Botswana’s world acclaimed anti-poaching success story is being threatened by budget cuts, which have forced the elite Rhino Squad to curtail patrols and created a backlog in payments to farmers compensating for human-animal conflict.
A scathing new report shows that key countries affected by wildlife crime have failed to halt poaching and illegal trafficking of endangered animals as a result of widespread corruption and inadequate law enforcement, thus putting increasing numbers of species at risk of extinction.
Draft legislation proposes cruel and unethical methods for dealing with problem wild animals, including the use of poison, hunting dogs, gin traps as well as extermination in their burrows by flooding them with toxic gas.
In this episode, Animal People explores how climate change is killing fur seals in California, what Kenya’s cattle invasion problem means for wildlife conservation, how a new smartphone app aims to prevent roadkill, and more!
“Botswana remains resolute in supporting the ending of the ivory trade,” says Tshekedi Khama, Botswana Minister of Natural Resources and Environment. “We have stopped hunting, but our neighbours still undertake trophy hunting and practice captive animal breeding.”
New research shows that elephant numbers increase when more ecotourists visit the areas with elephant populations. This is in stark contrast to trophy hunting which can have devastating effects on elephant herds.
The failure to effectively shut down domestic ivory markets at the recent COP17 in Johannesburg leaves the ban on international ivory trade as little more than an ineffective facade and greatly threatens the survival of Africa’s imperiled elephant populations.
The first episode in Animal People’s new weekly news vlog! In this week’s report, we review current events facing American wild horses, Norwegian wolves, donkeys in Africa, and more.