“On the Trail”, English version
“A la Trace”, French version
Quarterly information and analysis report on endangered animals poaching and smuggling
No. 45
1,022 events between April 1 and May 31, 2024
261 illustrations and 4 maps
809 sources, 172 pages, 6.6 MB
Iran
In Oshtran Kuh Protected Area, Lorestan Province, a poacher shoots a forest ranger and flees with his accomplices. The protected area covers 985 km2. The ranger was carried down the mountain on a stretcher and taken to hospital. Oshtoran Kuh is one of the last strongholds of the Persian leopard.
Regarding the nuclear threat in Iran to human and animal populations and the environment, see “White flag on nuclear sites – 2″, press release by Robin des Bois on June 23, 2025.
Ukraine
Return to freedom for a peregrine falcon. Trapped near Kiev by poachers and sold to a resident of Kropyvnytskyi (300 km away) who dreamed of becoming a falconer, it developed an infection. By chance, the apprentice falconer met Viktor Ashirbekov, another Kropyvnytskyi resident with a passion for birds of prey, but whose passion was to care for and release them. After a month and 10 days of close cooperation with ornithologists and veterinarians, the job was done.
Israel
Seizure of 57 tortoises in a house being searched for a common law offence in the seaside resort of Rishon LeZion. Egyptian tortoises and Greek tortoises are still present in Israel and other Eastern Mediterranean countries including Palestine, but their populations are declining because of crushing by civil and military vehicles and bombs, aggression by stray dogs and cats, and catching for the pet market.
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Seizure on April 1, 2024, at Kindu Airport, from the luggage of a female civilian member of the Armed Forces, of 8 grey parrots. They were in a cardboard box, tied and sealed with adhesive tape, and had already died of asphyxiation. The airport serves Goma, Kinshasa and Kisangani.
WELL DONE
– A Franco-French wildlife trafficking operation linking overseas Guiana and mainland France was brought to light. It differed from the cocaine trafficking in its operational mode, but was highly profitable and low-risk both financially and criminally, as confirmed by the judicial outcome of the case. Seven men between the ages of 31 and 68 received suspended prison sentences of 3 to 8 months and fines of 1,000 € (1,100 US$). They had in particular 211 Goliath birdeaters, 3 Mexican redknee tarantulas, 2 Gooty ornamental tarantulas and 3 Antilles pinktoe tarantulas. The NGO Robin des Bois (Robin Hood), which was a civil party in the trial, succeeded in having the court recognise the ecological damage caused by the plundering of tarantulas in their natural environment.
– Following an investigation by MASAK (Financial Crimes Investigation Board) and the cooperation of the Turkish Banks Association, the Istanbul police carried out a large-scale operation in the wildlife trafficking community, which extended to 14 other provinces. 565 living animals were seized. 36 suspects, including Ministry of Forests officials, are being prosecuted.
– The Angolan SIC (Serviço de Investigação Criminal) seized from a man and a woman of Vietnamese nationality 39 whole tusks, 102 half tusks, 95 tusks cut into slices, 7.5 kg of ivory balls, 115 kg of cutting chips, and tools for shaping raw ivory into semi-raw ivory.
– In Morocco, 2,468 kg of sea cucumbers were seized aboard a truck, a clandestine workshop for processing before smuggling was dismantled and 7 people arrested.
PILLAGE
Seizure in the United States of America in a parcel from Portugal of Atlas moths from Asia, declared as “pieces of silk to be used in embroidery works”.
Poaching in Ujung Kulon National Park (Indonesia), the last stronghold of Javan rhinoceroses.
STAY STRONG !
Italy. A year and a half old, his right hind paw amputated, the young wolf who broke free from a trap
will now have to search for a territory and a mate.
THE LEADING RUMOUR OF ISSUE 45
To loosen a fishbone stuck in the throat, all you have to do is place an otter bone on the choking person’s back. Whether common otter, smooth-coated otter or small-clawed otter, all 3 species eat everything in the fish.
COVER
Canopy chameleon, one of the species seized in Madagascar in the luggage of an Israeli citizen travelling to Greece via Addis Ababa.
TO LISTEN TO (IN FRENCH ONLY): “Robin des Bois dans le Poste” n°1
This first Robin des Bois podcast will immerse you in the international trade of glass eels, through the story of a stunning trial that took place in Créteil, a suburb of Paris, in April 2025.
“On the Trail” is carried out by Robin des Bois with the support of the Fondation Franz Weber, the Fondation Brigitte Bardot, donors and members of Robin des Bois and the Séché Environnement group.
English version:
https://robindesbois.org/wp-content/uploads/ON_THE_TRAIL_45.pdf
Version française:
https://robindesbois.org/wp-content/uploads/A_LA_TRACE_45.pdf
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