poaching

(Newser) - In a rare victory for embattled conservationists, police in northern India yesterday busted a major tiger poaching ring as the gang was negotiating a sale of three tiger pelts and skeletons, AP reports. The remains were believed to be headed to China, where tiger body parts are sold on the...

(Newser) - South Africa's Kruger National Park provides a bizarre but legal service: a legitimate source of animal parts for the world's manufacturers of buffalo upholstery, zebra footrests, and giraffe-bone handgun grips. The park's employees harvest the remains of animals that die of natural causes and store them in stockpiles, taking orders...

(Newser) - Four southern African countries will hold a one-time sale of 200 tons of stockpiled ivory before the start of a nine-year moratorium, in a hard-fought conservation compromise. Proceeds from the blowout will be used in elephant conservation efforts in the future. "It's the best we could achieve for the...

(Newser) - Russia is lifting a fifty-year old ban on hunting polar bears, expressly to save the endangered species from extinction. Poaching has been endemic in Siberia since the injunction, but it's increased since shrinking sea ice has forced bears to search for food on shore, making them easier to kill.