Wildlife Trade

Serial Killers and Trophy Hunters: When the Power To Cause Pain Is the Only Power That Matters

What kind of person enjoys taking another living being’s life – and doing it over and over again? Serial killing and trophy hunting are terrifyingly similar, as an environmental activist and author Eduardo Goncalves, points out in his new book, Trophy Hunters Exposed. When police raided the home of notorious serial killer Ed Gein he […]

China’s Ban on Pangolin Scales for Medicinal Use Is the Tip of the Iceberg

In breaking news, China has raised the protection of pangolins by removing their scales from an official 2020 listing of ingredients approved for use in traditional Chinese medicine. The decision comes after the country’s State Forestry and Grassland Administration raised the protected status of pangolins to the highest level, with immediate effect. While it is […]

China Signals End To Brutal Dog Meat Trade but the Fight for Animal Rights Is Far From Over

Could a bloody and brutal trade that sees thousands of dogs skinned, bludgeoned, and boiled alive really be coming to an end? China’s new draft policy may be a watershed moment in the efforts to end the brutal trade of dog meat. Animal activists, however, remain skeptical as to whether the Chinese Government will come […]

Trump Rules See Bear Cubs Slain Where Sleeping Bears Lie

Alaskan hunters will be given the green light to slaughter bear cubs while they are safely tucked in their dens. In a shocking revelation, the Trump administration is having the National Park Service crush a 2015 order that safeguarded bears and wolves within protected lands. After President Donald Trump’s signature hits the document, authorities, and […]

Victory for Common Sense as Sterilization Ban Is Overruled

We asked ASI supporters to sign a petition asking the South African government to reverse its lockdown ban on sterilizing street dogs during the corona crisis. The government acted and we are pleased to report that spaying and neutering is now taking place. In a country where poverty-stricken townships are crowded with stray dogs, the […]

South Africa’s Despicable Live Wildlife Trade With China

South Africa is failing dismally to protect its vulnerable wildlife from illegal trading, provoking a deep-seated sense of outrage among animal welfare experts and conservationists. According to a damning report published by EMS Foundation and Ban Animal Trading, fatally flawed and poorly enforced regulations are enabling an industry driven by profit and greed to thrive. […]

Conservation Organizations, Wildlife Under Threat as Tourism Collapses During Worldwide Lockdowns

Conservation organizations protecting critically endangered species face closure worldwide. This follows the collapse of the tourist industry with lockdowns in place globally to control the spread of COVID-19. Many organizations who work to protect threatened ecosystems and species depend on revenues from ecotourism to fund their conservation activities. Most of them work in resource-rich countries […]

Widespread Opposition to Wet Markets Across Asia

Last week, the Australian government described wildlife wet markets as a “biosecurity and human health risk” and urged G20 countries to take action against them. Even though nobody knows exactly how COVID-19 originated, it is thought that the coronavirus was spread through exotic animals at the Huanan wet market in Wuhan in China. Last week, […]

Cartoon Illustrated by Matt Pritchett – Telegraph Cartoonist

Matt Pritchett’s cartoons delight readers each day. Matt is a Telegraph institution, and his witty sketches are a vital part of the newspaper. In his newsletter, the enormously popular cartoonist explains just what inspires him each day, and shares an extra, unseen cartoon, which will not have been published anywhere else. For more cartoons from […]

Humans Are to Blame for the COVID Epidemic, Say Scientists

Our destructive behaviors and endless appetite for natural resources drive these epidemics.

Largest Ever Pangolin Scale Shipment Discovered in Midst of Global COVID Panic

The pangolin has been fingered by scientists as one possible source of the COVID-19 outbreak, which is believed to have emerged at a live animal market in Wuhan, China. Yet, in the midst of worldwide lockdowns, the pangolin trade flourishes as never before.

South African Government Plans to Make It Legal to Use Endangered Species For Human Meat

In a devastating blow to its wildlife, South Africa plans to declare its wild animals as meat for human consumption and to allow unrestricted farming of everything from lions, giraffes and rhinoceros to tiny antelopes. Under the proposal, no animal is taboo. The proposal specifically lists 104 wild animals that can be farmed, but stresses […]

South African Wildlife Under Government Assault, Humans Under Threat

In a devastating blow to its wildlife, South Africa plans to declare its wild animals as meat for human consumption and allow unrestricted farming of everything from lions, giraffes and rhinoceros to tiny antelopes. Under the proposal, any wild animal may be used – no distinction is made between domestic animals and wild creatures. No […]

First Chinese City to Outlaw Dog and Cat Eating

This ban on dog and cat consumption follows on the Chinese government’s moves to regulate the wild animal trade in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

Chimpanzees, Orangutans and Gorillas in Great Danger of COVID-19

Sensible steps have been taken to isolate the animals, but the coronavirus could be devastating to them.

The Billion Dollar International Trade In Reptiles Ignored Health and Helped the Coronavirus

Much of the reptile trade takes place online and through social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

Pangolin Trade Now Batters Africa’s Population

The opening up of an African trade in pangolins could tip the balance. Pangolins are likely to be extinct in the next twenty years at current poaching and trading rates.

Coronavirus

URGENT! Animal cruelty caused Coronavirus, now is the time to stop China’s live market trade FOREVER.

Tentative Victory for Common Sense as British Government Announces Plan to Curtail Badger Culling

Badger culling should be stopped immediately because if it continues for another five years, many badgers will die for no purpose whatsoever.

Outrage as Animal Welfare Groups Listed on Terror Chart

To list those of us who care about animals, alongside neo-Nazis and religious extremists is an outrage.

Aerial Study Proves Increased Elephant Poaching in Botswana

There are now around 415,000 African elephants left, and Botswana is home to about a third of them.

Botswana Election Result Is a Huge Setback for Wildlife Conservation

Encouraging people to kill elephants sends the wrong message to poachers – a message that says Botswana is a place that doesn’t care about elephants.

Philippines Court Cases

ASI has been fighting for decades to end the illegal dog meat trade in the Philippines. We work closely with law enforcement agencies to track down the evil people who kidnap dogs for slaughter. During a police raid on a dog meat trader’s secret “stash,” officers discovered kidnapped dogs being held for slaughter in a […]

The World’s Most Trafficked Animal Is on the Verge of Extinction

Pangolins are under threat. Their extinction is imminent and once again it’s all thanks to mankind. More than one million pangolins have been poached or trafficked in the last decade alone and this lucrative business is thriving. In some parts of the world pangolins are beaten and suffocated with smoke, then boiled alive. Some restaurants […]

Botswana to Charge £1,500 ($1,834) For a Licence to Kill Elephants

We call upon all our supporters to support ASI in expressing strong opposition to trophy hunting, at a time when elephant numbers are plummeting.

Pangolins

Pangolins are on the verge of extinction. Most people don’t even know what a pangolin is – nor that this shy, nocturnal creature is the most trafficked and hunted animal in the world. Their situation is so serious we really need your help to stop them being wiped out. Pangolins, also known as scaly anteaters, […]

Looming Brexit Could Be a Disaster for Animals

The Animal Survival International (formerly Political Animal Lobby) is deeply concerned that the chaos surrounding Brexit is very bad indeed for animals. 80 percent of current animal welfare legislation comes from EU law. If the UK leaves Europe on October 31, as planned by the Conservative government, UK animal welfare may well suffer enormous setbacks. […]

An End to the Export of Elephants to China

We are very pleased to have been able to help Zimbabwe’s elephants live lives of freedom and salute the vital work of PESLawyers

Giraffes Trade to Be Regulated Across the World

This is a step in the right direction and in Africa particularly, it’s a measure that is needed, given that poaching is out of control.

Landmark Punjab Ruling Should Be a Message to All Courts Around the World

We have to show compassion towards all living creatures. Animals may be mute but we as a society have to speak on their behalf.

Two Pangolins, 272kg of Elephant Tusks Seized From Suspected Poachers in Namibia

Preliminary police investigations suggest all the ivory came from elephants poached across the border in Botswana. The source of the pangolins is yet to be determined.

Botswana’s Elephants: Myths vs Facts

In the final analysis, the southern African countries represented at the Kasane Conference appear intent on moving against science and cogent argument.

The Impact of Botswana’s Hunting Decision Will Be Felt Across Africa

Botswana was the last refuge for these elephants, and suddenly that refuge is going to start hunting them.

Tiger Found Caged in Houston House

In the US, only 35 States have banned the private ownership of wild cats, and Texas is not one of them.

A Crime of Reporting: Inaccurate Media Failing Zimbabwe’s Elephants

The CNN article characterizes a government whose hands are tied. This is, frankly, erroneous – a mistake.

Arizona’s New Animal Proposal Goes to the Governor

There’s a great link between domestic violence and abusing animals. These people need help. This bill gets them help.

Botswana Risks International Condemnation if It Reintroduces Elephant Hunting and Turning Elephants-Into-Pet-Food Plan

This is an idea that, if turned into reality, would see Botswana internationally reviled.

35 More Baby Elephants Being Sent From Zimbabwe to Lives of Hell in China

Many of these babies will still be breast feeding. Scientists say they will never fully recover from the trauma.

CITES CoP18 Will Be Held in Colombo, Sri Lanka in May 2019

Cites, the United Nations organisation which regulates wildlife trade, meets in Sri Lanka in May for its 18th session.

What Brexit Could Mean for Animal Welfare

Whatever the outcome, of the current debate on Brexit, the UK leaving the EU will have profound implications for Animal Welfare.

Hunters Pepper Caged Fox With Bullets

The hunters claim they hunt to protect the environment, but it’s really an excuse for the kind of barbarity shown in this video.

Vietnam Continues to Be a Major Center of Ivory Trading

Regulatory and enforcement efforts must catch up to the markets, or the Vietnamese illegal ivory market will remain one of the largest in the world.

Japan to Defy the World-Wide Whaling Ban and Start Killing Whales

A massive battle is underway to protect whales and allow their stocks to recover before they are lost forever. The situation is so serious that a world-wide ban on commercial whaling has been in place since 1986.

UK Introduces Strict Ban on Sale of Ivory

The number of elephants living in the wild has declined by almost a third in the last decade and around 20,000 elephants a year are being slaughtered due to the global demand for ivory.

Some Giraffe Subspecies Are at Risk of Extinction

Two out of nine subspecies of giraffe are listed by IUCN as critically endangered, while others are considered endangered, vulnerable and near threatened.

New Hope for Fin Whales and Mountain Gorillas

The IUCN Red List now includes 96,951 species of which 26,840 are threatened with extinction.

Could the End of Captive Lion Breeding in South Africa Be In Sight?

Continued and sustained pressure on the government is the only way to ensure that the parliamentarians’ wishes are respected.

Singapore Seeks a Ban on Ivory Sales

If the ban is passed, it means individuals and local businesses will no longer be able to sell or buy any form of elephant ivory in Singapore.

China Reverses Tiger and Rhino Products Ban

“We are relieved and pleased that sanity has prevailed,” said David Barritt, a spokesman for the Animal Survival International (formerly Political Animal Lobby).

Orphaned Rhino Highlights the Tragedy of the Trade in Rhino Horn

Baby David’s mother was the latest victim of the poaching scourge that has swept across South Africa since 2008.

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