“ON THE TRAIL” is not a line of short stories worthy of fueling conversations by the coffee machine. If this work number 46 (1,100 events, 184 pages, 912 sources, 6 maps, 224 photos, 6.9 Mb) refers to cotton-headed tamarins and capuchins transported in the underpants of smugglers in Colombia, to parakeet chicks in the boots of a driver at the border between Mexico and the United States, If this issue 46 reveals to its readers that in South Africa abalone by the tens of thousands were slipped into shipping containers in the middle of a cargo of pigs’ stomachs bound for China, it’s not to have a laugh before moving on to other things. It’s to show the world as it is, mutilated by the destruction of animal and plant beauty, undermined by the breakdown of natural ecosystems and threatened by the emergence of health risks for human populations.
TRENDS
– A common theme runs through the entire world, an SOS. From the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United States of America, those responsible for the protection of fauna, flora and the environment are openly complaining about the inadequacy of their resources in the face of the rising tide of aggression, smuggling and trafficking at sea and on land, which is endangering so many protected species or species that deserve to be protected. Drop the act ! Protecting biodiversity was just a decoy, a bit of balm on the wounds and a few ballot papers in the ballot box. When there’s a shortage of shells and the State coffers have to be replenished, governments start by cutting the budgets of ecosystem watchdogs; then, pollution, fires and trafficking are unleashed.
– Poisoning is on the rise, including in the European Union. Agricultural poisons are at the forefront. Vultures, eagles, buzzards, leopards, wolves, tigers and even dolphins are falling victim.
– Electrocution is on the rise in the Indian subcontinent. Elephants die within moments after their trunk or leg comes into contact with an illegal electric fence.
– Trafficking in singing, decorative and, if possible, exotic pets is on the increase. The 24/24 Internet market is gradually replacing fixed-date markets in town squares, both large and small. Delivery by parcel post, coach, sea or air freight is increasing transport fatality rates.
– Animal traffickers and keepers are also consumers or dealers of psychotropic substances. Increasing numbers of reptiles and monkeys are being seized by anti-drug trafficking units.
– “Animal crushing” is also spreading to the UK. It is defined in the United States of America as “actual conduct in which one or more living non-human mammals, birds, reptiles, or amphibians, is purposely crushed, burned, drowned, suffocated, impaled, or otherwise subjected to serious bodily injury”. The European Union lacks vigilance in the face of this scourge and its networks.
ON THE FRONT LINES
India. Prahallad Pradhan, age 37, died in the middle of the night on Saturday May 24, 2025 in the Rajmohanpur Forest Reserve after an exchange of fire with poachers.
Iran. Hedayatollah Didban, aged 51, was shot in the head by fleeing poachers on June 3, 2025. He died instantly.
Thailand. Kritsiri Pinprayun died on the night of Monday May 12, 2025 at around 9.30pm.
He was on patrol with 2 colleagues. It was a full moon. A man known for poaching claims to have mistaken the ranger for a wild boar.
Examples of economic values on the black market according to official sources
1st May – 30th June 2025
The US$ conversion rates used are those applicable during the month of the event
1 skin of Temminck’s ground pangolin = 2,700 US$ (Namibia)
1 kg of pangolin scales = 2,450 US$/kg (Indonesia)
1 ivory cigarette holder = 70 US$ (Indonesia)
2 rhinoceros horns = 85,300 US$ (Poland)
1 tiger cub = 4,680 US$ (France)
1 lion cub = 21,000/30,000 US$ (Thailand)
1 gramme of brown bear gallbladder = 3 US$ (Russia)
1 kg of donkey skin = 20 US$ (Pakistan) – 1 skin weighs around 6 kg
1 young orangutan = 2,135 US$ (Indonesia) and 5,000 US$ (Thailand)
1 canary = 110 à 340 US$ (Réunion Island, France)
1 parrot = 100 US$ (Mexico)
1 keel-billed toucan = 5,000 US$ (United States of America)
1 pair of toco toucans = 17,300/23,000 US$ (France)
1 parrot egg = 950 US$ (China)
1 Chinese hwameis = 600 US$ (China)
1 white cockatoo = 7,650 US$ (Malaysia)
1 kg of Indian peafowl feather shafts = 300 US$ (India)
1 white-lipped pit viper = 1,200 US$ (India)
1 crocodile skin = 1,000 US$ (Moldova)
1 Asiatic toad = 11 US$
1 giant African harvester ant = 1.5 US$ (Kenya)
1 abalone = 8 US$ (New Zealand)
1 purple sea urchin = 1.8/2.3 US$ (Italy)
1 kg of sea cucumbers = 60 US$ (Australia) and 210 US$ (Solomon Islands)
1 kg of sturgeon caviar = 250 US$ (Russia) and 1,043 US$ (Germany)
1 kg of bluefin tuna = 56.8 US$ (Italy)
1 kg of shark fins = 590 US$/kg (Thailand).
June 10, 2025. Soshanguve, Gauteng Province, South Africa.
Rescue of a barn owl chick for sale at a price of 5,000 rand (28 US$).
May 7, 2025. Hinton, Province of Alberta, Canada
Fines ranging from 1,450 to 7,200 US$ for 4 men who poached 4 Mexican bighorn sheep.
June 16, 2025. Province of North Holland, The Netherlands. Seizure of 79 Atlantic puffin eggs.
Atlantic puffin
Cover: Sicklefin devil ray (Mobula tarapacana) with a school of Spratelloides gracilis © Viktor Peinemann (CC BY-NC).
The Bahamas, Belize, Brazil, Comoros, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Fiji, Gabon, Jamaica, Maldives, Panama, Samoa, Senegal, Seychelles, Sudan and Togo will submit a proposal to transfer manta and devil rays of the family Mobulidae (including the sicklefin devil rays Mobula tarapacana) from Appendix II to Appendix I of CITES at the next Conference of the Parties to be held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, from 24 November to 5 December 2025.
June 2025
Beijing-Daxing International Airport, Beijing Autonomous Municipality, China
Seizure by customs from the luggage of a passenger of 226 fish parts that were found to be gills of sicklefin devil rays after expert examination..
“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_46.pdf
French version : https://robindesbois.org/wp-content/uploads/A_LA_TRACE_46.pdf
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