The defaunation bulletin Quarterly information and analysis report on animal poaching and smuggling n°28. Events from the 1st January to the 31th March, 2020 Published on October 6, 2020 Original version in French 1 On the Trail n°28. Robin des Bois Carried out by Robin des Bois (Robin Hood) with the support of the Brigitte Bardot Foundation, the Franz Weber Foundation and of the Ministry of Ecological and Solidarity Transition, France reconnue d’utilité publique 28, rue Vineuse - 75116 Paris Tél : 01 45 05 14 60 “On the Trail“, the defaunationwww.fondationbrigittebardot.fr magazine, aims to get out of the drip of daily news to draw up every three months an organized and analyzed survey of poaching, smuggling and worldwide market of animal species protected by national laws and international conventions. “ On the Trail “ highlights the new weapons of plunderers, the new modus operandi of smugglers, rumours intended to attract humans consumers of animals and their by-products.“ On the Trail “ gathers and disseminates feedback from institutions, individuals and NGOs that fight against poaching and smuggling. End to end, the “ On the Trail “ are the biological, social, ethnological, police, customs, legal and financial chronicle of poaching and other conflicts between humanity and animality. Previous issues in English http://www.robindesbois.org/en/a-la-trace-bulletin-dinformation-et-danalyses-sur-le-braconnage-et-la-contrebande/ Previous issues in French http://www.robindesbois.org/a-la-trace-bulletin-dinformation-et-danalyses-sur-le-braconnage-et-la-contrebande/ Non Governmental Organization for the Protection of Man and the Environment Since 1985 14 rue de l’Atlas 75019 Paris, France tel : 33 (1) 48.04.09.36 - fax : 33 (1) 48.04.56.41 www.robindesbois.org [email protected] Publication Director : Jacky Bonnemains Editor-in-Chief: Charlotte Nithart Art Directors : Charlotte Nithart and Jacky Bonnemains Coordination : Elodie Crépeau Writing: Jacky Bonnemains and Jean-Pierre Edin Research, Assistant Editor and Cartography: Elodie Crépeau, Irene Torres Márquez, Léna Mons, Flavie Ioos, Gaëlle Guilissen, Dylan Blandel and Christine Bossard. Cover : Panthera tigris ssp. tigris © Indianwildlife (CC BY-NC) English Translation : Robin des Bois On the Trail n°28. Robin des Bois 2 Contents Judgment and sanction Condemnation, acquittal, fine... On the Front Lines 4 Seahorses 7 Corals 7 Abalones 9 Human death Guard, ranger, policeman, Conches, Clams, Nautilus, Dates Mussels ... 11 poacher... by firearm or other Gooseneck Barnacles 13 means. Sea Cucumbers 13 Marine and Freshwater Fish 16 Poisoning Marine Mammals 23 By chemicals, pesticides and medicines: cyanide, Carbofuran, Various Marine Species 24 Diclofenac, M99 … Marine Turtles 25 Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles 27 Snakes 32 Trapping Poaching by jaw trap, snare ... Sauria 35 Crocodilians 37 Various Reptile Species 38 Amphibians 39 Full moon Moonlight poaching Insects and Arachnids 39 Birds 41 Bats 58 Pangolins 60 CITES Appendices Primates 67 Guanacos and Vicunas 73 Convention on International Trade in Endange- red Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. Felines 74 182 Member States. Wolves 87 Appendix I : species threatened with extinction. Bears and Pandas 87 Trade in specimens of these species is permitted Zebras 91 only in exceptional circumstances and under import and export permits. Giraffes 92 Hippopotamuses 93 Appendix II : export permit required in order to avoid utilization incompatible with the species Rhinoceroses 93 survival. Import permit if required by national law. Rhinoceroses and Elephants 99 Appendix III : species that are protected in at least Elephants 99 one country, which has asked other CITES Parties for assistance in controlling the trade. In the case Other Mammals 117 of trade from a State that included the species Multi-Species 121 in Appendix III, an export permit of that State is required. Donkeys 135 3 On the Trail n°28. Robin des Bois On the Front Lines March 6, 2020 Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Reserve, AFRICA KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa SOUTH AFRICA Two men suspected of poaching rhinos died in a shoot-out. One of End of February 2020 the two had already been charged Mawana Game Reserve, Kwazulu-Natal Province, with illegal possession of rhino South Africa horns in 2017. A third fled. On the Mr. Beyers Coe- night of March 6, the intrusion of tzee, an ardent the three men had been detected defender of el- and reported in a control room by ephants, tried the thermal cameras that equip the to push back in fence. Despite the technological deployment, 28 the reserve the rhinos have been poached in the reserve since the herd that had beginning of the year.2 breached the fence, crossed a March 10, 2020 © James Glancy small river and Dorset, Limpopo Province, South approached cul- Africa tivated fields. In a private reserve near Lephalale, Two bull ele- a usual hotbed of poaching, an phants who were exchange of fire shook the silence standing behind of the night. The guards had been trees and thickets were startled by the firecrackers alerted by gunshots as early as 3am. A poacher was and considered that there was a threat to all mem- fatally wounded. Two dead and dehorned rhinos bers of the herd. Firecrackers or other devices are were found nearby. A manhunt was launched to commonly used to move away elephants, or even find two fugitives. The call for information is out. to fragment and capture them. Mr. Beyers Coet- The Crime Stop alert number is available 24 hours zee was trampled by the charge. An employee of a day. 3 the reserve who was at the head of the procession could do nothing except shout at him a few min- March 17, 2020 utes before that the elephants were beginning to Nelspruit, Mpumalanga Prov- get angry. ince, South Africa Mr. Beyers Coetzee had been in conflict for some Three bullets at point blank range time with Ezemvelo, the wildlife management in the front left window of the car at body in the province, over the degradation of the 6.30 a.m. on his way to work. Lieu- fence and the elephant excursions. Ezemvelo is tenant-Colonel now threatening to kill the entire herd of elephants, Leroy Brewer died considering that it exposes local residents to deadly instantly. Desig- risks. The friends of the elephants, who were also nated in 2016 as friends of Beyers, oppose this project. the Hawks’ best Dereck Milburn, regional director of the Aspinall investigator, he Foundation, rejects the prospect of a mass inquired about slaughter. “ These are not aggressive elephants the most sen- but they were being pushed hard that day to get sitive and dan- out of the community area and the two bulls got gerous cases in frustrated and this was their normal behaviour.” the rhinoceros © SowetanLIVE “Beyers gave his life to save theirs.” An appeal is industry, in par- being launched to raise the 800,000 pounds (1.04 ticular those of million US$) needed to build a fence to prevent Mister Big and elephants from wandering around and poachers Big Joe, an ex- from infiltrating. Grant Fowlds, author of Saving cop turned horn The Last Rhinos, also says that the elephants have trafficker (“On the done nothing wrong and recalls that Ezemvelo Trail” n°12 p.69, n°21 p.77, n°22 p.79 and 81 and n°23 has been threatening a mass slaughter for 3 years. p.104). Prosecutor Ansie Venter is in a state of shock. “If we can get the area fenced we can build game “Apparently he did his job too well for the criminals’ lodges and roads and bring in tourists and the herd liking” “I knew Leroy for 9 years and we worked to- will grow and grow along with many other animals gether on a large number of cases” “he loved nature, and bring huge prosperity.” Beyers was about to that’s why the rhinoceros cases were so important to conclude an agreement with the local landowners him”. He was 49 years old.4 to increase the size of the reserve from 10,000 to 40,000 hectares. The lives of 31 elephants are on hold. 1 On the Trail n°28. Robin des Bois 4 BENIN March 30, 2020 Chobe National Park, North January 25, 2020 West Province, Botswana. Pendjari National Park, Atacora Department, Border with Namibia. Benin Two gunfire exchanges near the Linyanti Ranger Camp resulted in the death of 5 poachers. “As a professional, prompt and decisive force, the BDF will continue to execute its mission and other assigned tasks, whilst concurrently in collaboration with all Batswana fight a war against the invisible enemy in the form of the © Pendjari National Park National © Pendjari Covid-19 pandemic “ the official statement said. 8 DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO March 3, 2020 Virunga National Park, North Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo Kambale Vyasaki Germain, 28, died in an ambush by Mai-Mai militias, Death by drowning in the Pendjari river of N’Serma according to a statement of the Kataman Sévérin, ranger at the Pendjari National Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation (ICCN). Park during an anti-poaching operation. 5 Germain, 28, was returning to his base with other eco-guards at around 6 p.m. after having carried February 9, 2020 out maintenance work on an electrified fence to Kérémou, Alibori Department, prevent wildlife from venturing into outside crops.9 Benin. Border with Burkina Faso. At around 2 a.m. on the night of Saturday to Sunday, men armed with machetes and shotguns attacked an anti-poaching post on the edge of Pendjari and W parks. They set fire to the shack and left on motorbikes, leaving one policeman dead and 3 others injured. Pendjari, cf. “On the Trail” n°6 p.81, n°7 p.76-77, n°8 p.95, n°10 p.56 and 59, n°13 p.88, n°20 p.114 and n°23 p.93.