Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

July 24, 2008 8:08:00 AM CDT

Learn about Newser Points »

« Back to the grid | Next story »

Illegal Poaching Funds Militant Groups

Posted Mar 2, 08 6:35 PM CST in Crime & Courts,  World 

(Newser) – Shipments of African contraband such as ivory, tiger parts, and rhino horn are funding militant groups and perhaps terrorists, Newsweek reports. After the theft of $1.3 million in ivory in Chad last year and a reported rise in contraband smuggling, US lawmakers have become interested: A House hearing on the wildlife trade is scheduled to start next week.

Poaching is now a $10 billion market, with large-scale animal killings that fund militias such as Janjaweed, which carries out strikes in Darfur. For them, “it’s untraceable money,” said an animal welfare expert. Evidence of a terror link is anecdotal, “but with the amount of money it would provide, even anecdotes are a huge cause for concern," a US official said.

Source Newsweek

0 comments | Print E-mail | Digg Seed this on Newsvine Add this link to Del.icio.us StumbleUpon
The horn of the Budapest Zoo's southern white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) calf, named Layla, is seen at her first birthday in Budapest, Hungary, Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2008. White rhinos have been devastated...   (Associated Press)
An elephant performs a mock charge at a water hole in this May 27, 2005 file photo, in Kenya's Tsavo East national park. (AP Photo/Karel Prinsloo)   (Associated Press)
A one-year-old Bengal Tiger Banti looks for water at the Nehru Zoological Park in Hyderabad, India, in this May 12, 2007, file photo. Poaching has savaged India's tiger population, which a century ago...   (Associated Press)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
Our editors also recommend:

Threads (1 of 2)

Tags

Darfur  • endangered species  • poaching  • elephants  • terrorist groups  • ivory  • militias  • Janjaweed  • Bengal tigers  • rhinoceros


Loading...

Loading...

Today's Most Popular


Other World Stories

What is Newser?

2008 Codie Finalist

Newser gives you more news in less time. We search for the best and most important stories all over the web, read them for you, and deliver concise and sharp summaries—along with links to the full text. Newser provides a way to stay on top of an ever-expanding horizon of news and opinion—politics, sports, business, trends, technology, personalities, crimes, and controversies. Newser keeps you not just better informed, but, with our signature graphic interface and smart condensed format, more enjoyably informed.

Learn more »