Hundreds Arrested Over Illegal Wildlife and Forestry Trade
Nearly 20,000 live animals, all endangered or protected species, have been seized in a global operation against wildlife and forestry trafficking networks, jointly coordinated by INTERPOL and the World Customs Organization (WCO).Operation Thunder 2024 (November 11 – December 6) brought together police, customs, border control, forestry and wildlife officials from 138 countries and regions, marking the widest participation since the first edition in 2017.Authorities arrested 365…
Free Course Aims to Help Combat Illegal Wildlife Trade
A new e-learning course from the IMO covers key concepts and measures to help end illegal market worth an estimated $200 billion per year.The course has been launched to support all stakeholders in the maritime supply chain to address wildlife trafficking by ship, and it has been developed by the IMO in collaboration with the World Maritime University (WMU) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).Through animated e-lessons, quizzes and assignments, the self-paced virtual course covers the concepts of illegal wildlife trade…
More Must be Done to Protect of Species from GOM Drilling, says Judge
At the urging of environmental groups, a U.S. judge threew out an assessment by a federal agency governing how endangered and threatened marine species should be protected from oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman in Greenbelt, Maryland, ruled the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Services' so-called "biological opinion" was flawed and did not adequately address risks species face from oil spills and vessel strikes.The assessment was issued…
