OSLO, (Reuters) – Vietnam, Laos and Mozambique are the countries that do the least to crack down on an illegal trade in animal parts that is threatening the survival of elephants, rhinos and tigers, the WWF conservation group said yesterday.
In its ‘Wildlife Crime Scorecard’ report, it said 23 countries surveyed mostly in Africa and Asia, the main sources and destinations of animal parts, could all do more to enforce laws banning a trade that WWF said was increasingly run by international crime syndicates.
“Last year had the largest number of elephants poached in Africa on record,” Wendy Elliott, WWF Global Species programme manager, told Reuters in a telephone interview about the report.
There had been many large seizures of elephant ivory of more than 800 kg (1,760 lbs), she added, a sign that “there is a growing involvement of organised crime in this trade”.
“Poor performances by key countries are threatening the survival of wild rhinos, tigers and elephants”, the WWF said in a statement about the report’s findings, which are due to be presented at a meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species in Geneva (CITES) this week.
CITES bans virtually all trade in elephant ivory, rhino horns and tiger parts – often used in traditional medicines – in order to try to save them from extinction. The animals are also under threat from other factors such as loss of habitat, climate change and pollution.
