Laura Thomas-Walters, University of Stirling; Amy Hinsley, University of Oxford, and Diogo Veríssimo, University of Oxford A British tourist on a tropical beach poses for a photo with a cute monkey-like animal. A Vietnamese man buys some rhino-horn powder and brags to his friends about its potency. An orchid collector admires their latest purchase, a … [Read more…]
Laura Thomas-Walters, University of Kent; Bob Smith, University of Kent, and Diogo Veríssimo, University of Oxford Conservationists have been working for decades to save species such as pangolins and rhinos from illegal hunting and trading. And, with fears that the coronavirus pandemic originated from the wildlife trade, there’s never been more pressure to find solutions. … [Read more…]
A couple of weeks back I did an interview for a video explainer for Chanel 4 in the UK. It was great to have time to got into the detail and present a more nuanced perspective of the issue, beyond the headlines and soundbites that are featured in much of the press around this issue. … [Read more…]
It’s been a while since my last post. And that is because I became a dad last August! These last months have been a wonderful whirlwind of smiles, diapers and sleepless nights and I can’t wait to see what comes next! Looking back at 2019 there are two reviews published in 2019 I would like … [Read more…]
Diogo Veríssimo, University of Oxford If a piece of information is repeated often enough, it will eventually be believed, even if there is no evidence for it. One example of this features the friendly clownfish Nemo and his side-kick Dory, a blue tang fish, who you may know from the animated blockbusters Finding Nemo and … [Read more…]
I was lucky to be part of the last episode of the latest episode of the BBC’s Podcast “Costing the Earth“, which is dedicated to the impact of Chinese Traditional Medicine on Wildlife Trade. I talked about the potential impacts of the expansion of the use of Traditional Chinese Medicine around the world and the … [Read more…]
Some stories are just too alluring not to be true. On of these self perpetuating narratives suggests Harry Potter, the boy wizard that keeps a snowy owl as a pet, was leading to an increase in demand for pet owls in the UK. Even J.K. Rowling, the creator of Harry Potter, released multiple statements asking … [Read more…]
The upcoming CITES COP has led to a lot of discussion around proposals to legalize the trade in rhino horn. I was interviewed by “El Español”, a large digital Spanish newspaper for an article entitled El futuro del rinoceronte, un asunto de cuernos . I was asked questions about the trade in synthetic rhino horn … [Read more…]
During the past few months many media outlets have reported that the movie blockbuster Zootopia is dirving the demand for pet Fennec Foxes in China. I had a look at the exiting evidence (with the key support of coauthor Anita Wan) and come to some surprising conclusions in a blogpost for National Geographic! Read it … [Read more…]
Last July I wrote and article on the potential problems around the production and sale of synthetic rhino as a solution for the rhino poaching crisis. Now this article has been translated into Spanish and republished in the magazine of the Iberian Zoo Keepers Association (AICAS). I am grateful for their interest in my work … [Read more…]