade-focused system can be put in place.
This syndicate has been involved in multiple shipments of illegal ivory tusks from Africa to China and has been directly involved in the trade for years, so dismantling the operation has put a major dent in global illegal ivory trafficking operations.
Reading about the environment can sometimes seem like a depressing litany of fading species, increased development, and a warming planet. But there are reasons to be hopeful. As we enter the new year, here are 12 conservation wins we saw in 2018.
It’s a worrying trend: even birds that were once considered common and widespread are now plummeting towards extinction. Some of the species on this list will shock you.
Working animals are being severely mistreated every day. As the year comes to a close, AAA provides photos and stories from three important projects that help suffering working animals in Indonesia, Tanzania, and Nicaragua.
Close to three tonnes of pangolin scales went up in flames on December 6th in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia, as authorities incinerated several illegal shipments seized in 2017—a record year for pangolin scale seizures in Malaysia.
Lammie has been alone at the zoo since her partner, Kinkel, died. Despite calls from various organizations to let Lammie live out her days on a reserve with a herd of previously-captive elephants, the zoo won’t budge.
The latest release of the IUCN Red List shows that mountain gorillas are no longer critically endangered, and fin whales no longer endangered. However, many species, including fish and trees, are still suffering from over-exploitation.
The project’s massive turn out demonstrated the power of education and how human ignorance has led to suffering for many dogs in rural communities. The OIPA team has done something very good for this community and potentially saved the lives of people, children and dogs from a terrible disease.
Sometimes life changing experiences come from the most unlikely places. Wally Fry’s whole life trajectory shifted when he visited a pig farm and witnessed the pain and fear in the pigs’ eyes.
Most people know that fireworks can scare pets, but not many know that they cause damage in many other ways as well, such as causing various types of pollution, harming and killing birds and other wildlife, and impacting the health of the workers that make them.