Nigerian authorities recently seized 36 illegally held African grey parrots from traffickers. The enforcement operation was carried out by the Nigeria Customs Service Western Marine Command during a maritime patrol. Their investigations revealed that the birds were en route to Ghana. African grey parrots are listed on Appendix I of CITES, which means that all commercial trade is banned. However, grey parrots are in very high demand as pets in the U.S., Europe, and China. As a result, illegal trafficking of African grey parrots is an enormous threat to the survival of the species. Illegal Trade ..read more

The African Big Five, including the lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant, and rhinoceros, have historically stolen the global conservation spotlight and much of the corresponding financial support and population management resources. But, there are many other species that are equally deserving of our attention and concern. Closer to home, in North America, there is what Born Free USA calls the “Little Five” – the beaver, racoon, groundhog, skunk, and opossum. These animals all face many of the same threats as their larger, more famous, and better studied counterparts and it’s past time to recogniz ..read more

Leading animal welfare and conservation non-profit, Born Free USA, has welcomed a new monkey resident to its primate sanctuary in South Texas. The monkey, a rhesus macaque, was found running loose in Laredo, TX on Valentine’s Day and was hit by a car, suffering serious head injuries. He was rushed to a local vet clinic, Critter Care, where staff took quick action to save his life. Keeping a primate without a permit is illegal within Laredo city limits and no permit has been issued by Laredo Animal Control for a monkey fitting the juvenile’s description. After being held by Animal Control for t ..read more

In a quickly evolving and extremely strange news story, a stingray named Charlotte became pregnant despite no males sharing her tank at the Team Ecco Aquarium & Shark Lab in North Carolina. Initially deemed a “once-in-a-lifetime science mystery” by the aquarium, an early theory proposed by the aquarium postulated that one of the two young male bamboo sharks in her enclosure had impregnated her.* The Facility Makes Light of the Situation, and Ignores Obvious Welfare Concerns In a video posted by Team Ecco showing two aquarium employees standing in a tank with Charlotte while handling her, o ..read more

In a world in which connectivity to other human beings can be initiated and deepened more often online than IRL (in real life), the urge to share highlights of our lives via pixelated updates has become stronger and more frequent. The same principle holds true for wildlife biologists and conservationists, though perhaps (and ironically) at a cost to the very beings they dedicate their lives to protecting. New Research on Wildlife Selfies A new article argues that all wildlife selfies harm wild animals – even those shared by scientists with warnings or descriptions in the captions. This fi ..read more

March 8 is International Women’s Day – a global day celebrating the achievements of women. At Born Free USA, talented and passionate women lead our work to ensure that all wild animals are treated with compassion and respect. Today and every day, we celebrate our colleagues that work hard to protect animals. This International Women’s Day, learn more about some of the women that guide Born Free USA’s work. Dr. Katie Johnson-Jennings, Staff Veterinarian Dr. Johnson-Jennings has worked to deliver outstanding healthcare to the monkeys at our sanctuary for more than eight years. During that time ..read more

An article recently came out encouraging people to trap animals that predate on turkey nest eggs with the goal of increasing wild turkey numbers so people can hunt them. The author argues that populations of fur-bearing animals who may raid turkey nests like raccoons, opossums, skunks, and foxes, have skyrocketed in recent years, without referencing any legitimate scientific data confirming this trend. Instead, the article uses vague and unfounded terms including “simple observation here and there” and “anecdotal observation” to reference the apparently “falling” wild turkey numbers, while als ..read more

A few weeks ago, we celebrated some great news – all 15 nations in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) formally adopted the West Africa Strategy on Combating Wildlife Crime, a landmark strategy to ensure that West African countries are equipped to address the illegal wildlife trade that is threatening animal species, biodiversity, ecosystems, communities, and economies in the region. Now, let’s take a deeper dive into this work and explore how the regional strategy fits into long term plans to protect animals in the region and how Born Free USA is working toward these goals ..read more

Nuremburg Zoo in Germany recently sparked outrage when the Zoo Director, Dag Encke, announced their plan to kill nearly half of the Guinea baboons in a troop that has grown to 45 individuals after contraceptive methods failed to prevent them from breeding. The troop has subsequently become too genetically similar to be sustainable by the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) breeding program standards. Once killed, the zoo has decided to either feed them to captive predators at the zoo or “hand them over to science” to be studied post-mortem. Their enclosure was initially designed to ..read more

When I left the sanctuary to go on parental leave in November last year, I was sure to walk the whole of the site to say goodbye to the monkeys. My final stop was at Darwin’s enclosure. I was going to miss him more than anyone while I was away.   As ever, Darwin came ambling to the fence line to see me, his arthritic gait giving him his distinctive “swagger.” He excitedly shifted from foot to foot and grasped his thigh in anticipation of my arrival – a behavior particular to him when he was excited or happy. As we spent a companiable moment together, I told him I would be back really ..read more