The current COVID-19 outbreak is the latest and particularly devastating example of hundreds of viruses jumping from animals to humans. About 75% of emerging infectious diseases in humans are zoonotic, accounting for billions of illnesses and millions of deaths annually across the globe. When these diseases spill over to humans, the origin is almost always anthropogenic (caused by human action). This includes the destruction of natural habitat, climate change, intensive livestock farming and, of course, the international wildlife trade.

How are conservationists now viewing our approach to protecting wildlife?

With over one-million species now facing possible extinction, according to the UN IPBES Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystems Services, global conservation bodies have responded swiftly by taking urgent new measures to stem the tide.

Voters will have the final say on a people’s initiative aimed at outlawing large-scale livestock production in Switzerland.

Live elephants will no longer be exported from Africa, except “in exceptional circumstances”.

The Fondation Franz Weber (FFW) – an organisation that campaigns to protect nature and animals – on Friday said the ongoing CITES-CoP18 had missed a golden opportunity to protect elephants.

Delegates from more than 180 countries are gathering for the meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites).

Different approaches to protecting elephants are set to dominate the debate at a key conservation conference starting in Geneva today.

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.

The cruelty of the capture of baby elephants from their families in the wild has been revealed in disturbing photos and videos secretly taken in Zimbabwe last month, writes Adam Cruise. They show newly captured elephants being repeatedly kicked in the head.

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.

A golden opportunity to stop the catastrophic decline of Africa’s elephants had been missed as CoP17 wrapped up in Johannesburg on Wednesday.

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

Fifty-four members from both houses of the US House of Representatives sent a letter today to Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell, urging the United States to vocally and strongly support the highest level of protections for African elephants at the upcoming Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The survival of a spectacular coral fish from Indonesia may depend on a decision made in South Africa this month.

Cape Town – A pan-African survey of African savannah elephants has revealed declines of a staggering 30% – 144 000 elephants,  between 2007 and 2014 in the areas covered by the survey.

What to do about the African elephant poaching crisis looms large ahead of next month’s major international wildlife trade meeting.

South Africa, along with Namibia and Zimbabwe, will not be joining 29 other African nations in calling for a total ban on ivory sales – in fact, they are about to do the opposite.

The European Union is the largest exporter of legal ivory, leading to concern that it’s fueling a parallel illegal trade—and the slaughter of elephants.

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.

Kenya will burn 105 tons of ivory on Saturday 30 April – the largest destruction of ivory in Africa’s history and seven times the size of any ivory stockpile destroyed so far.

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.

The convention regulating the international wildlife trade voted last week to take concrete steps to combat the illegal ivory trade.

Eighteen international environmental and conservation organizations are calling on European Union governments to halt all exports of raw ivory when the EU’s Committee on Trade in Wild Fauna and Flor