"Inside the thriving wild-animal markets that could start the next pandemic"

Content warning: pictures of dead animals

The article has a paywall after a good chunk of "free" text. It's not clear to me how much of the many $billions market for these animals is for scams like selling parts for "medicinal properties", but there's clearly a lot. It's another reminder of why pseudoscience needs to be fought.

I'm getting really tired of human greed and stupidity.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-01690-z

#animalTrade #wildlifeTrade #animalExploitation #goVegan #zoonosis #zoonoses #coronavirus #birdFlu #pangolin #capitalism #pseudoscience #china

South Africa’s native reptiles and amphibians, including threatened species, are being illegally captured and exported for the global pet trade.

A recent study found that eight of the 10 most-exported reptiles from South Africa are native species, most of which are not protected by CITES, the global wildlife trade convention.

By Ryan Truscott
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/traffickers-slither-through-loopholes-with-wild-caught-african-snakes-and-lizards/

#News #Conservation #Environment #Reptiles #WildlifeTrade #Wildlife

Insect trafficking poses a risk to wildlife and human health
#Biodiversity #Insects #InsectTrafficking #WildlifeCrime #WildlifeTrade #BiodiversityThreat #InvasiveSpecies #EcoCrime #ProtectWildlife #ConservationCrisis #AntSmuggling #IllegalTrade
https://the-14.com/insect-trafficking-poses-a-risk-to-wildlife-and-human-health/

Latin America, a biodiversity hotspot home to 40% of the world’s species, is witnessing an alarming decline in its wildlife. Illegal wildlife trafficking to wealthier parts of the world, such as North America and Europe, is one of the factors driving the decline.

By Spoorthy Raman
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/regulation-loopholes-fuel-illegal-wildlife-trade-from-latin-america-to-europe/

#News #Conservation #Environment #Wildlife #WildlifeTrade

Despite being protected under Tunisian law, golden eagles in the northern African country are often illegally hunted and trapped, and at risk from the effects of climate change.#Africa #Tunisia #nature #animals #climatechange #Wildlifetrade #poaching #Environment (2/2)

Rescued golden eagle takes fli...

Scientists are training the first generation of rats in Tanzania to detect illegal wildlife trafficked products.

Their research shows that African giant pouched rats can locate concealed wildlife products such as pangolin scales, rhino horns and ivory in shipments.

This innovative approach could reshape antitrafficking efforts and shed new light on the illegal wildlife trade.

By Lucía Torres
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/meet-the-giant-rats-fighting-wildlife-trafficking/

#News #Conservation #Environment #Wildlife #WildlifeTrade

Indonesia’s Bali, with its beautiful beaches and ancient temples, is a tourist hotspot where many businesses cater to foreign travelers, including those that sell art and curios.

A new study finds that primate skulls, including those from threatened species such as orangutans, gibbons and proboscis monkeys, are openly sold in these shops, despite the trade being illegal.

By Spoorthy Raman
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/sun-sand-and-skulls-bali-tourism-trade-peddles-threatened-primate-skulls/

#News #Conservation #Environment #Wildlife #WildlifeTrade

Nearly 20,000 threatened and protected animals were rescued in a global policing operation coordinated by Interpol at the end of 2024.

The campaign, Operation Thunder , involved law enforcement agencies in 138 countries and targeted six transnational criminal groups.

https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/nearly-20000-animals-seized-in-global-wildlife-trafficking-crackdown/

#News #Conservation #Environment #Wildlife #WildlifeTrade

On Dec. 22, 2024, Turkish customs officers conducting a random search of a plane’s cargo hold found a surprise stowaway inside a small wooden crate with holes: a malnourished baby gorilla dressed in a soiled T-shirt.

The Turkish Airlines flight was headed from Nigeria to Thailand and was transiting via Istanbul, authorities told local media.

By Spoorthy Raman
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/01/five-month-old-male-gorilla-victim-of-illegal-wildlife-trade-seized-in-istanbul/

#News #Conservation #Environment #Wildlife #WildlifeTrade

A new report has found wildlife smugglers employ sophisticated methods to smuggle species from the Brazilian rainforest, including widespread fraud and corruption.

In recent years, smugglers have been caught altering a wide range of documentation — from export licenses to microchips — to give their operations a veil of legality.

by Carla Ruas
https://news.mongabay.com/2024/06/fraud-and-corruption-drive-illegal-wildlife-trade-in-the-amazon/

#News #Conservation #Environment #Wildlife #WildlifeTrade

The Pacific's Solomon Islands has become a key player in the global live animal trade, with foreign collectors sourcing exotic species including some subject to trade bans, an AFP investigation has found... #species #ExoticSpecies #WildlifeTrade #solomonislands #ecology #ecosystems #animals #ExoticPets https://phys.org/news/2024-06-shadowy-exotic-pet-pacific-island.html

This is how diseases are introduced and how endangered species gain value as they become more and more rare

#wildlifetrade #DiseaseVector #CITES #BiodiversityCollapse

https://calgaryherald.com/news/crime/calgary-man-fined-illegal-import-turtles-china

I've been not been posting here for a spell, but am here now to amplify a crucial, troubling story. Read this superbly researched and written piece by @mrajshekhar
on the bizarre menagerie that is #Ambani's #vantara 1/n
https://www.himalmag.com/politics/reliance-ambani-anant-elephants-wildlife-vantara-radhe-krishna-trust-greens
#india #mastindia #wildlife #zoos #conservation #wildlifetrade

On the subject of #WildlifeTrade

In Brazil, the Seahorse Black Market Is Bustling: Every year, the country’s fishers accidentally catch millions of #seahorses. Where they all go, nobody quite knows.

https://hakaimagazine.com/news/in-brazil-the-seahorse-black-market-is-bustling/

⭐️Good news⭐️
@CITES has added our #seahorse NDF guidance and toolkit to the CITES virtual college.🙂

Check it out here: https://cites.org/eng/virtual-college/ndf-guidance-seahorses.

#wildlifetrade #sustainable

Such markets not only play a role in the spread of #disease: by selling poached, endangered animals such as #pangolins, they are pushing species toward #extinction.

Illegal #hunting and the #WildlifeTrade, like #ClimateChange and #HabitatDestruction, are among the causes of the dramatic global #extinction of species. In late 2019, a #UN report issued a stark #warning about the scope of the catastrophe,

3/4

#ProtectOurWildlife 🦍🦦🦇

https://www.ipbes.net/news/ipbes-global-assessment-preview

Food for thought....

Is CITES Compliance Process Becoming a Game of Chance?
https://sdg.iisd.org/commentary/guest-articles/is-cites-compliance-process-becoming-a-game-of-chance/

#WildlifeTrade #wildlifeconservation

Togo monkey seizure turns spotlight on illicit wildlife trafficking from DR Congo #AnimalRights #wildlife #monkeys #WildlifeTrade #WildlifeTrafficing #congo https://news.mongabay.com/2024/01/togo-monkey-seizure-turns-spotlight-on-illicit-wildlife-trafficking-from-dr-congo/

More Central American squirrel monkeys observed in Nicaragua today. What is going on with this southern Costa Rica species? Scientists in Costa Rica say that it's wildlife trafficking but this is the second group of them observed in the wild in Nicaragua this year and at locations many km apart. Any info on the trade of this species would be greatly appreciated. I've never seen them in captivity and doubt they would be easy to keep. #wildlifetrafficking #primates #CostaRica #CITES #WildlifeTrade