U.S. court ruling complicates Trump’s elephant and lion policy
A new federal ruling against an Obama-era ban on Zimbabwe elephant trophy hunting imports could throw Trump’s trophy hunting policy into even further confusion.
Trophy Hunting News
Trump’s indecision on trophy hunting reignites heated debate
A U.S. decision to allow import of trophy hunted elephants led to public outrage, Trump’s halt to the order, and the revival of a trophy hunting ethics discussion.
Trump puts controversial decision allowing elephant trophy imports ‘on hold’
Last Tuesday, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lifted a ban on importing elephant trophies from Zimbabwe imposed under President Barack Obama in 2014. At a meeting of government officials…
Collateral damage: Snow leopards and trophy hunting in Kyrgyzstan
Update: Since the publication of this story, the IUCN has downgraded the conservation status of snow leopards from Endangered to Vulnerable. We are also interested in hearing informed arguments in…
Trophy hunters overstate contribution of big game hunting to African economies: Report
A new report released by the Humane Society International (HSI) finds that trophy hunters are “grossly” overstating the economic benefits of big game hunting in Africa. HSI timed the release…
Romania announces ban on trophy hunting of bears, wolves and wildcats
On Tuesday, Romania’s government banned trophy hunting of brown bears, wolves, lynx and wildcats. Following protests by environmental groups, the Ministry of Environment announced that it had cancelled an order that…
New video emerges of wildlife abuses by safari company in Tanzania
Green Mile, a safari company that was banned by the Tanzanian government just two years ago after videos surfaced of graphic wildlife abuses by hunters that had engaged the company’s…
After Cecil: lion perturbation, conservation, and value to a global society
Six months after Cecil’s death shook the world, the scientist who had been studying the lion assesses the early days of his research, lion conservation, and the meaning of Cecil’s viral story
‘Where Have All the Animals Gone?’ – a journey through Africa and Asia
In “Where Have All the Animals Gone?: My Travels with Karl Ammann,” author and natural historian Dale Peterson recounts his adventures with Karl Ammann, an eccentric award-winning wildlife photographer, as…
U.S. adds lions to endangered species list, makes it harder to import lion trophies
On Monday, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced that two subspecies of lions -- Panthera leo leo and Panthera leo melanochaita -- would be protected under the Endangered Species…
Humans are ‘super-predators’: unique and unsustainable
We hunt for food, and we hunt for fun. But we are unlike other natural predators, according to a study recently published in Science. We are "super-predators", researchers say. Most…
Zambia lifts hunting ban on big cats
Lions in South Africa's Kruger National Park. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Nine months after Zambia lifted its general trophy hunting ban—including on elephants—the country has now lifted its ban…
South African Airways bans all wildlife trophies from flights
Wildlife trophy room. Photo by: Fabio Venni/Creative Commons 2.0. Trophy hunters may need to find another flight home, as South African Airlines (SAA) has announced a new ban on any…
How black rhinos and local communities help each other in Namibia
Locals are key to Namibia's rhino success even in the midst of a poaching crisis A desert adapted black rhino in north-west Namibia. Photo by: Dave Hamman Photograph. Africa's rhinos…
Zambia ends trophy hunting ban, elephants fair game
Wild cats will remain protected from hunting for now. After 20 months, Zambia has lifted its ban on hunting, allowing trophy hunters to target numerous species in the wildlife-rich country…
Shoot to conserve: Corey Knowlton’s rhino hunt escalates the debate over trophy hunting and environmentalism
Corey Knowlton posing with a bongo he killed. Photo from Corey Knowlton's Facebook page. "After a long conversation with the FBI I have decided to temporarily suspend my activity on…
Predator appreciation: how saving lions, tigers, and polar bears could rescue ourselves
Lioness feeding. Photo by: Cyril Christo and Marie Wilkinson. In the new book, In Predatory Light: Lions and Tigers and Polar Bears, authors Elizabeth Marshall Thomas, Sy Montgomery, and John…
Trophy hunters auction off life of Critically Endangered black rhino
The Dallas Safari Club has auctioned off a permit to shoot-and-kill a Critically Endangered black rhino in Namibia for $350,000. The club says the proceeds from the auction will aid…
Controversial wolf hunt moves to the Midwest, 196 wolves killed to date
Many top predators worldwide remain hated and feared. Photo courtesy of the National Park Service. The hugely controversial wolf hunt in the U.S. has spread from the western U.S. (Montana,…
Photos: emperor penguins take first place in renowned wildlife photo contest
This was the image Paul had been so hoping to get: a sunlit mass of emperor penguins charging upwards, leaving in their wake a crisscross of bubble trails. The location…
Special series
Forest Trackers
- Narco airstrips beset Indigenous communities in Peruvian Amazon
- 15 illegal narco-trafficking airstrips found near Peru Indigenous communities
- Satellite data show bursts of deforestation continue in Indonesian national park
- Fires rip through Indigenous territories in Brazilian Amazon
Oceans
- Peruvian fishers sue for additional compensation after big December oil spill
- Smuggling networks exploit migrant debt to fuel tiger poaching in Malaysia, study shows
- Community-based conservation cuts thresher shark fishing by 91% in Indonesia: Study
- With climate change, cryosphere melt scales up as a threat to planetary health
Amazon Conservation
- ‘World’s largest’ carbon credit deal in the Amazon faces bumpy road ahead
- New conservation model calls for protecting Amazon for its archaeological riches
- Brazil dredges Amazon rivers to ease drought isolation, raising environmental concerns
- ‘We need white men on our side to save the Amazon from destruction,’ 92-year-old Indigenous Chief Raoni says
Land rights and extractives
- Should mining companies consider no-go zones where isolated Indigenous peoples live? (Commentary)
- Brazil sets a date to remove illegal miners from Munduruku land, more details await
- Peruvian logger loses FSC label after latest clash with isolated Mashco Piro
- A national park and its rangers in Bolivia endure persisting road construction, illegal mining
Endangered Environmentalists
- Environmental & rights activists flee and hide as M23 captures DRC’s cities
- Environmental journalist in Cambodia shot and killed by suspected logger
- Vietnam sentences yet another energy expert over renewables research
- Mother Nature Cambodia activists sentenced to prison — again
Indonesia's Forest Guardians
- On a Borneo mountainside, Indigenous Dayak women hold fire and defend forest
- Fenced in by Sulawesi national park, Indigenous women make forestry breakout
- In Borneo, the ‘Power of Mama’ fight Indonesia’s wildfires with all-woman crew
- Pioneer agroforester Ermi, 73, rolls back the years in Indonesia’s Gorontalo
Conservation Effectiveness
- How effective is the EU’s marquee policy to reduce the illegal timber trade?
- How sharing and learning from failures can transform conservation (commentary)
- Is planting trees as good for the Earth as everyone says?
- Failure in conservation projects: Everyone experiences it, few record it
Southeast Asian infrastructure
- An ‘ocean grab’ for a property megaproject leaves Jakarta fishers grounded
- Study: Indonesia’s new capital city threatens stable proboscis monkey population
- Indonesia’s new capital ‘won’t sacrifice the environment’: Q&A with Nusantara’s Myrna Asnawati Safitri
- Small farmers in limbo as Cambodia wavers on Tonle Sap conservation rules
