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The leaders of a prolific Chinese wildlife trafficking gang have been pardoned in Malawi, sparking concern that renewed poaching will help spread diseases including coronaviruses. Lin Yunhua and his wife Qin Hua Zhang, who led the notorious Lin-Zhang syndicate that operated across southern Africa, were among 15 people sentenced to jail as part of a major crackdown on ivory trafficking.

Demand for South Africa's abalone is so high it underpins an international smuggling trade estimated to be worth nearly £100m each year. The poachers who gather on the windswept beaches of South Africa's rocky Cape coast are immediately recognisable by the tools of their trade. Pick-up trucks drop them off clad in wetsuits and carrying diving cylinders, then they head out into the waves on fast rubber boats. Their work is not for the faint-hearted. The waters can be treacherous and divers must also avoid becoming prey for the area's plentiful great white sharks.

In the dense forest and diverse ecosystem of Liberia, the battle against wildlife crime has been an almost insurmountable task, but the latest report shows that progress is being made. The Wildlife Crime Task Force (WCTF), under the auspices of the Forestry Development Authority (FDA), has shown to be making headway in the battle against illegal wildlife trafficking. Edward Y. N. W. Appleton is an experienced law enforcement expert and now manager at FDA whose work seems to be yielding necessary results in the face of the everyday challenges facing the management of wildlife.

Scores of elephants have been killed for their ivory in Botswana in recent months as a southern African country once considered a sanctuary for wildlife has seen a surge in poaching. Poachers are thought to have killed at least 60 elephants in the past three months in the north of the country and in Chobe National Park, one of the world's top wildlife destinations. Gunmen are particularly targeting the few remaining "big tusker" elephants which have already been hunted to near-extinction.

Despite COVID-19 bringing global travel to a standstill, Wilderness Safaris has rearmed its dedication to conserving and restoring Africa’s wilderness by continuing to support vital conservation projects in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe. This included a recent donation from Wilderness Safaris' Sustainability Fund to support the operating costs of the Scorpion Anti-Poaching Unit (SAPU) until end December 2020.

North-West, Namibia, April 2020/  - In an ongoing partnership with Save the Rhino Trust Namibia (SRT) and the Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET), Wilderness Safaris is proud to report the success of their most recent entirely airborne anti-poaching operation, forming part of a campaign launched last year. Involving two helicopters and a fixed-wing aircraft, the aim of the campaign is to monitor, dehorn and protect black rhino in north-west Namibia.