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Number of smuggling cases involving ivory, pangolin scales and rhino horn has 'dropped significantly' since 2021, government says. Hong Kong has seen no "significant seizures" of smuggled ivory and pangolin scales since 2021, the government has said, attributing it to heavier penalties while animal rights groups pointed to international efforts in tackling the illegal wildlife trade as also helping.

In a landmark joint operation, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), supported by the Wildlife Justice Commission has successfully arrested two major wildlife traffickers in Nigeria. These arrests are linked to the significant seizure of 1.58 tonnes of ivory at Lach Huyen International Port, Hai Phong, Vietnam on 27 March 2024. Comprehensive intelligence-led investigations by the Wildlife Justice Commission in response to the Hai Phong seizure led to the identification and location of both the alleged shipper and supplier of the ivory.

China ranked as the top market for rhino horns over the past decade, but the country has taken steps to crack down on smugglers, according to a report from the Wildlife Justice Commission (WJC), a non-profit foundation based in The Hague. From 2012 to 2021, nearly 9,600 rhinos were poached from across Africa and 7.5 tonnes (8.3 tons) of illegal horns were seized globally, the WJC said, citing its analysis of more than 670 seizures. According to the report released on Thursday, "the demand for rhino horns as a criminal commodity shows no signs of abating".

South African marine law enforcers have arrested four people, suspected of "poaching" lobster and abalones in Table Mountain National Park, the South African National Parks (SANParks) said on Friday.

Improved law enforcement and more effective disruption of criminal networks led to the decline in the number of rhino poaching in Namibia in 2020, according to a report released Friday. On the other hand, significantly more rhino horns were seized during 2020 than in 2019, the Combating Wildlife Crime in Namibia Annual Report 2020 states. The report states that the arrests during 2020 have included a number of high-level perpetrators, with significant international connections.

17 people sentenced for moving millions of dollars in tusks from West Africa as part of the biggest illicit network of its kind in China. Life terms show authorities are coming down hard on illegal trade, campaigner says.

Namibia is dehorning most of its endangered black rhinos in an effort to curb poaching, official said Thursday. According to Environment Ministry spokesperson Romeo Muyunda, Namibia has dehorned about 208 rhinos this year, bringing the total number of dehorned rhinos to 666 since 2018.

Namibia has lost 17 rhinos and two elephants to poaching since the beginning of the year, the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism said Tuesday.