As the poaching crisis gained attention this year, the media reported on the ongoing smuggling efforts of illegal traders. CNN’s Ramy Inocencio reported on “one of the biggest busts of its kind in Hong Kong” when officials seized 1,120 ivory tusks and 13 rhino horns valued at more than $5.3 million.
This past year saw several big names join the fight to reduce the demand for endangered wildlife products. The Clinton Global Initiative launched a campaign to save African elephants while the Obama administration sought input from NGOs, including WildAid to stop demand for products like ivory and rhino horn. The Duke of Cambridge spoke out in support of demand reduction, even in Mandarin, joining us in our latest message that also features iconic athletes David Beckham and Yao Ming.
National security became the focus of several media reports as more evidence linked the trade in illegal wildlife products to groups including Somalia's al-Shabaab and Joseph Kony's Lord's Resistance Army.
Rhinos were poached at a record pace this year. Nearly 1,000 were killed in South Africa for their horns, up from a then record 668 in 2012 and 13 in 2007. The grim reports came directly from South Africa’s Department of Environmental Affairs and were tempered slightly in December with news that Thandi, a rhino who survived poachers taking her horn, is now pregnant.
In 2013 we saw children come together (on a beach) to protect sharks as well as some airlines pledging not to ship fins. Several states in America banned shark fin and even Hong Kong took a stand against shark in soup. However, news that China banned shark fin from state banquets two years ahead of a self imposed deadline sent a message around the globe that will put other governments on notice.
