WCS issued a statement and analysis regarding a decision of the 24^th February 2020, 16^th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 13^th National People’s Congress, on “Comprehensively Prohibiting the Illegal Trade of Wild Animals, Eliminating the Bad Habits of Wild Animal Consumption, and Protecting the Health and Safety of the People.”

With the outbreak of the Wuhan Conronavirus, the Wildlife Conservation Society is calling for governments to recognize the global public health threats of live animal markets and to strengthen enforcement efforts on trafficking of wild animals. 

Global leaders in wildlife and human health today issued 10 principles – The Berlin Principles – with an urgent call to governments, academia, and civil society that all sectors need to break down barriers to ensure a united effort to prevent the emergence or resurgence of diseases that threaten humans, wildlife, and livestock.

The following statement was released by the Wildlife Conservation Society today in regard to a landmark report from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES):

The last known female Giant Yangtze Soft Shell Turtle (Rafetus swinhoei) died on Saturday, April 13, 2019, during recovery from anesthesia after an artificial insemination procedure in Suzhou, China.