Let me introduce to you a brave dog named “Da Huang”. He is not an expensive pure-breed dog; nor he is any award-winning celebrity dog. He is but a straying dog in China that was abandoned by his owner……a lovely, caring dog who long for a home.

In his 33-day journey, he helped lost souls with his caring eyes; he encouraged strangers who lost faith….in this journey, he loved and be loved; he save and be saved; he also ran into a number of life-threatening challenges…..

This micro-film was produced by a bunch of volunteers in China who have received no salary or profit at all. Everyone was doing this with the same objective – Spread love among us; raise people’s awareness to the stray dogs and encourage us to adopt dogs rather than buying one.

I sincerely invite you to share this micro-film with your friends if you like it. Our world needs more love.

Publisher: QianYu Culture
Director: HaoShuai
Acting: Aliza Mo, Zhang Chi and more than 100 volunteering actors
Special thanks: Dog trainer “HuaGuLong” and the owner of “DaHuang”

]]> http://careforchineseanimals.net/2013/05/19/micro-film-33-days/feed/ 3 film LAAR film http://careforchineseanimals.net/2013/05/15/400-living-spiders-seized/ http://careforchineseanimals.net/2013/05/15/400-living-spiders-seized/#comments Wed, 15 May 2013 08:21:08 +0000 Action 4 Animal Rights http://careforchineseanimals.net/?p=5365 ]]> Officers of Beijing Customs District said they had seized 400 living spiders and a hundred other insects a few days ago. Customs officers said they suspected that these spiders would fall under the profile of highly endangered species or precious species.

These insects, which were false-declared as “toys”, were imported from a European country and were hidden in some wet tissues and plastic boxes. Customs officers detained the goods according to relevant laws and regulations and later passed them on to the related departments for testing and further disposal.

source: General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China

Animal Care Expo 2013 was held at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville, Tenn., May 8-11.

Isobel, ACTAsia for Animals - China Director, attended the annual Animal Care Expo in Nashville, USA, organised by the Humane Society of the United States.

More than 1900 animal advocates from 40 countries gathered from May 8th- 11th to discuss and learn about a broad variety of animal issues.

Iso: “it was a great opportunity to share experiences with international colleagues. I bring a lot of new knowledge, and new contacts, with me back to China.”

Guitar legend Slash has added his voice to a growing number of rock musicians supporting Animals Asia in its campaign to end bear bile farming.

Support from the British American former Guns N’ Roses guitarist follows similar messages of support from new Animals Asia US ambassador Matt Sorum, a former bandmate of Slash’s in both Guns N’ Roses and Velvet Revolver, as well a video (see below) featuring rock legends Joe Elliott (Def Leppard), Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple), Duff McKagan (Guns N’ Roses), Steve Stevens (Billy Idol), Gilby Clarke (Guns N’ Roses), and Sebastian Bach (Skid Row) – currently touring as Kings of Chaos.

Speaking in a YouTube clip Slash, a man of notoriously few words, says:

“Over 10,000 bears, mainly moon bears, are kept in tiny metal cages for as long as 30 years and cruelly milked for their bear bile – Animals Asia is working hard to stop this cruel practice.” 

Animals Asia founder Jill Robinson said:

“The support from Matt, Slash and Kings of Chaos has been just incredible. Every day we are receiving messages of support from rock fans across the world. From as far afield as South America and Eastern Europe – people who it would have been almost impossible to reach otherwise. Their love of rock music unites them just as they are now uniting with us in our campaign to end bear bile farming. 

“It is so very moving to see people lining up behind us in this way, alongside Chinese activists – all of us committed to shining a spotlight on this awful practice and ultimately ending it once and for all.”

Read more and support Animals Asia http://www.animalsasia.org/

Li Binging’s visit to Kenya will focus on the far-reaching impacts of the illegal ivory trade. In the past decade, the number of elephants illegally killed in Africa has doubled, according to a recent UNEP study. Photo: Georgina Goodwin.

On a fact-finding mission to Kenya, film actress Li Bingbing – one of China’s most popular celebrities and a rising Hollywood star – has urged greater effort by governments and consumers to combat illegal wildlife trade.

Li Bingbing said citizens and the business community in Asia can play a crucial role in preventing the illegal killing of elephants in Africa by saying no to ivory products. The major recent spike in elephant killings – now at their highest levels in around a decade – is threatening the future of some elephant populations and the livelihoods of millions of people linked to tourism.

The visit marks the first overseas engagement for Li Bingbing, recently named ‘Asian Star of the Year’ by Variety magazine, in her role as Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). A dedicated environmental campaigner, Li Bingbing founded the L.O.V.E Green Movement in 2009 which encourages Chinese citizens to adopt resource-efficient, low-carbon lifestyles. She has extensively promoted the Think.Eat.Save: Reduce Your Foodprintcampaign by UNEP and partners across social media networks in China. The campaign aims to reduce food waste and food loss worldwide.

Earlier today, Li Bingbing visited the renowned David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust near Nairobi, where young elephants, many of whom have been orphaned due to poaching, are cared for and often returned to the wild. The actress also viewed a huge stockpile of ivory at the headquarters of the Kenya Wildlife Service, mostly seized from poachers.

“The current poaching crisis raises major concerns about the survival of elephants and rhinos here in Kenya,” said Li Bingbing during a press conference at UNEP headquarters in Nairobi.

“But there are also other, far-reaching impacts. Illegal killings of elephants are being linked to organized crime and the funding of armed militia groups. Many consumers in Asia do not realize that by buying ivory, they are playing a role in the illegal wildlife trade and its serious consequences. As global citizens, we need to take responsibility by learning more about the potential impacts of our lifestyle choices,” she added.

A regular on red carpets from Hollywood to Cannes, Li Bingbing is among the most recognized faces in China and counts over 20 million followers on Chinese social media networks among her many fans. She has starred in a number of high-profile English-language films, including the most recent installment of the hit ‘Resident Evil’ series and ‘The Forbidden Kingdom’ with Jackie Chan and Jet Li.

Rise in Illegal Killing of Elephants

In the past decade, the number of elephants illegally killed in Africa has doubled, while the ivory trade has tripled, according to a recent study by UNEP and partners, Elephants in the Dust

Data from the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) monitoring programme ‘Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants’ (MIKE), shows that 17,000 elephants were illegally killed in 2011. MIKE covers areas home to around 40 per cent of African elephants, meaning the true figures may well be even higher. Indications are that the number of elephants killed in 2012 ran into the tens of thousands.

In Cameroon, up to 450 elephants were killed early last year. Profits from poached ivory are believed by some experts to be supporting armed conflict in the region.

Demand for illegal ivory remains highest in the rapidly growing economies of Asia, particularly China. Large-scale seizures of ivory destined for Asia have doubled since 2009. Weak governance in source, transit and destination countries is also contributing to the problem.

“Rising wildlife crime in Kenya and other parts of Africa is an issue of global concern, impacting many regions of the world. Profits from the high price of elephant ivory and rhino horn are being linked to criminal networks involved in the illegal drugs trade, illegal logging, and human trafficking according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime,” said UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner.

“UNEP, CITES and partners are working together to improve collaboration between customs, police forces and national governments to tackle this black market. But illegal wildlife trade can only be eradicated if the demand for products disappears. Li Bingbing’s work to highlight the multiple costs of illegal trade can reach millions of consumers, and encourage sustainable choices that can support the survival of Africa’s elephants,” added Mr. Steiner.

UNEP recently signed an agreement with the city of Shanghai – home to 23 million people – to display a series of photographs in the underground rail network highlighting illegal wildlife trade. The images by seven leading international wildlife photographers will draw attention to the black market in elephant ivory, rhino horn, skins, fins and flowers, which is threatening the survival of many endangered species.

A film, Elephant in the Room, produced in partnership with CITES, will be displayed in Shanghai’s main city square. The film traces the origins of an ornament made from illegally-sourced ivory and ends with the tagline, ‘when we stop buying, they stop dying’.

In a joint effort by UNEP and the NGO Save the Elephants, Li Bingbing will travel to the Samburu National Reserve in northern Kenya this week, where she will meet with wildlife experts and visit sites where elephants have recently been killed by poachers.

“An excessive demand for ivory is at the root of the rise in the illegal killing of elephants, and attempts to save them will fail unless this is tackled,” said Iain Douglas-Hamilton, Founder and CEO of Save the Elephants.

“Appetite for ivory can be changed, as it was in the US, Europe and Japan. The reality of what is happening to elephants in Africa must be communicated – such as through the work of Li Bingbing and other celebrities – in ivory consumer countries. If it is not, the outlook for elephants looks very bleak,” he added.

“With the current trend of elephant poaching for ivory across its range, there is a risk of sending elephants to extinction,” said Patrick Omondi, Head of Species Conservation and Management at the Kenya Wildlife Service.

“Global citizens need to come together to fight this internationally organized wildlife crime. A clear strategy on demand reduction in consumer states will go along way in saving the African elephants,” he added.

Besides illegal killings, elephants are also threatened by the increasing loss of habitat in around 29 per cent of their range areas – primarily as a result of human population growth and agricultural expansion. According to the Elephants in the Dustreport, this figure could rise to 63 per cent by 2050, posing a major additional threat to the long-term survival of the species.

Global Illegal Wildlife Crime

The World Wildlife Fund estimates the global illicit trade in wildlife to be worth at least US$19 billion per year, making it the fourth largest illegal trade in the world after narcotics, counterfeiting and human trafficking.

Reptiles, sharks, great apes, and certain timber species are among the flora and fauna most affected by illegal wildlife trade.

A recent UNEP study showed that almost 3,000 live great apes are being taken from the forests of Africa and Southeast Asia each year. The main markets for the illegal trade in chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans include the tourist entertainment industry, disreputable zoos, and individuals who wish to buy great apes as exotic pets.

Research by UNEP and INTERPOL estimates that between 50 to 90 per cent of logging in key tropical countries of the Amazon basin, Central Africa and South East Asia is being carried out by organized crime. This is threatening attempts to reduce deforestation as well as efforts to combat climate change under initiatives such as Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD or REDD+).

Despite ongoing challenges, positive steps are being taken to tackle environmental crime and ensure sustainable trade.

During the recent Conference of the Parties to CITES held in March 2013, some 170 government backed moves to afford increased protection status to hundreds of timber species, certain tortoises and turtles, and other plant and animal species. Five shark species and manta rays were also brought under CITES controls.

Other actions include the establishment of Project Leaf (Law Enforcement Assistance for Forests) – a recent consortium of forests and climate initiatives that aims to combat illegal logging and organized forest crime. The project is led by the INTERPOL Environmental Crime Programme and the UNEP’s collaborative centre in Norway (GRID-Arendal), with support from the Government of Norway.

Li Bing Bing: Rhinos Under Threat

_____________________________

中国著名女演员访问肯尼亚，敦促各方努力终结非法象牙贸易

2013年5月6日，内罗毕-带着宣传保护大象的目的来到肯尼亚，中国最受欢迎的名人之一、正在崛起的好莱坞明星-电影演员李冰冰，敦促各国政府和消费者共同努力，打击非法野生动植物贸易。

李冰冰表示，对象牙制品说”不”，亚洲的公民和企业在保护非洲大象免受杀戮中将扮演非常重要的角色。近期主要的大象杀戮（现已达到十几年来的最高水平）正在威胁大象种群的未来和数百万依赖旅游业为生的居民生计。

作为联合国环境规划署亲善大使，此次访问为李冰冰第一次海外活动。李冰冰近日被好莱坞权威杂志《综艺》（Variety）授予”年度亚洲之星”的称号。2009年，致力于环保事业的李冰冰创立L.O.V.EGreen运动，倡导中国公民采取资源节约和低碳的生活方式。她还积极地促进由环境署和合作伙伴发起的思前.食后.厉行节约：减少你的耗粮足迹运动在中国社交媒体上的广泛传播。该运动旨在减少全球范围内的食物浪费和食物损失。

“当前的偷猎危机为肯尼亚的大象和犀牛的生存敲响了警钟，”李冰冰在环境署内罗毕总部召开的新闻发布会上表示。

“但是也有其他的、深远的影响。非法猎杀大象已经与有组织的犯罪和资助武装民兵组织的关系越来越密切。很多的亚洲消费者没有意识到他们购买象牙的行为在非法野生动植物贸易中的作用，和其极严重的后果。作为一名地球公民，我们需要承担责任，了解我们生活方式的选择带来的潜在影响，”她补充道。

从好莱坞到戛纳，李冰冰已成为中国最知名的女演员，并拥有逾2000万的中文社交媒体粉丝。她出演过很多引人注目的英文电影，包括”生化危机5″，以及和成龙、李连杰共同主演的”功夫之王”。

为期一周的肯尼亚之行，李冰冰第一天参观了位于内罗毕附近著名的大象孤儿院。由于象父母在偷猎中被杀害，这里的幼象都是孤儿。它们在这里得到人类饲养员很好的照顾，并在成年后回归野外。

李冰冰同日考察了肯尼亚野生动物保护局（KWS）的大量的库存象牙，其中大部分来自于偷猎者。

非法猎杀大象的数量急剧上升

据环境署和其合作伙伴的最新一份研究报告《尘埃中的大象》，过去的十年里，被杀戮的大象增加了一倍，非法象牙贸易增加了三倍。

根据濒危野生动植物物种国际贸易公约（CITES）监测非法猎杀大象（MIKE）计划的网络监控（大约监控非洲总象群数量的40%），2011年17, 000头大象被非法猎杀，实际数字可能更高。迹象表明，2012年成千上万头大象被猎杀。

去年年初，喀麦隆的450头大象被残忍地杀害。一些专家表示，偷猎象牙的利润将用来支持该地区的武装冲突。

非法象牙需求在亚洲的新兴经济体国家保持快速的增长，尤其是中国。自2009年以来，查获的大规模运往亚洲的象牙数量增长一倍以上。 产地国、中转国和消费国的薄弱管理也是导致非法象牙贸易激增的原因之一。

“肯尼亚和非洲其他地方野生动植物犯罪的上升是全球关注的一个问题，并影响到全球其他很多的地区。高利润的象牙和犀牛角贸易与有组织犯罪联系日益密切，包括毒品贸易、非法砍伐和贩卖人口，”环境署执行主任阿奇姆.施泰纳表示。

“环境署、CITES将与合作伙伴们一起，改进和提高海关、国家刑警和各国政府间的合作，共同打击这一黑市。但是，非法野生动植物贸易的根除，只能依靠产品需求的消失，通过强调打击非法野生动植物贸易的多重成本，李冰冰的参与和努力将改变数以百万的消费者的理念，鼓励可持续的消费需求，进而保护非洲大象的生存，”施泰纳补充道。

环境署近期与上海市签署了一项合作备忘录，将于上海市的地铁站展示一系列关注非法野生动植物贸易的图片。这些图片由七名享誉国际的野生动植物摄影师拍摄，旨在引起公众对黑市的象牙、犀牛角、动物皮毛、鲨鱼鳍和花卉贸易的关注，这些非法贸易正在威胁着地球上很多濒危物种的生存。

由环境署与CITES合作制作的微电影《房间里的大象》，将会在上海的陆家嘴播放。这部电影以追溯非法象牙贸易的来源为线索，片尾的标语是”没有买卖，就没有杀害”。

在环境署和”拯救大象”非政府组织的共同努力下，李冰冰将与本周晚些时候前往位于肯尼亚北部的桑布鲁（Samburu）国家自然保护区，她将访问野生动植物保护专家并实地考察最近惨遭偷猎者杀害的大象的地方。

“过度的象牙需求是导致非法猎杀大象激增的根源。除非解决这一根本问题，否则任何拯救措施都是徒劳，”"拯救大象”非政府组织创始人和CEO伊恩.道格拉斯.汉密尔顿（Iain Douglas-Hamilton）表示。

“对象牙的需求可以改变，就像美国、欧洲和日本。必须通过李冰冰和其他名人，让象牙消费国的消费者们了解正在发生的猎杀非洲大象的事实。否则，大象的生存前景将十分渺茫，”他补充道。

“以当前偷猎大象的趋势，将可能导致大象这一标志性种群的灭绝，”肯尼亚野生动物保护局物种保护和管理部主管奥曼迪（Patrick Omondi）表示。

“全球公民需要齐心协力，共同打击有组织的国际野生动物犯罪。我们需要制定一个清晰的战略，减少消费国的象牙需求，拯救非洲大象的生存，”他补充道。

除了非法猎杀，人口的急剧增长和农业耕地的不断扩张，导致约29%的象群栖息地被丧失，也成为威胁大象生存的重要原因。根据《尘埃中的大象》报告，到2050年该数字将可能增长至63%。自然栖息地的丧失成为长期威胁大象种群生存的又一重要因素。

全球非法野生动植物贸易

世界自然基金会估计，每年全球非法野生动植物贸易值至少达190亿美元，成为仅次于毒品、伪造货币和贩卖人口的第四大非法贸易。

最受非法野生动植物贸易影响的动植物群包括，爬行动物、鲨鱼、类人猿和一些木材物种。

环境署最新一份研究报告显示，每年几乎有3,000只猩猩被从非洲和东南亚的森林中捕捉。黑猩猩、大猩猩和红毛猩猩非法贸易的主要市场包括，旅游娱乐业、动物园和购买大猩猩作为宠物的个人。

环境署和国际刑警组织的研究表明，亚马孙盆地、中非和东南亚的主要热带国家的50-90%的木材砍伐由有组织犯罪执行。这些犯罪威胁到了减少森林砍伐和减缓气候变化的一些倡议，如减少砍伐森林和森林退化导致的温室气体排放（REDD或REDD+）

尽管挑战日益严峻，但是全球已经开始采取积极的措施应对环境犯罪和确保可持续贸易。

在2013年3月CITES召开的缔约国大会期间，170多个政府一致通过将数百种新的木材物种列入CITES保护范围，以及一些龟、海龟和其他动植物物种。五种鲨鱼物种和鳐鱼也被列入CITES保护范围之中。 。

其他的行动包括叶子项目的创立（森林执法援助）- 最近的一个森林和气候倡议财团，旨在打击非法砍伐和有组织森林犯罪。该项目由国际刑警组织环境犯罪计划和环境署全球资源信息数据库(GRID-Arendal)共同成立，并得到挪威政府的支持。

2012年是过去几十年中大象偷猎最惨烈的一年。著名演员、联合国环境署亲善大使李冰冰针对这一标志性物种所面临的偷猎危机推出一个新闻评论风格的公益广告。

2012 was the deadliest year for elephants in decades. Chinese actress and UNEP Goodwill Ambassador, Li Bingbing provides a news commentary-style PSA on the poaching crisis facing this iconic species.

Source: United Nations Environment Programme

Through risk assessment, Customs officers selected an air consignment declared to contain “spare parts” transshipping from Burundi, Africa to Singapore via Hong Kong for examination. Upon X-ray image analysis, the consignment was detected to contain ivory tusks instead of spare parts.

Investigation is still ongoing. Hong Kong Customs will work with the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department to deter the trafficking of endangered species.

Under the Protection of Endangered Species of Animals and Plants Ordinance, any person found guilty of trading in endangered species for commercial purposes is liable to a maximum fine of $5 million and imprisonment for two years.

Hong Kong Customs seized a total of 113 ivory tusks from an air transshipment cargo at Super Terminal 1, Hong Kong International Airport. The seized ivory tusks are 300 kilograms in weight, with value about $3 million.

source: Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department

Rescuers have rushed supplies to Yaan in Sichuan Province after a 7-magnitude earthquake killed at least 179 people and injured 6,700.

The Yaan earthquake was 20th April. Chengdu Aizhijia Animal Rescue and Guangyuan Boai Animal Protection Association have been gone to Yaan to help both human and animals with the tents, goods and dog food.

Guangyuan Boai Animal Rescue Centre Ms Du Yufeng with her husband and volunteers went to Yaan on 22^nd April to rescue and educate people to protect and not give up their pets after disasters

The founder and director of Aizhijia, Ms Chen Yunlian, prepared for the aftermath of the earthquake with other volunteers on the 23^rd of April. Many dogs and cats have been rescued and temporarily housed at a small animal shelter in Ya’an, while some injured and homeless dogs have been taken back to Aizhijia in Chengdu.

Rescue items have already arrived at the earthquake scene and have been distributed to affected villages.

The Head of Quarantine Bureau of Ya’an, on the left, and Ms Chen Yunnian, the director of Aizhijia shelter, negotiate about the animals rescued from the earthquake. Aizhijia and vets from Chengdu brought a number of vaccinations against diseases such as rabies to prevent the dogs in the earthquake area from catching any diseases. He has now promised to not kill dogs unnecessarily in order to prevent spread of disease. This will stop the killing of many animals to stop disease, as what happened in the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake.

Chengdu and Guangyuan volunteers arrive at Ya’an small animal rescue shelter, donating 34 bags of dog food.

A dog that has been rescued by a vet from Chengdu.

Dogs that have been rescued by volunteers from Aizhijia volunteer @行者哈哥

Aizhijia’s Ms Chen with rescued dogs

Two of the puppies were rescued that were buried under rubble for more than 48 hours, but one of them didn’t make it.

An owner gives her dog away for fear of the dog starving, after not eating food for three days. We thank the volunteers@行者哈哥for take this dog back to Chengdu so that his fate would change forever.

This young man Weibo name: Xingzhe Hage @行者哈哥volunteered in many rescues including 3.02 Chongqing  and 3.05 Guiyang dog rescues , and went to the earthquake affected area on the first day to rescue dogs.

A professional rescue dog named Zhuzhu, who helped find life in the other  Earthquake, again helped search for buried people. We are happy that he has returned safely from his mission.

A golden retriever will go back to Chengdu with Aizhijia as its owners cannot provide food for him. They have agreed to take him back once the owner’s situation is better.

Only a few cats have been seen at the rescue sites in the earthquake area, but are much harder to be captured. Volunteers have left out food for them to eat, hoping that they do not mind dog food.

Volunteers work tirelessly overnight at the rescue site

We greatly appreciate the owner of this dog, who was buried under bricks after the earthquake. His owner used her own hands to dig through the building to rescue the dog 2 hours after the quake, injuring her own hands. The dog will be sent to Chengdu for medical care and will back home after recovery. We wish that there were more owners like this.

Volunteers and vets giving vaccinations to any dogs they see in the earthquake area.

Many thanks to all the volunteers and vets, who helped both people and pets after the earthquake.

Great appreciation goes out to the brave professional rescue dogs for rescuing many people. They deserve to be treated better by people.

A rescue dog was working hard to rescue people in a ruin restraurant, but on his upside there was an advertisement of dog meat

a rescue dog

Xiaobao – dog reunited with owner. Their home went destroyed

________________________________________

Dear friends,

Thank you all for your loving concern and support.

Many thanks to Animals Asia @亚洲动物基金 AAF for an urgent donation of 800 imported rabies vaccinations and 30 bags of dog food (15kg per bag); allowing Aizhijia to continuously vaccinate more dogs and protect them from disease, as well as distribute dog owners their share of dog food. We greatly appreciate the co-operation that the dog owners have shown, queuing in lines to wait for vaccinations and making sure that their pets are being taken care of. It is very important that there are as many people as possibly to defend the dogs from Quarantine officers, some of whom seek to exterminate every dog in the earthquake area for fear of disease, whether the dogs are diseased or not. This is what happened in the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake and we will do whatever it takes to make sure the dogs are protected. The situation as of now is still unknown, but more news will come soon. Many thanks go to Aizhijia and the volunteers who have been working tirelessly for many days after the earthquake.

谢谢@亚洲动物基金 AAF 昨晚紧急给雅安灾区捐助800支进口狂犬疫苗和30袋（15公斤／袋）狗粮，使得@爱之家动物救助中心 今天能继续给灾区更多的犬只注射狂犬疫苗，为灾后疾病预防出一份力。也感谢灾区人民主动排队注射疫苗、领取狗粮和维持现场次序，好样的

source: General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China

In January, when exercising control over a flight flew from France, customs officers found 11 rhinoceros horns and its products as well as 36 ivory products in 5 suitcases carried in by two inward passengers. After questioning, the two suspects admitted that they were bringing in the items for profits although knowing that they were prohibited ones. The items were later confirmed by Shanghai Identification Center for Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora as 10 white rhinoceros horns and its products (12,850 grams), 1 white rhinoceros horn cup (128 grams) ,36 African elephant ivory and its products(41,992 kilograms). The case involved a value of more than RMB5 million, according to customs officers.

Around 23:00 on March 2, customs officers at Pudong International Airport noticed a fashionable young man who carried two pieces of checked luggage, when exercising control over a flight from Dubai. Seeing that the man had chosen the nothing-to-declare channel, customs officers stopped him and had his carry-on luggage gone through the x-ray machine check. Customs officers then spotted green shadows on the screen of the x-ray machine that looked like ivory and its products. Later officers found complete elephant tusks and ivory products wrapped by clothes and plastic films in his yellow suitcase. Shanghai Identification Center for Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora confrimed later that the above items consisted of 6 complete African elephant tusks, 4 ivroy carvings made of African elephant tusk and 2 ivory bracelets. The case involved a value of over RMB1.7 million and the man was arrested for being suspected of smuggling in endangered animal and products. The investigation of the case was continuing, said customs officers.

According to the statistics of Shanghai Customs District, customs officers have seized all together 5,055 smuggled endangered animal/plants and products in 2012, 100% up than that of 2011. For the first 2 months of this year, such items seized stood at 839, a year-on-year increase of 300%.

According the Customs Law of the People’s Republic of China and the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Protection of Wildlife, Chinese government prohibits any trade, carrying or mailing into the territory the specimen and the derivative of endangered animals and plants if without the presentation of an import permit. The suspect found doing so is subject to administrative penalty for minor offence or will be prosecuted for his criminal liabilities for heavy offense.

source: General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China