18 Oct 2013   Posted by NWCU2

“Ugandan officials have seized some two tonnes (4,600lb) of ivory – one of the country’s biggest such hauls for many years. The Uganda Wildlife Association (UWA) has said the 832 pieces of ivory could be worth up to $6.7m but other estimates put the value lower. Experts say some of the ivory is believed to […]

 16 Oct 2013   Posted by NWCU2

“Police are targeting poachers in the Ribble Valley as part of Operation Firecrest, a week-long crackdown on rural crime.  More than a dozen poaching incidents have been reported by local farmers and gamekeepers since May involving wild deer, hares and rabbits. Recently a butchered Sika deer was found near Bolton-by-Bowland. The deer appeared to have […]

 16 Oct 2013   Posted by NWCU2

” A Smithy Fen traveller has been detained in New York accused of illegally dealing in black rhinoceros horns. Michael Slattery, who uses an address at Orchard Drive on the site in Cottenham, is alleged to have used falsified documents to sell four horns to a dealer for $50,000 – about £31,300. The 25-year-old was […]

 15 Oct 2013   Posted by NWCU4

“Police Scotland is appealing to Midlothian communities to report incidences of hare coursing. Local wildlife liaison officer PC Hannah Medley said this was a popular time for the illegal sport as hares had nowhere to hide in stubble fields. Individuals set up a beating line with their dogs to flush out hares. Once the hare […]

 11 Oct 2013   Posted by NWCU4

“A specialist Metropolitan Police unit which protects the capital’s wildlife and combats the trade in endangered species is itself under threat unless City Hall provides more cash. London Assembly Members have expressed concern over the future of the Met’s Wildlife Crime Unit (WCU) which will lose part of its funding when a partnership with the […]

 07 Oct 2013   Posted by NWCU2

“At least fourteen alleged members of a gang of rhinoceros poachers have been arrested in Nepal, officials say. Those arrested include Buddhi Bahadur Praja, the alleged leader of a cross-border smuggling ring. Police accuse Mr Praja of killing more than 12 rhinos in Nepal in the past six years. There has been no immediate comment […]

 02 Oct 2013   Posted by NWCU2

“Is it time for a war on poaching? When Hillary Clinton unveiled an $80 million plan last week to combat elephant poaching in Africa, she highlighted a new and worrying trend: money from wildlife crime may be helping to fund terrorist groups. These include the al-Shabaab group that attacked the Westgate shopping mall in Kenya […]