28 Oct 2025
New research reveals 99% of globally consumed eels are from threatened species as €2.5bn trafficking industry evades enforcement efforts Photo by Natalia Gusakova The illegal trade in European eels has been confirmed as Europe’s biggest wildlife crime, worth approximately €2.5 billion annually, whilst new scientific research reveals that over 99% of freshwater eels consumed worldwide […]
04 Jun 2024
Walrus, narwhal, killer whale (orca), and sperm whale are set to receive greater legal protections under the UK’s ban on importing, exporting and dealing in items containing ivory, the Government has announced. The species are already threatened by climate change, and the continuing trade in their ivory may exacerbate these threats and make their long-term survival […]
22 Nov 2022
More than 50 species of sharks are to be given protection from over-exploitation in what’s being seen as a milestone for shark conservation. Nearly 200 countries have voted to add a raft of sharks to the list of species protected under global trade rules, the BBC reported. The news follows repeated and increasing calls for […]
15 Nov 2022
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or CITES, a multilateral agreement, currently lists nearly 70 elasmobranch fish species in its three appendices. These include manta rays (Mobula spp.), mako sharks (Isurusspp.) and sawfishes (family Pristidae). CITES is a United Nations agreement that is binding in 184 countries and limits […]
26 Jun 2022
In response to the alarming decline of global shark populations, a group of countries from around the world have today announced a groundbreaking effort to control the unsustainable global trade in shark fins, which threatens to push these ecologically important predators to extinction, The Wildlife Conservation Society has said. The Government of Panama is leading […]
27 Aug 2019
BBC ‘Countries have agreed to strengthen protections for 18 threatened species of sharks and rays, including those hunted for their meat and fins. The proposal was passed at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) on Sunday. The newly protected species include mako sharks, wedgefishes and guitarfishes. A demand for shark fin soup […]