Nepal prepares for mass animal sacrifice despite outcry

Yahoo – AFP, December 2, 2019

An estimated 200,000 animals, ranging from goats to rats, were slaughtered during
the last two-day Gadhimai Festival in 2014 (AFP Photo/PRAKASH MATHEMA)

Bariyarpur (Nepal) (AFP) - Thousands of Hindu devotees gathered in southern Nepal on Monday ahead of a festival believed to be the world's biggest ritual animal slaughter, despite court orders and calls by animal activists to end the event.

The sacrifices, set to begin on Tuesday, take place every five years in Bariyarpur village close to the Indian border, in honour of the Hindu goddess of power.

An estimated 200,000 animals ranging from goats to rats were killed during the last two-day Gadhimai Festival in 2014 and this year's preparations were well underway by Monday night.

Buffaloes were corralled into holding pens as worshippers slept and cooked along the road to the temple.

A mass animal sacrifice takes place every five years in Bariyarpur village in 

Nepal (AFP Photo/PRAKASH MATHEMA)

Among them was Sabu Sahani, 25, who travelled with his family for a day from India's Bihar with a goat offering.

"I am happy to be here. The goddess listened to me. We did not have children, but my wife has now given birth to a daughter," Sahani told AFP.

Unlicensed traders and pilgrims who cross the border between India and Nepal are responsible for supplying most of the animals, with scores seized at crossings by Indian security officials and volunteers.

Many were hopeful the centuries-old tradition would end after the temple authorities announced a ban in 2015 and Nepal's supreme court directed the government to discourage the bloodshed a year later.

Hindu devotees gathered in southern Nepal ahead of a festival believed to be the 

world's biggest ritual animal sacrifice (AFP Photo/PRAKASH MATHEMA)

But animal rights activists say that both government agencies as well as temple committees have failed to implement these rulings.

"The officials have let their personal beliefs rule over the court orders, they did not do enough to discourage the slaughters," animal rights activist Manoj Gautam said.

Local priest Mangal Chaudhary, the tenth generation of his family to serve at the temple, did not comment on whether the temple supports this year's mass sacrifice but said that the numbers in attendance are increasing.

"We will follow our traditions and perform the rituals in the temple. But what the devotees do outside is their own wish," he said.

Legend has it that the first sacrifices in Bariyarpur took place centuries ago when

the Hindu goddess Gadhimai appeared to a prisoner in a dream and asked him 

to establish a temple to her (AFP Photo/PRAKASH MATHEMA)

According to legend, the first sacrifices in Bariyarpur were conducted several centuries ago when the Hindu goddess Gadhimai appeared to a prisoner in a dream and asked him to establish a temple to her.

When he awoke, his shackles had fallen open and he was able to leave the prison and build the temple, where he sacrificed animals in gratitude.

Singapore to ban sale of elephant ivory from 2021

Yahoo – AFP, August 12, 2019

Singapore authorities made their largest ever seizure of smuggled ivory last month,
impounding a haul of nearly nine tonnes of contraband tusks from an estimated
300 African elephants valued at $12.9 million (AFP Photo/Handout)

Singapore said Monday it will impose a blanket ban on the domestic sale of elephant ivory and products from 2021 as the government tightens its campaign against illegal wildlife trade.

The announcement on World Elephant Day followed two years of consultations with non-government groups, ivory retailers and the public.

Authorities in the city-state made their largest ever seizure of smuggled ivory last month, impounding a haul of nearly nine tonnes of contraband tusks from an estimated 300 African elephants valued at $12.9 million.

The illegal cargo was discovered in a container from the Democratic Republic of the Congo being shipped to Vietnam via Singapore and also included a huge stash of pangolin scales.

Singapore has banned international trade in all forms of elephant ivory products since 1990.

Such items could be sold domestically if traders could prove they were imported before that year or acquired prior to the inclusion of the relevant elephant species in an international convention protecting endangered species.

In a statement Monday, Singapore's National Parks Board banned the sale of elephant ivory and products with effect from September 1, 2021.

Violators face a jail term of up to one year and fines on conviction.

Traders can donate their ivory stocks to institutions or keep them after the ban takes effect, the board said.

Public consultation by the government last year showed that 99 percent of those who responded were in favour of a total ban.

Elephant ivory is coveted because it can be fashioned into items like combs, pendants and other jewellery.

The global trade in elephant ivory, with rare exceptions, has been outlawed since 1989 after the population of the African giants dropped from millions in the mid-20th century to around 600,000 by the end of the 1980s.

Malaysia seizes big shipment of rhino horns at airport

Yahoo – AFP, April 10, 2017

Malaysian Airports Customs Director Hamzah Sundang (C) shows seized rhino
 horns imported from Mozambique in a crate listed as containing art objects,
April 10, 2017 (AFP Photo/MANAN VATSYAYANA)

Sepang (Malaysia) (AFP) - Enforcement officials in Malaysia have seized 18 rhinoceros horns imported from Mozambique, weighing 51.4 kg and worth 13.7 million ringgit ($3.1 million), a senior customs official said Monday.

Airport customs director Hamzah Sundang said officials acting on a tip-off discovered the horns in a wooden crate at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport cargo terminal last Friday.

The haul is the latest indication that Malaysia has become an Asian transit hub for the illicit ivory and rhino horn trade.

The crate, listed as containing art objects, was imported from Mozambique on board a Qatar Airways flight which transited in Doha before arriving in Malaysia, Hamzah said in a statement.

Hamzah said the destination was listed as being in the town of Nilai in Malaysia's southern state of Negri Sembilan but it was a false address.

Rhino horn has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for thousands of years and is also carved into highly prized libation cups.

Under Malaysian law, it is an offence to import rhino horns without a licence.

The seizure of a haul of rhino horns at Kuala Lumpur International Airport is

 the latest indication that Malaysia has become an Asian transit hub for the

illicit trade (AFP Photo/MANAN VATSYAYANA)

In April last year Malaysia destroyed 9.5 tonnes of elephant ivory that it had seized over the years, in a move intended to deter smugglers who have long used the country as a trans-shipment point.

Malaysia has previously announced in parliament that 4,624 ivory tusks were confiscated between 2011 and 2014.

Ivory from African elephants is typically smuggled to Asia where it is carved into ornaments.

Hamzah also said 2.12 kg of ketamine worth 94.4 million ringgit was confiscated at the airport's budget terminal from a foreigner who arrived last Wednesday from Chennai in India.

"During an X-ray of the man's bag, we found white crystals which we believe was ketamine," he said.

Hamzah said the case was being investigated under the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 which carries a mandatory death penalty upon conviction.

China to ban ivory trade by end of 2017: media

Yahoo – AFP, December 30, 2016

China has a stockpile of ivory purchased with CITES approval in 2008,
which it releases for sale with certification (AFP Photo/FRED DUFOUR)

Beijing (AFP) - China will ban all domestic ivory trade and processing by the end of 2017, state media reported Friday, a move hailed by activists as a "game changer" for African elephants.

African ivory is highly sought after in China where it is seen as a status symbol -- prices for a kilo (2.2 pounds) can reach as much as $1,100.

"China will gradually stop the processing and sales of ivories for commercial purposes by the end of 2017," the official Xinhua news agency said, citing a government statement.

"Before that deadline, law enforcement agencies will continue to clamp down on illegalities associated with the elephant's tusk," Xinhua added, citing an official with the State Forestry Administration.

The announcement follows Beijing's announcement in March to widen a ban on imports of all ivory and ivory products acquired before 1975, after pressure to restrict a trade that sees thousands of elephants slaughtered every year.

Major trafficking routes of large-scale African ivory consignments 2000-2015

 (AFP Photo/John SAEKI, Adrian LEUNG)

Xinhua said the complete ban would affect "34 processing enterprises and 143 designated trading venues, with dozens to be closed by the end of March 2017".

"This is great news that will shut down the world's largest market for elephant ivory," Aili Kang, executive director of the Wildlife Conservation Society in Asia, said in a statement.

"I am very proud of my country for showing this leadership that will help ensure that elephants have a fighting chance to beat extinction. This is a game changer for Africa's elephants."

Conservationists estimate that more than 20,000 elephants were killed for their ivory last year, with similar tolls in previous years. The WWF campaign group says 415,000 of the animals remain.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which took effect in 1975, banned the ivory trade in 1989.

China permits the resale of ivory bought before the 1989 ban -- and also has a stockpile purchased with CITES approval in 2008, which it releases for sale with certification.

WWF also praised China's move to a complete ban but called on the Chinese territory of Hong Kong to bring forward a plan to end its ivory trade by 2021.

WWF said legal research published by the conservation group shows an ivory ban could be imposed "much sooner under current Hong Kong law".

"With China’s market closed, Hong Kong can become a preferred market for traffickers to launder illegal ivory under cover of the legal ivory trade," said Cheryl Lo, senior wildlife crime officer at WWF.

The United States -- the world's second-largest consumer of illegal ivory after China -- announced in June a near-total ban on the trade of African elephant ivory but with notable exemptions including antiques.

Related Articles:

One-year ban on ivory carving imports to China (28-02-2015)

Chinese officials 'on illegal African ivory buying sprees' (6-11-2014)

UN Security Council declares war on ivory poachers, traffickers

Sri Lanka bans use of young elephants for work

Yahoo – AFP, November 23, 2016

A buddhist monk feeds fruits to an elephant at a Buddhist temple in Sri Lanka
(AFP Photo/Ishara S.Kodikara)

Sri Lanka unveiled tougher laws Wednesday, including a ban on using young elephants for logging and other physical work, as part of a crackdown on cruelty to domesticated wild animals.

Wildlife Minister Gamini Jayawickrama Perera said the cabinet approved new regulations imposing tough conditions on owners of elephants, which are considered sacred by Buddhists in Sri Lanka.

The animals are also legally protected but are often subjected to cruel treatment by some owners.

Under the new regulations seen by AFP, owners are banned from using working elephants below the age of 10 years while those under five years cannot be used in parades, even at religious festivals.

There are 41 new conditions aimed at ensuring minimum standards of care, including the daily diet that should include fresh fruit in addition to leaves and vegetables.

Owners must also take their elephants for daily walks of not less than five kilometres (three miles) and the animals must be allowed two and a half hours for bathing.

The minister is also seeking to regulate the use of elephants in movie productions.

Elephants cannot be made to fight each other on camera. Flash or floodlights cannot be shone on the animals and letting off firecrackers near them is also banned.

Sri Lanka elephant owners must take their elephants for daily walks of not less 

than 5km (AFP Photo/Ishara S.Kodikara)

Those violating the new regulations could lose their ownership licence and face up to three years in jail.

The new laws come into force as the authorities investigate allegations that over 40 baby elephants had been stolen from national wildlife parks over the last decade and are being kept as pets.

Asian elephant expert Jayantha Jayewardene said the new rules were welcome.

"The regulations are a step in the right direction, but it will be difficult to enforce things like the quality and the quantity of food that should be given to each animal," Jayawardene told AFP.

Many rich Sri Lankans keep elephants as pets to show off their wealth, but there have been numerous complaints of ill treatment and cruelty.

Capturing wild elephants is illegal. Official records show there are about 200 domesticated elephants in a country where the population in the wild is estimated at about 7,500.

Sri Lanka arrests two men for torturing sea eagle

Yahoo – AFP, 10 March 2016

Eagles are regarded as a "highly protected" species under Sri Lanka's strict
 conservation laws (AFP Photo/Ted Aljibe)

Sri Lankan police Thursday arrested two men for torturing a sea eagle after pictures on social media showed the endangered bird being skinned alive and its legs cut off.

Police at the beach resort of Habaraduwa, 130 kilometres (80 miles) south of the capital Colombo, made the arrests after a public outcry over the photos which were published on Facebook and in local newspapers.

"Our intelligence unit was able to track down some of the men involved," Habaraduwa police chief Udaya Kumara said by telephone. "We arrested two and we are looking for another three who were in the photos."

Photos showed a group of men watching the bird being skinned by at least one man with a knife, while another filmed the incident on a mobile phone.

Inspector Kumara said the pair were being charged under Sri Lanka's flora and fauna act and could be sentenced to five years in prison if convicted.

Eagles are regarded as a "highly protected" species under the country's strict conservation laws.

The arrests came a day after a magistrate in Colombo remanded a Buddhist monk in custody on a charge of illegally keeping a two-year-old baby elephant at his temple. Elephants are considered sacred in Sri Lanka.