Category Archives: Wildlife Trade

Exposing Wildlife Crime: An Interview With Karl Ammann

By Dylan Forest, Published on Animal People Forum on March 14, 2021 Wildlife crime is a serious and escalating threat to the survival of many species and entire ecosystems. When most of us hear about the scale of the threat poaching and trafficking pose to wild animals, we hope that between NGOs, law enforcement, andContinue reading “Exposing Wildlife Crime: An Interview With Karl Ammann”

Animals as Commerce

An Integrated Curriculum For The Washington Post Newspaper In Education Program By Karl Ammann, Published February 14, 2020 ©2020 THE WASHINGTON POST INTRODUCTION: Meeting a Demand for the Wild There are those who believe in the magical powers of parts of animals and there are those who have made a business of meeting the demandContinue reading “Animals as Commerce”

A Study of Illegal Trafficking of Lao PDR Elephants

Open letters and Compilation of documents by Karl Amman (2020-06-21) – Elephants already exported and in the process of being exported to China While looking into the export of the elephants to Dubai Safari we encountered representatives of a Chinese company, from Yunnan, inspecting some 50 elephants they said they had under contract. The concernedContinue reading “A Study of Illegal Trafficking of Lao PDR Elephants”

The African Ranger Awards and the Demand Side of the Coin

When researching the illegal wildlife trade, very often some tentacles lead back to South Africa. Not only when it comes to rhino horn, abalone and lion bone but in this case to one of South Africa’s biggest company: Naspers, a major shareholder in Tencent, who in turn owns WeChat, a Chinese multi-purpose messaging, social mediaContinue reading “The African Ranger Awards and the Demand Side of the Coin”

Kämpfer für bedrohte Tiere

By Karl Ammann – Published in Republik, October 9, 2018 “Der Schweizer Karl Ammann entlarvt die Hintermänner des weltweiten Wildtierschmuggels – eine lebensgefährliche Mission. Die Geschichte eines Unerschrockenen.”Von Mona Fahmy (Text) und Ariel Hauptmeier (Mitarbeit), 09.10.2018 Mit jedem Tag wird der Dschungel dichter – und kommen mehr Jäger an Bord. Sie legen mit ihren EinbäumenContinue reading “Kämpfer für bedrohte Tiere”

The PATA Department Store Zoo – Is it “The Saddest Zoo in the World” ?

Opinion piece – Related to this Daily Mail article. During a recent visit with a German film team there was one cage covered by a netting material, which showed a primate running up and down behind it.  When the ape climbed to the top where his face was visible, it became clear that it was a bonobo.Continue reading “The PATA Department Store Zoo – Is it “The Saddest Zoo in the World” ?”

Of Tiger and Lion Bones, and the Legalizing of the Rhino Horn Trade

Value additions to lion bones sold into the Traditional Chinese Medicine Market: Trophy hunter in SA books a lion ‘hunt’ of a captive born cat for approximately U$8000-25000 (the cost of hunting a female is a fraction of the cost of hunting a male). The taxidermist, in collaboration with the hunting company arranges for theContinue reading “Of Tiger and Lion Bones, and the Legalizing of the Rhino Horn Trade”

Pink Tiger Bone Jewellery… A new tale in the context of the commodification of the tiger

In April 2017 I was traveling with Phil, a South African camera man and film director, in SE Asia to compile some “pick up shots” for a documentary on the rhino horn trade we were working on. In Vientiane, the capital of Laos we stayed in aprominent hotel in China town catering to lots ofChineseContinue reading “Pink Tiger Bone Jewellery… A new tale in the context of the commodification of the tiger”

The CITES Secretariat and the epitome of double standards

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) will shortly hold its seventeenth major Conference of the Parties event in Johannesburg from 24 September to 5 October 2016 (CoP17). As part of the agenda for CoP17 the CITES Secretariat has published an agenda and numerous documents for consideration againstContinue reading “The CITES Secretariat and the epitome of double standards”