Whistle-Blowing Website Wildleaks Targets Powerful Poaching Networks Chris Oke - Independent Online
go to original September 3, 2014

WildLeaks: New Hope for the Natural World (VOR America)

Poachers slaughtering Africa's elephants and rhinos with impunity are often shielded from police by powerful connections, but a group of conservationists has turned to the anonymity of tip-offs to try to stem the killing.

The founders of WildLeaks - a sort of WikiLeaks for the environment - say it is the first secure, online whistle-blowing platform dedicated to wildlife and forest crime.

While wildlife rangers face gun battles in national parks with poachers carrying out the slaughter, the online project hopes to target the top-end traffickers who cream off millions of dollars in profit.

...Launched in February, WildLeaks received its first tip within 24 hours. Since then the project has gotten over 45 tips and leaks, with at least 28 deemed to be useful.

The information involved a range of topics from around the world including tiger poaching in Sumatra, illegal logging in eastern Russia and Mexico, and the smuggling of wildlife products into the United States.

Read the rest at Independent Online

We invite you to add your charity or supporting organizations' news stories and coming events to PVAngels so we can share them with the world. Do it now!