Animal rights activists in Barcelona are celebrating a victory after the Spanish city ordered its municipal zoo to restrict the breeding of captive animals unless their young are destined to be reintroduced into the wild.

Voters in Basel have rejected a controversial project to build a giant aquarium complex for the local zoo – the largest attraction of its kind in land-locked Switzerland.

The people of Basel are set to vote on a project for a giant aquarium complex. Supporters believe the „Ozeanium” will contribute to environmental education and nature conservation. But opponents say the project is unsustainable.

It’s a Saturday morning, and excitable children, sullen teenagers and stressed parents are streaming through the gates of Barcelona Zoo. So begins a typical day at one of the city’s oldest public institutions. For 125 years, the zoo has been a fundamental establishment in Barcelona for tourists and locals alike, evolving from a small, private collection into a modern zoo with more than 2,000 animals. Yet as global attitudes towards zoos change, and animal rights activists pile on the pressure, Barcelona Zoo is once again being forced to evolve with the times.

Project ZOOXXI was born from the ideals of anonymous citizens – activists, animal rights campaigners, university students, scientists and teachers – who question these urban facilities we call “zoos” that are heirs to the historical tradition of the human domination of other animals.

The Swiss government has banned imports of most seal products from April 1. This measure brings its rules in line with those of the European Union.

In a dramatic switch, the country with the world’s largest population of elephants, Botswana, urges a ban on ivory trading.

South Africa and Kenya will hold talks with other African countries to find a common position on ivory trade ahead of the 17^th Conference of the Parties of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in Johannesburg in September-October.

Gorgeous coral fish are to be seen everywhere, writes Monica Biondo, decorating aquariums in restaurants, doctors’ offices and living rooms. The coral fish trade is booming! But it’s destroying the reefs themselves, and driving many species to extinction. The Banggai Cardinalfish is among those unlikely to survive as this evil trade lays waste to them and their precious habitat.