A court in Tanzania has convicted and sentenced Yang Feng Glan, infamously named ‘The Ivory Queen’ and two of her associates to 15 years in prison. This is welcomed news signaling an end to a 5 year protracted case where Ms. Yang and two Tanzanians were charged with economic crimes for trafficking in more than 706 pieces of elephant tusks in 2014.
On August 30, WildlifeDirect hosted Richard Turere and Tiassa Mutunkei, two amazing youth who represent the younger generation in Kenya that are passionate about conserving our wildlife. Over the years, WildlifeDirect has walked with these young wildlife warriors over the years and supported them in their quest to pursue conservation goals and inspire others to follow suit.
A High Court Judge set free a convicted ivory trafficker, Feisal Ali Mohammed, who was serving a 20 year sentence and a penalty fine of 20 million shillings (USD 200,000). Feisal had already served two years of his sentence after being found guilty of trafficking in 2,152 kilograms of elephant ivory before the High Court reversed his conviction and sentence.
There are three Kenyans on INTERPOL’s worlds’ most wanted criminal list. They are not terrorists with ties to Al Shabaab or ISIS, neither are they drug traffickers. They are not even human traffickers or illegal arms dealers. They are all elephant ivory traffickers.
On June 23, the Great Grevy's Rally results were released at the Great Grevy's Ball 2018 in Laikipia. Despite many challenges that faced Kenya, Grevy’s zebras have weathered the prolonged drought, increased competition with livestock and increased poaching and disease.
As the first quarter of 2018 comes to a close we reflect on the highs and the lows for conservation. Poaching is down and our court monitoring work reveals greater number of convictions and jail sentencing.
Today is International Women’s Day. We can’t keep complaining about how men treat us when we don’t treat each other fairly, with compassion and empathy. Let’s do something to make it mean something.
Somewhere in Northern Kenya lies a gem. A stunningly beautiful but endangered zebra that many Kenyans have never heard about, let alone seen. This is the story of the Grevy’s zebra. A rare Kenyan heritage that needs to be protected before it goes extinct.
Global March for Elephants, Rhinos and Lions By: Trish Sewe & Wilkister Adema Nairobi-October 9, 2017: On a beautiful Saturday morning of October 7, thousands of marchers streamed in at the National Museums of Kenya in Nairobi to be part of a worldwide call to action to condemn the poaching of elephants, rhinos and the trafficking of wildlife trophies. The Global March for Elephants, Rhinos and Lions is a global movement, which calls upon governments, the civil society, grass root communities and all stakeholders to be proactive and collaborative in order [...]
Burn horns, save rhinos By: Paula Kahumbu and Andrew Halliday Nairobi-September 22, 2017: Today, September 22, is World Rhino Day. Rhinos were once widespread across Asia and Africa and even in Europe, where they are depicted on cave paintings. Today their situation is precarious. The world population of the northern white rhino now consists of 5 individuals. Sudan, the last surviving male, is now beyond breeding age. He and two female companions are living out their lonely final years under the care of Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya. Three [...]
