A sobering thought for the new year Going, going gone some sad statistics to consider. We are about to lose some magnificent creatures Angalifu, a northern white rhinoceros who died in December aged approximately 44 at the San Diego Zoo. The northern white rhino had already been declared extinct in the wild, but Angalifus passing leaves just five of the rhinos left in the world. The plight of the northern white rhino was symptomatic of the serious threat posed to species around the world by the trade in horns, ivory, skins and other animal products. Earlier in the year, experts from around the world signed a declaration in London, vowing to take action to stop animal poaching. - £3bn-£13bn a year earned from global illegal wildlife trade - 95% of worlds rhinos lost since 1970s - 40-60,000 pangolins (scaly anteaters) killed in Vietnam 2011 - 22,000 African elephants killed by poachers for their ivory in 2012 - 1,004 rhinos killed by poachers in South Africa alone in 2013 - 3,200 tigers may be left in the world - 73 million sharks caught for fins 2014 (not including by-catch of long line) Tens of thousands of rhinos, elephants and tigers are killed each year, driving many further towards extinction. Organised crime networks have increasingly moved into a multi-billion-dollar illegal market thats seen as low risk, high profit. While most poaching takes place in Africa, most of the demand comes from Asian countries such as China and Vietnam. During his visit to the US in December, the Duke of Cambridge used a speech at the World Bank to attack the insidious trade. But some experts fear any significant crackdown now may come too late for some species.
Posted on: Mon, 29 Dec 2014 08:05:03 +0000
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