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The recently concluded 20th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES CoP20), held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, resulted in significant victories for wildlife protection. Dozens of species were added to either CITES Appendix I (prohibiting most international trade for commercial purposes) or
In October, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the global authority on wildlife conservation, officially reaffirmed the “endangered” designation of long-tailed macaques (LTMs)—a monkey species used extensively for biomedical research in the United States—on its Red List of Endangered Species. The IUCN’s decision was based on a scientific assessment conducted by species experts that
In March, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) sought public comment on the Makah Tribe’s request for a permit under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) to hunt gray whales off the Washington coast. This is the final step in the government’s decades-long effort to allow the Tribe to resume whaling after nearly a hundred-year
The Third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC 3) took place in Nice, France, in June. One of its priorities was to advance implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDG14)—one of 17 such goals established by the United Nations in 2015—which aims to “conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.” At
American pikas (Ochotona princeps) are small, adorable mammals found throughout the mountains of western North America. They have gained public attention and are a species of conservation concern due to a rapidly changing climate and their sensitivity to high temperatures. A proposal to list the species under the Endangered Species Act was denied by the
Hard facts: According to the National Park Service, 2 million large wild animals are struck by vehicles on America’s roads every year. About 440 people are killed in these collisions, as well, and another 59,000 injured. The annual price tag runs about $10 billion. Each incident is a needless, preventable tragedy. What’s more, the wildlife
The House Natural Resources Committee has continued to pursue a markedly anti-wildlife agenda by teeing up action on an array of bills to weaken and eliminate protections under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). The committee spent July holding meetings on bills that would delist the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem
In August, AWI filed an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief in support of a New York law restricting trade in ivory and rhinoceros horn. The 2014 law prohibits the sale, purchase, trade, or distribution of ivory and horn within New York, with certain exceptions. The Art and Antique Dealers League of America is
On October 29, the State Council of China issued a policy directive indicating that the use of horn and bones from farmed rhinos and tigers for “medical research or in healing” would be allowed—reversing a 25-year ban on the practice. Animal protection groups immediately and forcefully decried the decision, stating that reviving a legal avenue
Both Congress and the Trump administration continue their assaults on wildlife, particularly through efforts to undermine the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Several members of Congress have now packaged together nine bills to dismantle the ESA under the laughable guise of “modernizing” it. Together, these bills would make it easier to remove protections from listed species,
In May, the Illinois legislature passed HB 4843, a bill introduced by Rep. Martin Moylan (D) to restrict the sale of ivory and rhino horn within the state. On August 14, Gov. Bruce Rauner (R) signed it into law. State restrictions on the legal sale of ivory and horn help reduce the market for smuggled
A recent report published by the National Academy of Sciences warns of impending massive extinctions if corrective response is not initiated very soon–a sober indicator of the pertinence of this new collection of insightful essays. Extinction Studies: Stories of Time, Death, and Generations is a somewhat eclectic repertory, with each author providing a unique perspective of
An influential faction of the 115th Congress is expressing a clear animosity toward animal protection measures. Emboldened, perhaps, by an administration that appears sympathetic to their aims, this faction is waging an escalating assault on animal welfare, and seems especially intent on undermining the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The ESA, by far our nation’s strongest conservation
Two years ago, scientists estimated that only 100 vaquita porpoises remained in Mexico’s Upper Gulf of California. In April 2015, as vaquitas continued to die due to entanglement in fishing gear, the Mexican government proposed a two-year ban on gillnets in the Gulf. But the ban has not been fully enforced, and an exemption allowing
AWI wildlife attorney Tara Zuardo and wildlife biologist D.J. Schubert joined other animal welfare advocates, conservationists, government delegates, scientists, and industry representatives at the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP17) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), held September 24 to October 4 in Johannesburg,
Two years ago, red wolves numbered 90–110 in the wild. Victories won by AWI and allies limiting the hunting of coyotes in the wolves’ recovery area in North Carolina were helping to give the wolves a chance to take hold—that is, until the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), in response to pressure from the
On July 24, Mexico committed to permanently banning all gillnet fishing within the Gulf of Mexico habitat of the critically endangered vaquita porpoise. Details, including enforcement mechanisms, have yet to be announced, however. Earlier that month, AWI co-organized a “Save the Vaquita” rally outside the Mexican Embassy in Washington, DC. The rally coincided with International
AWI joined forces in April with Wild Earth Guardians and the Center for Biological Diversity in filing a petition with the National Marine Fisheries Service to list the Taiwanese humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis taiwanensis), under the US Endangered Species Act. Fewer than 75 of these dolphins—who are born gray but turn pink or white with
The 66th meeting of the Standing Committee of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), held in Geneva, Switzerland, in mid-January, covered a wide range of important wildlife trade issues. Of particular note was a meeting involving representatives of the CITES secretariat and a number of animal protection organizations—catalyzed
A tragedy is unfolding in Mexico’s Upper Gulf of California. Fatal entanglements in shrimp and fish nets—many of them cast by poachers—are driving the world’s smallest cetacean to extinction. In August 2014, scientists estimated that fewer than 100 vaquita porpoises remain in the wild—all in the Upper Gulf—and warned that if vaquita bycatch and a