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Leopards are the second-most traded wildcat in the world, despite their international commercial trade being prohibited under CITES, the international wildlife trade agreement. Trophies and body parts - primarily skins, claws, bones and teeth - are the most traded, according to CITES data. However, other data indicate that illegal trade in skins and body parts is widespread in Asia and Africa. Southern African countries, particularly South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe, are major exporters of leopard parts, while the U.S. is the largest importer, according to data from CITES.

A recent report from the Wildlife Justice Commission analyzed trends in ivory and pangolin scales trafficking from Africa over the past decade using seizure data and found that the COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted the illegal trade, with fewer significant seizures reported post-pandemic. The report attributes this dip to pandemic-induced lockdowns, increased law enforcement and intelligence gathering, successful prosecutions, and declines in the prices of ivory and pangolin scales.

In 2019, Malawi dismantled the Chinese-led Lin-Zhang wildlife trafficking syndicate, a major win in its fight against the illegal wildlife trade, thanks in part to funding from the U.S. government. The Trump administration’s recent slashing of international development funds, however, threatens these gains, leaving frontline enforcers and conservation programs without critical support. NGOs across Africa and Southeast Asia, running initiatives from sniffer rat programs to antipoaching patrols, tell Mongabay they're struggling to fill the funding gap.

The U.S., the largest importer of wildlife products in the world, brings in nearly 10,000 species of plants and animals into the country legally, some of which have a high potential to become invasive species. A recent study assessed these imported species and identified 32 as having the highest risk for becoming invasive, posing threats to local ecosystems and to human health.

Lions are the most-traded wildcat in the world, and the only big cat whose commercial trade is permitted under CITES, the international wildlife trade agreement. Lion body parts, including bones, skins, claws and teeth, trophies and live individuals are traded across the world, both legally and illegally. South Africa stands out as a hotspot for the trade due to the flourishing captive lion industry, which also supplies body parts and engages in canned hunting.

A South African court in January sentenced four poachers to several years in prison for two separate crimes committed in Kruger National Park (KNP). The Skukuza Regional Court, which in the past has boasted a near-100% conviction rate and under whose jurisdiction KNP falls, held two South African citizens, Sam Khosa and Solly Selahle, and a Mozambican named Oddis Maluleke, guilty of poaching a rhino and taking its horns in February 2019.

Durban - A Good Samaritan came to the rescue of a poached duiker when he confiscated the animal from its poacher. The Centre for Rehabilitation of Wildlife (Crow) reported that on Sunday it received a call from a concerned member of the public from Hammarsdale, who informed them that he had confiscated a male grey duiker as it was a victim of poaching.

Durban - Two suspects are expected to appear in court on Monday after the Hawks arrested them for being in possession of two ‘recently extracted’ rhino horns, while travelling from KwaZulu-Natal to Gauteng.

Durban - Two suspects were arrested in the posh Zimbali Eco Estate, on the north coast of KwaZulu-Natal, for dealing in elephant tusks.

Durban - Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Barbara Creecy said the department was using integrated approaches to address the increase in rhino poaching and horn trafficking. That was revealed in a parliamentary question from the IFP’s environmental affairs, forestry and fisheries spokesperson, Narend Singh. A total of 249 rhinos were poached for their horn in South Africa from January to the end of June this year and although the number was higher compared to last year, where 166 rhinos were killed, it was less than the 318 rhinos that were poached in 2019.

Durban - Rhino horns worth in excess of R230 million intercepted at the OR Tambo International Airport between July last year and February this year were being kept at a secure location, said Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) Barbara Creecy. She was responding to written parliamentary questions submitted by the DA’s David Bryant. He had asked about the whereabouts of the rhino horns and whether they had been destroyed.

Rhino poaching down from 59 cases in 2013 to zero in 2020, says Kenya Wildlife Service.

The artificial intelligence (AI) cameras installed in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park failed to detect poachers after four dehorned rhinos were found last week. The carcasses were found on different days and appeared to have been killed a few days earlier.