What do China, Kenya and India have in common? Wildlife trafficking

When it comes to trafficking rhino, elephant, and tiger parts the biggest players are China, Kenya, India, Vietnam, South Africa and Thailand, according to a new paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).  Jacob Phelps with the Center for International Forestry Research criticized the study for focusing on charismatic animals that already reap most of the media attention and conservation efforts devoted to wildlife trafficking. "Tigers, rhinos and elephants are by no means the most widely traded of taxa. It's things like seahorses, plants, pangolins, ornamental birds, corals for fish tanks, endangered fish for restaurants--these are the things that represent the bulk of illegal wildlife trade,” he told Wired. "We see a lot more reporting on tigers rather than turtle eggs or softshell turtles being served at a restaurant. We need to be aware that bias carries through."