Poaching on the rise in Central Africa
Yaoundé, Cameroon, 17th June 2013—Elephant populations in Central Africa fell by around half between 1995 and 2007 due to poaching and illegal wildlife trade and the speed of the massacre is increasing: 2011 was a record year for large-scale ivory seizures and the highest number of elephants were killed since the 1980s.
Unaddressed, wildlife crime feeds international crime and undermines the economic and social prospects of the countries of Central Africa. Three COMIFAC member countries, namely Cameroon, Chad and Gabon, have engaged their armed forces to combat poaching in national parks and to strengthen border controls in an effort to address the security, economic and financial impacts of wildlife crime at the national and sub-regional levels.
Read the original article (in French).
