Walrus

• In a bid to protect animals from poaching, the UK government has strengthened legal protections for five more species.
• Trading in ivory from hippos, walruses, narwhals, killer whales and sperm whales is set to be prohibited under the extended provisions of the Ivory Act 2018.
• The newly protected species make up a smaller proportion of the ivory trafficking trade than elephants.
• We think the effectiveness of the Ivory Act’s legal extensions may be hindered by several barriers.

1. Global disparity in wildlife law

• The global disparity between wildlife trade laws enables the continued circulation of illegally obtained ivory, often laundered alongside trade in legitimate ivory.
• The impact on ivory trafficking of an extended ban is likely to remain limited without a global consensus on wildlife laws.
• This remains the case despite international law setting out the basis for wildlife protection.

2. Policing

• Other studies consistently show that wildlife crime enforcement suffers from inadequate resources, and is not considered a primary focus within mainstream policing in the UK.
• Although the UK has a dedicated National Police Wildlife Crime Unit, training in wildlife crime is not included in the compulsory training regime for police officers.

3. Criminal organisations

• These criminal networks employ various techniques to facilitate their activities, including sophisticated smuggling methods, bribery, corruption and exploiting porous borders.
• The participation of criminal organisations contributes to a lack of understanding about the true scale of the ivory trade and the different species involved.

4. Ivory identification

• UK authorities enforcing the strengthened ban on ivory trade face the additional hurdle of accurately identifying ivory and ivory products.
• The situation will be further complicated by the fact that some existing ivory markets, such as those involving warthogs, are not covered by the extended Ivory Act.
• These gaps in protection again provide avenues for traffickers to exploit, by hiding illegal ivory among legal ivory trade.

• The Michener-Deacon fellowship for investigative reporting is awarded this year to Molly Thomas for her investigative project "Afghanistan's Secret Schools: Version 2.0".
• At this event hosted by Her Excellency the Right Honourable Mary Simon Governor General of Canada, all of the Michener Award finalists and winners of the 2021 and 2022 will be celebrated, along with our 2022 and 2023 fellowship recipients.
• The Michener Award, founded in 1970 by the late Roland Michener, then governor-general, honours excellence in public service journalism.
• The Michener-Deacon Investigative Journalism fellowship is supported by the Michener Awards Foundation and the family of the late Paul S. Deacon.

• Animal habitats in each realm of SeaWorld Abu Dhabi have been custom designed using state-of-the-art technology and the highest standards for animal welfare.
• Chairman of SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, Scott Ross shared his thoughts on the occasion, saying: "We're very excited to share that the highly anticipated SeaWorld Abu Dhabi will open its doors very soon.
• Abu Dhabi Ocean will allow guests to experience up-close encounters with animals native to the emirate and wider region.
• Abu Dhabi Ocean will also be the first touchpoint for guests to enroll in SeaWorld Abu Dhabi's parkwide interactive game – S·E·A Guardian.

• Animal habitats in each realm of SeaWorld Abu Dhabi have been custom designed using state-of-the-art technology and the highest standards for animal welfare.
• Chairman of SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, Scott Ross shared his thoughts on the occasion, saying: "We're very excited to share that the highly anticipated SeaWorld Abu Dhabi will open its doors very soon.
• Abu Dhabi Ocean will allow guests to experience up-close encounters with animals native to the emirate and wider region.
• Abu Dhabi Ocean will also be the first touchpoint for guests to enroll in SeaWorld Abu Dhabi's parkwide interactive game – S·E·A Guardian.