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Hong Kong Customs on July 11 seized about 2.7 kilograms of suspected scheduled rhino horns, with an estimated market value of about $1 million, at Hong Kong International Airport. Through risk assessment, Customs officers inspected two air postal packets declared to contain "ceramic ornament statues" imported from Spain. Upon inspection, the suspected scheduled endangered rhino horns were found mingled with ceramic products inside the cartons. After a follow-up investigation, Customs officers arrested two men, aged 40 and 33, suspected to be connected with the case.

Trafficking of pangolin scales and ivory from Africa to Asia has dropped sharply and consistently since 2020, according to a Wildlife Justice Commission (WJC) report released Wednesday, signaling a major shift in global smuggling networks. The report, "Disruption and Disarray: An analysis of pangolin scale and ivory trafficking, 2015 - 2024," links the decline to the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on global transport and sustained law enforcement pressure, including arrests of high-level traffickers and disrupted supply chains in Africa.

In the war on poaching, some of the best defenders have four legs. Trained canines are used in some of South Africa's national parks to detect wildlife contraband like rhino horns, pangolin scales, and ivory at airports and roadblocks. Other dogs are trained to track and apprehend poachers in the field. According to Save the Rhino, 9,885 rhinos have been lost to poaching in the last decade. But Carl Thornton, founder and director of Pit-Track K9 Conservation and Anti-Poaching Unit, says the numbers are likely much higher.