Australian consumers encouraged to “give flake a break.”
Australian consumers encouraged to “give flake a break.”

The Australian Marine Conservation Society is urging consumers to stop the consumption of flake – a common term used for shark meat. Loopholes in Australia’s national environmental laws unfortunately allows for the ongoing commercial harvest of endangered sharks.

Under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 marine species that are listed as vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered are classified as “no take” species - representing species that cannot be sold or exported. However, there are eight marine species that are listed as “conservation dependent” meaning that they can still be commercially harvested.

Courtesy of Arial Ng.

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Kim McCoyShark, Shark conservation, Flake, Environment, Endangered SpeciesComment
Hong Kong makes first major maritime smuggling bust for 2021.
Hong Kong makes first major maritime smuggling bust for 2021.

Hong Kong Customs and Excise have made their first major maritime smuggling bust for 2021, with more than HK$4 million worth of illicit wildlife products being seized. According to authorities, the contraband was destined for Shekou, Guangdong, and included dried shark fins and seahorses, likely to be derived from endangered species.

Courtesy of Marco Poon

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Kim McCoyShark, Shark Fin, Say No To Shark Fin, Endangered Species, Seahorses, Illegal Wildlife Trade, Illegal WildlifeComment
Proposed ban on keeping pet primates in UK.
Proposed ban on keeping pet primates in UK.

The UK Government has recently announced that people in England could be banned from keeping monkeys and other primates as pets. Up to 5,000 primates are currently living outside licensed zoos in the UK, with animal welfare minister Lord Goldsmith saying many of them are in “misery” due to a lack of space and stimulation.

Under the plans, those who keep them without a zoo licence would need to obtain a new specialist private primate keeper licence to ensure they are meeting zoo-level welfare standards.

Courtesy of Amelia Wang.

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Kim McCoyPrimate, Pets, Pet Shops, Code of PracticeComment
Traces of a potential fifth species of Asian pangolin found.
Traces of a potential fifth species of Asian pangolin found.

To combat wildlife-related crimes on an international scale, DNA forensics techniques have been used to identify which species have been the victim of illegal trafficking activities. Using DNA extracts from two batches of pangolin scales seized by the Hong Kong Customs, a group of scientists from the Kadoorie Farm conducted a phylogenetic analysis in 2015 to identify the species and geographic origins of the seized pangolin scales.

Some five years later in October 2020, a group of scientists from Germany and China took up the study and concluded that there might in fact be a fifth Asian pangolin species.

Courtesy of Louis Cheung

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Kim McCoyPangolin, Pangolin Scales, DNA, Kadoorie FarmComment
European Bison recovering but 31 species declared extinct by the IUCN Red List.
European Bison recovering but 31 species declared extinct by the IUCN Red List.

According to latest update of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)’s Red List of Threatened Species on 10 December 2020, the European bison (Bison bonasus) alongside 25 other species are making a recovery; whilst 31 species have been declared extinct, making a total of 902 species declared as extinct in 2020.

Courtesy of Nicole Liang.

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Kim McCoyEndangered Species, IUCN Red LIst
Pangolin smugglers jailed for trafficking 23 tonnes of scales.
Pangolin smugglers jailed for trafficking 23 tonnes of scales.

On 5 January 2021, a Court in east Zhejiang Province sentenced 17 people to imprisonment for smuggling more than 23 tonnes of pangolin scales into the country.

The scales, worth about US$27.9 million (HK$216 million), were smuggled by the gang from Nigeria in three batches in 2018 and 2019, and would account for the death of around 50,000 pangolins.

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Kim McCoyPangolin, Pangolin Scales, Wildlife Crime, Wildlife Trafficking, Traditional Chinese MedicineComment
Life imprisonment for ivory smuggling ringleaders.
Life imprisonment for ivory smuggling ringleaders.

A Court in Guangzhou handed long prison terms to 17 people - including life imprisonment for the two ringleaders - for running China’s biggest ivory smuggling ring, involving over 20 tonnes of ivory worth more than 1 billion yuan (HK$1.19 billion) from West Africa into Mainland China.

Despite Hong Kong’s legislation and regulation of the illegal ivory trade, enforcement and relevant sentencing tariffs for the illegal sale of protected wildlife products remain lenient. As long as ivory is perceived to be a symbol to convey wealth and status, demand will continue and criminals will eventually outsmart preventative strategies. It is therefore important that preventative strategies work in parallel with educational campaigns to convey the message the ivory should not be perceived as a status symbol.

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Kim McCoyAnimal Law, China, Hong KongComment
Teddy’s Law: Banning the Practice of declawing cats.
Teddy’s Law: Banning the Practice of declawing cats.

The Ontario SPCA and Humane Society have supported a bill introduced by Davenport MPP Marit Stiles that would put an end to the inhumane practice of declawing cats in Ontario, a procedure that can cause a lifetime of pain for cats. Teddy’s Law, as the bill is known, would update provincial animal welfare legislation to ban the practice of declawing cats, unless a veterinarian deems it a necessary medical procedure.

Courtesy of Arial Ng.

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Kim McCoyAnimal Law, Animal WelfareComment