Facebook Allegedly Making Profit on Wildlife Trafficking of Endangered Species

An Associated Press article indicates that Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook are making a profit by selling ads on pages that are operated by illegal wildlife traffickers. The pages sell the body parts of endangered animals, according to a complaint filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Facebook has allegedly been making money off of the sellers of items like elephant ivory, rhino horns and tiger teeth. The article from the  Associated Press includes a screen grab of a Facebookgroup page displaying buckets full of the teeth. See atop this page.

According to the complaint, Facebook is violating its responsibilities as a publicly-traded company by knowingly profiting from the criminal trafficking of endangered species. The anonymous whistleblower complaint was filed in August 2017 by the law firm of Kohn, Kohn and Colapinto.

Facebook released a statement saying it does not permit the sale of wildlife, endangered species or their parts, and that it removes groups that have been identified as engaging in illegal conduct. However according to the statement from Kohn, Kohn and Colapinto, a months-long investigation of various social media platforms by the law firm’s undercover team found “rampant wildlife activity in two places: Facebook and Instagram.”

Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/10/facebook-puts-ads-on-pages-illegally-selling-animal-parts.html

Christopher J. Gervais, FRGS
Twitter: @CJGERVAIS
Christopher@WCFF.org

Wildlife Conservation Film Festival
October 18-28, 2018 | New York, NY
http://www.WCFF.org
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Dame Daphne Sheldrick, DBE

With great sadness we announce the passing of Dame Daphne Sheldrick, DBE. She was  leader in wildlife conservation for over 60 years. An author, conservationist and expert in animal husbandry. Co-warden of Tsavo National Park and created the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Nairobi, Kenya. A pioneer to save orphaned elephants, rhinos and many other species.

The WCFF mission is to inform, engage and inspire wildlife conservation through the power of film. Join us for our eight year anniversary October 18-28, 2018. Ten days with over 100 documentary films screened, many World and North America premieres. Panel discussions, receptions, field trips, networking, virtual reality/360 and more. All Access Film Festival passes are available now for purchase: wcff.org/nyc-festival-2018/

Contact: info@wcff.org to join the planning committee. Sponsor the film festival, advertise on the big screen during the outdoor summer series and the October festival. Take a page in the full color program book to be distributed in USA, China and other countries.

 

Christopher J. Gervais, FRGS
Twitter: @CJGERVAIS
Christopher@WCFF.org

Wildlife Conservation Film Festival
October 18-28, 2018 | New York, NY
http://www.WCFF.org
Facebook.com/WCFForg
Twitter: @WCFF_org
Instagram: @wcff_org
Vimeo.com/wcff
LinkedIn: Wildlife Conservation Film Festival

“A Herd of Orphans” – WCFF

“A Herd of Orphans” produced & directed by Kelly Bakos, screens in New York, NY this October at the WCFF eight year anniversary.

Synopsis: When poachers kill adult elephants for their ivory, the calves that are left behind are orphaned, homeless and and unable to survive without the care of a herd. This endearing documentary film takes us on a journey to Zambia, Africa to meet these young elephants and explore the orphanage that gives these calves a second chance as A Herd of Orphans

WCFF is the premiere international film festival for wildlife. Our mission is to inform, engage and inspire wildlife conservation through the power of film. Join us for our eight year anniversary in New York, NY, October 18-28, 2018. Ten days of film screenings, panel discussions, receptions, field trips, networking, Virtual Reality and more.

Contact: info@wcff.org to join the planning committee. Sponsor the film festival, advertise on the big screen during the outdoor summer series and the October festival. Take a page in the full color program book to be distributed in USA and other countries.

Christopher J. Gervais, FRGS
Twitter: @CJGERVAIS
Christopher@WCFF.org

Wildlife Conservation Film Festival
October 18-28, 2018 | New York, NY
http://www.WCFF.org
Facebook.com/WCFForg
Twitter: @WCFF_org
Instagram: @wcff_org
Vimeo.com/wcff
LinkedIn: Wildlife Conservation Film Festival

Wild Earth & Safari Live

We are pleased to announce a new partnership between the WCFF and Wild Earth TV. Every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 09:00-10:30 EST we will broadcast on our Facebook page Safari Live. Sign up today https://www.facebook.com/WCFForg/ to enjoy this great program. This many of the free education outreach programs WCFF will offer this year.

Learn more about wildlife conservation and protecting global biodiversity through the power of film. Join us for our eight year WCFF anniversary, October 18-28, 2018 in New York, NY. Ten days of film screenings, panel discussions, receptions, field trips, networking events, virtual reality programs and more.

Contact: info@wcff.org to join the planning committee Sponsor the film festival, advertise on the big screen during the outdoor summer series and/or October festival, Take a full or half page ad in the full color program book to be distributed in New York and China.

Christopher J. Gervais, FRGS
Twitter: @CJGERVAIS
Christopher@WCFF.org

Wildlife Conservation Film Festival
October 18-28, 2018 | New York, NY
http://www.WCFF.org
Facebook.com/WCFForg
Twitter: @WCFF_org
Instagram: @wcff_org
Vimeo.com/wcff
LinkedIn: Wildlife Conservation Film Festival

China’s New Ban on Ivory

On Sunday, January 31 a total ban on Ivory in China was put into place. President Xi Jinping declared the import and export of elephant ivory to be illegal in the nation that has the  world’s largest importer of elephant tusks for decades.

This ban will greatly reduce the number of elephants killed by poachers in Africa, which at one point was nearly 100 animals a day, over 30,000 annually. The partial ivory ban declared by China in 2017 helped reduce the number of elephants killed by nearly 40%. Now that a total ban is in place in China, conservationists hope this number will be reduced much further. The African Elephant population was near 10 million animals in 1900 and reduced to 1.2 million by the mid 1980’s. Today as few as 300,000 remain on the continent.

Poaching for ivory has been the biggest threat to the survival of the two species of Elephants in Africa, the Savannah and Forest Elephants. Loss of habitat and increased human population is another concern as urban development continues with the expansion of cities and roadways. The human population will soon reach 1 billion on the continent alone and this means less space for wildlife.

The establishment of wildlife corridors, connecting national parks and protected areas from one country to the next is the only hope for elephants, big cats, giraffes and of Africa’s wildlife both large and small.

Christopher J. Gervais, F.R.G.S.
Twitter: @CJGERVAIS
Christopher@WCFF.org

Wildlife Conservation Film Festival
October 18-28, 2018 | New York, NY
http://www.WCFF.org
Facebook.com/WCFForg
Twitter: @WCFF_org
Instagram: @wcff_org
Vimeo.com/wcff
LinkedIn: Wildlife Conservation Film Festival

 

Elephants in the Coffee

The Asian Elephant population is down to just 30,000 in its native habitat of India and southeast Asia. The primary threat for this species is loss of habitat.

This week the award winning film Elephants in the Coffee, produced by Dr. Thomas Grant and D.K. Bhaskar screens in New York, NY at the Wildlife Conservation Film Festival. For a schedule of films, speakers and to attend visit: WCFF.org

‘Elephants in the Coffee’ shows how growth of coffee plantations
​ in Southern India led to deadly conflicts between humans and elephants. For more information about this splendid

For more information about this award winning film visit: http://www.elephantsinthecoffee.com/

 

 

All Legal Ivory Trading from Largest Market to End This Year

Elephant populations everywhere are in grave danger, with species ranging in classification from vulnerable to critically endangered. The biggest causes of their fragility are habitat encroachment and poaching, which claimed 20,000 elephants in 2015, more than were born that year. Interestingly, these two causes may intertwined: in the minds of many locals whose livelihood depends on cultivating the land, habitat encroachment seems to necessitate killing or removing the elephants who live there, which in turn provides the perfect opportunity for poachers to swoop in and take the ivory that is in such high demand around the world. The UN Environment Programme found that over 63% of elephant rangelands will be occupied by humans by 2050.

Though an international ban on the once-legal ivory trade passed successfully throughout the ‘80s, political corruption and an illegal crime ring filled the void: in 2011, poaching caused 75% of elephant deaths worldwide. The ban had a fatal loophole, allowing ivory obtained prior to the ban to be sold, allowing poachers to claim the ivory was much older than it actually was.

Recently, China took great strides in cutting back on this dangerous and swiftly-accelerating industry, creating a plan to ban all trade by the end of 2017. “It’s a game changer and could be the pivotal turning point that brings elephants back from the brink of extinction,” said Elly Pepper at the Natural Resources Defense Council. Conservationists are hopeful that other countries will take note and implement their own measures to counteract this deadly trade, allowing elephant populations to recover before they face critically low numbers.

Source: Caughill, Patrick. “The Biggest Ivory Market in the World will End All Legal Trading in 2017.” Futurism. 4 January 2017.

Wildlife Conservation Film Festival

Biodiversity & Wildlife Crime Conference
Christopher J. Gervais, F.R.G.S.
Founder & CEO
Christopher@WCFF.org
www.WCFF.org

Facebook.com/WCFForg
Twitter: @WCFF_org
Twitter: @CJGERVAIS
Instagram: @wcff_org
Vimeo.com/wcff
dailymotion.com/WCFF1
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“Yahoo” allows the trade of Ivory

Internet company Yahoo has been accused of aiding in the slaughter of elephants by allowing the trade of ivory on its Japanese auction site. Yahoo chief executive Marissa Mayer and Yahoo Japan head Manabu Miyasaka to have been asked to urgently stop all ivory sales from sites/platforms in Japan and all other markets.

It’s estimated that more than 12 tones of elephant tusks and fashioned pieces of ivory were sold on the Yahoo Japan auctions site between 2012 and 2014. Yahoo Japan is a joint venture between Yahoo and SoftBank, a Japanese telecommunications company.

There are several thousand pieces of ivory for sale on the auction site at any one time. On Tuesday, prices ranged from $20 for a trinket to $60,000 for a five-tiered pagoda carved in ivory. Traffic, an anti-wildlife trafficking group, said in a report last year that most ivory products in Japan are sold as hanko – personal seals that are signifiers of status in the country.

Despite Amazon and Google both having banned the sale of ivory on their platforms, and renewed efforts by the US government to stamp out the illegal wildlife trade, conservation groups said they have made little headway with Yahoo’s Japanese operation in recent years.

A Yahoo spokeswoman said: “At Yahoo, we understand the concerns raised by this campaign and we in no way condone the sale of products made with ivory obtained from any animal at risk of extinction. “Yahoo does not accept ads for ivory under our existing policies. Yahoo is an investor in Yahoo Japan and does not have controlling ownership.”

Yahoo owns 35.5% of Yahoo Japan; telecoms firm SoftBank is the largest shareholder, with 36.4%. While Yahoo’s US-based internet business has struggled in recent years, its Asian holdings, including Yahoo Japan and Alibaba, are considered highly valuable.

Yahoo Japan came under fire by the UK’s Environmental Investigation Agency in April 2015 for its sale of whale and dolphin meat, which was found to contain unsafe levels of mercury. The company is Japan’s only online retailer that continues to sell whale and dolphin products.

Wildlife Conservation Film Festival
Biodiversity & Wildlife Crime Conference
Christopher J. Gervais, F.R.G.S.
Founder & CEO
Christopher@WCFF.org
http://www.WCFF.org

Facebook.com/WCFForg
Twitter: @WCFF_org
Twitter: @CJGERVAIS
Instagram: @wcff_2014
Vimeo.com/wcff
dailymotion.com/WCFF1
LinkedIn: Wildlife Conservation Film Festival

More Elephants Need to be Culled?

The Zimbabwe Water & Climate Minister Ms. Oppah Muchingur says her country ‪ has too many elephants ‪and the population needs to be reduced. Minister Muchingur blames the increased poaching ‪of elephants on American policies, as U.S Fish & Wildlife Service  has banned the the import of elephant trophies from Zimbabwe.

After the death of Cecil ‪the lion, America’s three largest airlines also banned the transport of lion, leopard, elephant, rhino, buffalo killed by trophy hunters. ‪‬

“The United states has banned sport hunting‪. An elephant would cost $120,000 in sport hunting but a tourist pays only $10 to view the same elephant,” depriving the country of revenue to fight poaching.”

Wildlife Conservation Film Festival
& Biodiversity Conference
Christopher J. Gervais, F.R.G.S.
Founder & CEO
Christopher@WCFF.org
http://www.WCFF.org

Facebook.com/WCFForg
Twitter: @WCFF_org
Twitter: @CJGERVAIS
Instagram: @wcff_2014
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Caught: The Killers of Elephants

Boniface Matthew Mariango,  “SHETANI” / “The DEVIL”

Boniface Matthew Mariango,  “SHETANI” has spent the past years managing at least 15 poaching syndicates throughout Tanzania, Burundi, Zambia, Mozambique and southern Kenya, according to the Elephant Action League. Last Thursday he was arrested in Tanzania.

This arrest is another substantial breakthrough in Tanzania’s anti-poaching and anti-trafficking efforts, with implications also reaching into neighboring countries. Finally, those directly responsible for illegal Ivory trade are getting caught for the heinous crimes by international law enforcement.

 Yang Fenglan, a Chinese national “The Queen of Ivory,”

It is believed that 96 elephants are killed every day, 35,000 a year in Africa by poachers for their valuable ivory. With only 400,000 elephants left in the Africa wild, it is believed that if this rate of mass murder continues, elephants will be extinct by the year 2025. Breakthrough arrests like Bonicafe Mariango and recently Ms. Yang Fenglan, a Chinese national “The Queen of Ivory,” cannot come soon enough.

Recent commitment to ban elephant ivory by President Barack Hussein Obama and Chinese Present Xi Jinping gives hope for elephants.

Wildlife Conservation Film Festival
& Biodiversity Conference
Christopher J. Gervais, FRGS
Founder & CEO
Christopher@WCFF.org
http://www.WCFF.org

Facebook.com/WCFForg
Twitter: @WCFF_org
Twitter: @CJGERVAIS
Instagram: @wcff_2014
Vimeo.com/wcff
LinkedIn: Wildlife Conservation Film Festival