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1. Sign the petition! Donald Trump, President of the United States: STOP Shooting Endangered Black Rhinos

   Posted on 8:00pm Saturday 7th Sep 2019

   All I can say about this petition is PLEASE READ IT, SIGN IT AND SHARE, SHARE, SHARE. How can anyone shoot animals for SPORT for goodness sake?  The organisers of the petition have asked people to share the text below this banner. I signed a petition on Action Network telling Donald Trump, President of the United States to STOP Shooting Endangered Black Rhinos. BACKGROUND The US government has issued a permit to US trophy hunter Chris D. Peyerk of Shelby Township, Michigan to shoot a Namibian black rhino for ‘sport’ and bring back its skin, skull and horn into the US. Black rhinos are critically endangered. Just 5,000 remain in the wild. It follows a case brought by trophy hunting lawyer John J Jackson, who runs an organisation called ‘Conservation Force’. Jackson is a former President of Safari Club International, the world’s largest trophy hunting group. ‘Conservation Force’ campaigns for hunters to bring home trophies of threatened species. It also lobbies for changes in the law to make it easier to hunt vulnerable species - including lions, leopards, cheetahs, elephants and polar bears, as well as rhinos. It sued Delta airlines when they previously refused to carry a black rhino trophy. It also sued the state of New Jersey when it tried to stop hunting trophies of threatened species coming in through its air and sea ports. Jackson has been on at least 38 elephant hunts alone. His trophy room includes the heads and bodies of giraffes, zebras, bears, buffaloes, cougars, leopards, rhinos, lions, wolves, and numerous species of deer and antelope. Several large elephant tusks form the centrepiece of his collection. He has written the following about trophy hunting: “Nothing has been so consistently fulfilling to me as my hunting. “It has stirred an insatiable appetite for more. Without it I would somehow be incomplete. “I can plainly see the African lion that has leaped into the air the moment its head snaps backward and explodes with smoke from my bullet.” ‘Conservation Force’ has made a number of donations to IUCN and has secured positions on key IUCN committees. Despite not being a scientist, Jackson has been a member of IUCN’s Lions specialist group. IUCN, through it’s ‘Traffic’ initiative, lobbied CITES delegates to vote AGAINST the proposal to protect giraffes at the recent Geneva wildlife trade conference – as did Safari Club International. The Species Survival Network, an alliance of 80 conservation groups around the world, strongly supported the measure which was proposed by a number of African nations. The conference also voted to double the number of black rhinos that can be shot by trophy hunters for so-called 'sport'. John Jackson and other ‘Conservation Force’ lobbyists were present at the CITES conference. Join me and take action   These animals need our help and all our voices.

    

2. Crackdown on poaching works for elephants and rhinos in Tanzania

   Posted on 8:00pm Monday 15th Jul 2019

   There’s good news from Tanzania.   Elephant and rhino numbers have started to rebound after the government cracked down on organised criminal networks who were involved in industrial-scale poaching.  These networks were dismantled. You may have heard about a well-known Chinese businesswoman who smuggled the tusks of over 350 elephants to Asia.  The “Ivory Queen” got 15 years in prison as a result. A special task force was launched in 2016 to fight wildlife poaching. Elephant numbers had been 110,000 in 2009 but their numbers tumbled, with conservation groups blaming poaching.   Ivory turned into jewels and ornaments had caused poaching to surge, thanks to a demand from countries such as China and Vietnam.   Tanzania Travel Guide from Lonely Planet However, a presidential statement stated last week that elephant numbers have gone up to 43,330 in 2014 (according to the 2015 census) to over 60,000 at the moment.  Rhinos had gone up from only 15 to 167 in the last 4 years.  This number 15 is at variance with the CITES estimation of 133 in 2015.  Mind you, either way it means the number of rhinos has gone up. It just shows the damage poaching can do to wildlife numbers – and how that damage can be reversed, with real effort.  Tourism is the main source of hard currency for Tanzania. Wildlife safaris, Indian Ocean beaches and Mount Kilimanjaro are its most famous “attractions”. Revenues from it were up from $1.9 billion in 2015 to $2.5 billion in 2018. Tanzania has set aside 32% of its total land area for conservation projects.  I must say this doesn’t sound a very high percentage to me, given the amount of land wildlife used to have, but then if it’s for specific projects maybe that makes it better. Unfortunately, it’s dismissed criticism from environmentalists about a $3 billion hydropower dam project in the famous Selous Game Reserve – which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Still lots of room for improvement, then, Tanzania.

    

3. Good News on Rhinos and Zebras from the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy

   Posted on 9:00pm Tuesday 8th Jan 2019

   The Lewa Wildlife Conservancy had much to celebrate at the end of 2018 so I thought I'd pick out two things which they are celebrating to tell you about :-)  The Conservancy is located at the foothills of Mount Kenya, and it works to protect and manage of species, initiate and support  community conservation and development programmes, and educate neighbouring areas in the value of wildlife. So here are a couple of successes Lewa had in 2018 17 Rhino Births and ZERO poaching With their landscape partner Boran Conservancy, Lewa is now home to over 170 rhinos!  They are looking forward to reaching the 200 rhino milestone!    The rhinos moved from Lewa to the Sera Community Conservancy are also thriving with rhino birds and no poaching. There were 17 rhino births in 2018 © Lewa Wildlife Conservancy The plan is to remove fences between Lewa, Borana and Il Ngwesi Community Conservancy so that there's a secure space for their growing population.   Increase in the survival rate of Grevy's zebra foals Previoulsy, predation lessened the number of foals who survived into adulthood.   This slowed population growth.   The good rains in 2018 provided healthy pasture needed for the foals and other wildlife to survive and thrive.  There are just 2,800 Grevy Zebra left in the world, and 11% are found on Lewa, so this increase is important. Lewa recorded an increase in the survival rate of Grevy's zebra foals ©Lewa Wildlife Conservancy Lewa has also been busy educating 400 Northern Kenya students, teaching them about land degradation and human-wildlife conflict and what they can do to address these challenges.   In 2018, 400 students and their teachers visited Lewa and they received lessons on things such as reforestation, water harvesting and wildlife protection.

   Find out more about the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy and how you can help

4. African Wildlife Foundation gives $25 million to help wildlife and wildlife habitats in Africa

   Posted on 8:00pm Tuesday 13th Nov 2018

   The African Wildlife Foundation will invest $25 million over the next 4 years to support the work being done by local communities and African governments to protect wild lands and wildlife in Africa. The pledge was made at the recent Illegal Wildlife Trade (IWT) conference in London.  AWF’s President Kaddu Sebunya said that poaching and illegal trade in wildlife poses an acute threat to Africa’s rich heritage of natural wealth. Kaddu says that there is some recovery and stabilization of some vital wildlife populations.   AFW has invested $13.1 million to tackle the illegal wildlife trade in Africa and also a further $5.5 million with public-sector partners.   The total of $18.6 million has been used to: Support anti-poaching efforts on the ground Strengthen prosecutorial and judiciary processes Put sniffer dogs in critical transit points Campaign to stop demand in Asia As a result: 10 out of the 14 populations of elephants the funding has been targeting are increasing or are stable. All rhino populations and 7 out of 9 carnivore populations that AWF supports are increasing or are stable Prosecutors are building stronger case;  judges are delivery stronger sentences for wildlife crimes Sniffer dogs have made over 250 finds And now this most recent pledge will support programmes putting the priorities in place that came out of the London IWT conference: To build African leadership and ownership of the illegal wildlife trade in Africa Protect habitats and key populations of rhinos, elephants, great apes, large carnivores and giraffes Enhance detection of wildlife crimes and strengthen the ability to prosecute and judge, putting criminals behind bars. The belief is that Africa must own and drive the illegal wildlife trade work.  The London conference will help strengthen partnerships across borders to fight the illegal wildlife trade in an effective way. Four key elements are crucial to give Africa’s wildlife a chance, according to AWF Chief Scientist and VP of Species Protection, Dr Philip Muruthi, and they are: Keep wildlife safe from poachers Make wildlife products difficult to move around Actively involve key local players Dampen the demand for wildlife products Visit the African Wildlife Foundation

5. African Parks reporting from 2017

   Posted on 9:00pm Monday 25th Jun 2018

   African Parks is responsible for the rehabilitation and long term management of national parks and protected areas. They do this in partnership with governments and local communities, and the goal is to make teach park ecologically, socially and financially sustainable in the long term. And at the end of 2017, they were responsible for managing 14 protected areas in 9 countries (it’s now 15).   The areas spanned 40,540 square miles covering 7 of the 11 ecological biomes on the continent.  They have a large counter-poaching force with 1,000 rangers and over 5,000 staff across the parks. They are undertaking various active management interventions: Extreme species translocations and reintroductions Providing security to create safer spaces for humans and wildlife Ensuring that local people benefit Where security has been restored and governance established, they’ve seen the rise of civility and a better way of life has returned.  There is tremendous momentum to make this rehabilitation happen and to continue to build on successes that African Parks has so far achieved.   Founded in 2000, it’s a non-profit conservation organisation. Their Annual Report for 2017 Restoration:  Nature’s Return highlights: The Chinko team achieved success on the ground keeping 10,000km2 free of cattle and giving wildlife a chance to return 39 elephants were collared in one of the largest elephant collaring exercises in Africa, giving them better protection from armed poachers The successful reintroduction of 18 black rhinos from South Africa to the Akagera Park in Rwanda, 10 years after they had locally become extinct.   7 years were spent making the park safe and reducing poaching to an all time low.  Singing children lined the route between Kigali and Akagera to celebrate their return. The park received 37,000 tourists for the year, making it 75% self-sustaining In August, 520 elephants were translocated from the Liwonde National Park and the Majete Wildlife Reserve to the Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve.  Tourism is on the rise here, and back in Liwonde the human-wildlife conflict has dropped dramatically as a result A long term agreement was signed with the Government of Benin for the Penjari National Park, the largest remaining intact ecosystem in all of West Africa, and a stronghold for the critically endangered West African lion and African elephant In December, African Parks signed a 25 management agreement with the Government of Mozambique to manage the Bazaruto Archipelago National Park, the first marine reserve in its portfolio And HRH Prince Harry joined African Parks as their President. African Parks’ model for its protected area management  Law enforcement for the long term sustainability of the parks Biodiversity conservation, with active management of the wildlife and their habitats Community development – the process of building constituencies for conservation through economic development Tourism and enterprise – well managed parks contribute directly to the local and national economy Management and infrastructure – essential for governance and effective park management African Parks goal is to manage 20 African parks by 2020.    You can be a part of this journey and give your support.    Sign up for African Parks’ newsletter Donate to African Parks