News & Updates

In recent years, there has been an increase in pet owners wanting more exotic and unusual pets, as opposed to the domesticated cat or dog; and now tens of thousands of exotic pets are thought to be kept privately in the UK alone. Unlike truly domesticated species, these are wild animals, with all the same needs and instincts as their counterparts in the wild. Not only is a domestic environment completely unsuitable for such animals, but they may be sold irresponsibly or advertised incorrectly, leading to ill-informed owners being left unsure as to how to provide for their complex needs.

A video appearing to show a keeper mistreating giant pandas at the Chengdu Research and Breeding Base has caused public outrage in China.

Born Free's Associate Director Conservation Africa, Liz Greengrass, co-author of first study of its kind, which shows true scale of problem facing world’s most illegally traded mammal. The hunting of pangolins, the world’s most illegally traded mammal, has increased by 150 percent in Central African forests from 1970s to 2014, according to a new study led by the University of Sussex.

Often we talk about projects or key issues in terms of their impact on conservation, animal welfare or trade and policy but this recent report from our partners in Cameroon shows how intertwined all these topics are.

Just a week ago, suspicious customs agents in Hong Kong opened a 40 foot shipping container, to find what is being hailed as the largest ever recorded ivory seizure. An estimated 7.2 tonnes of ivory, representing the death of hundreds of elephants, were found in nylon bags below frozen fish cartons in a shipment arriving from Malaysia. Both Hong Kong and Malaysia are major hubs in the illegal ivory trade.

On 30th June 2017, strict new measures came into force in the State of Hawaii to combat wildlife trade. Hawaiian State Senate Bill 2647, which was passed by the State Senate in 2016, prohibits all commercial trade in products derived from a number of threatened species, including elephants, rhinos, tigers, lions, leopards, jaguars, cheetahs, great apes, hippos, pangolins, sharks and rays and various marine mammals.

The use of individual elephants in tourism experiences is on the rise according to a new report. Hundreds of attractions across Asia offer tourists the opportunity to ride and interact with captive elephants, with many kept in appalling conditions and subject to severe training and abuse.

On a particularly windy morning where duom palm trees along the rivers sway low generating a soothing rhythm, we drive 30km deep into Meru Park towards the western boundary. From here and with boots firmly on the ground - accompanied by Kenya Wildlife Service rangers - the Born Free team skillfully manoeuvres through the thickets while avoiding the direction of wildlife.

News reports indicate that three male gorillas escaped from their enclosure at Paignton Zoo, Devon, on Friday 30th June. Attempts to tranquilise all of the gorillas were reportedly unsuccessful, and it took until the next day for the gorillas to be returned to their enclosure. The gorillas were from a bachelor group at the zoo, and apparently escaped into a secure service area, where they caused significant damage to water pipes, wiring and ducts.

News has hit the headlines that Indian government officials have arrested two individuals on the outskirts of Pench Tiger Reserve in central India, in possession of tiger bones, claws and teeth. Initial reports suggest that three magnificent wild tigers were slaughtered to obtain this grisly hoard.