Preserving pangolins in South Asia
Pangolin populations across South Asia are endangered by a huge trade in animal parts supplying the appetite for Chinese traditional medicine...
10 June, 2019
trafficking Tag
German customs train dogs to sniff out species smuggling
For organised crime, the smuggling of endangered species is a lucrative business. Denise Hruby reports on how German customs agents use tracking dogs to crack down on the trade...
23 May, 2019
Kenya – the epicentre of East Africa’s donkey crisis
Stolen donkeys are smuggled across borders with Tanzania and Ethiopia to feed Kenya’s expanding abattoirs and Chinese demand for donkey-hide glue. Oscar Nkala investigates...
28 November, 2018
Time for Africa to head CITES
Most of the work of the international wildlife trade body focuses on endangered species in Africa, say pro-sustainable use groups...
13 February, 2018
How SA’s abalone ends up on China’s plates
Crystal Chow investigates how the race over the most sought-after delicacy in Asia embodies the developmental dilemma in post-apartheid South Africa...
09 June, 2017
Spy arrests lift lid on Botswana’s silent trafficking threat
Botswana has a global reputation for zero tolerance of poaching and wildlife crimes. In recent years, however, it has become vulnerable to insider wildlife crimes committed by rogue security forces....
10 May, 2017
Chinese ‘mafia boss’ turns to timber in Namibia
Xuecheng Hou, a wealthy Chinese businessman linked to wildlife trafficking, has emerged as a major player in the illegal trade in rare African timber. John Grobler investigates...
07 February, 2017
The horn scam at Windhoek’s airport
The Namibian authorities don’t seem to be in any hurry to shut down a rhino horn smuggling syndicate that has infiltrated security at Windhoek’s airport, writes John Grobler...
02 December, 2016
The epicentre of Namibia’s rhino poaching
John Grobler visits Okahao, a sleepy settlement near Etosha that is at the centre of the poaching plague threatening the world’s last critically endangered black rhinos...
11 July, 2016
Zimbabwe’s elephant poaching citadel
Why is a dusty town near Hwange National Park making international headlines for the poisoning of elephants? Oscar Nkala unravels the networks and modus operandi behind Dete’s infamy...
20 May, 2016