ABOUT US
OURANOS detailed
The OURANOS network aims to involve as many people as possible in participatory work between citizens, institutions and scientists !
Our story
It all started with a bee...
In August 2021, the "Mahout", founder and current president of the project, was watching a video about animals on his mobile phone when he learned that representatives of the species "Wallace's giant bee" (Megachile pluto), vulnerable and almost impossible to find in the wild, were for sale on eBay. From then on, the idea of a digital network project against online poaching emerged. Initially alone, the Mahout surrounded himself, from October 2022 to June 2023, with a crack team, as part of a mobilization organized by the Green Office of the University of Liège (Belgium).
Chronology
08/2021
Idea for a project to denounce fraudulent offers on online sales platforms. Offers about endangered species are reported on the platforms directly but are not removed. Some letters to politicians are sent without any results.
05/07/2022 - 05/09/2022
13/11/2022 - 15/12/2022
The projet OURANOS supports the animals in Ukraine and facing isolated events. Idea of a network creation to convoy animals and help zoos in Ukraine. Beginning of an officious partnership with Résilience Internationale.
Campaign to save animals from the Mykolaev Zoo with the support of La Tanière zoo and Résilience Internationale. According to the zoo, their animals didn't need any help, so, the operation ended.
11/01/2023
Official adoption of the name "OURANOS" for "OUR Alliance for kNOwledge and Species" by the original team.
18/01/2023
12/02/2023 - 23/04/2023
10/02/2023
The OURANOS Project is officially presented to the Green Office at the University of Liège.
The OURANOS Project, via its founder, takes part in the support of a coalition led by Résilience Internationale, with the support of Vet4Cats/Vet4Ukraine to support the Woof Division Charitable Fondation in Kharkiv.
Pool for pets and veterinary cares in Karkhiv.
14/02/2023
17/02/2023 - 06/03/2023
Creation of the Twitter account of the project (Ouranos project (@OuranosProject) / Twitter).
Part in the sterilisation campaign for cats in Ukraine, led by Vet4Ukraine, with the support of Résilience Internationale.
17/03/2023
23/04/2023 - 02/11/2023
Creation of the Youtube channel (OURANOS Anti-Poaching Project - YouTube).
Campaign to support the Sudan Animal Rescue, in Khartoum, supported by Résilience Internationale. The goal was transferring some animals to the Giza zoo, that supported the project to welcome small cats. The association Four Paws took the reins to transfer the animals to Al'Mawa center in Jordan.
07/10/2023
Triggering the concretization and clarification of OURANOS objectives.
28/06/2024 - 04/07/2024
06/07/2024
16/08/2024
Campaign on bats selling and CITES status.
Breaking up of a Facebook account that sold rhinoceros horns.
eBay removes all listings of Kerivoula picta and of most bats. Etsy updates the day before its policy on prohibited wildlife to include all bats.
20/08/2024 - ...
"Indi Raja" operation. Campaign to stop the elephants use and abuse during the Kandy Esala Perahera in Kandy (Sri Lanka).
06/10/2024 - ...
"Faa Sai" operation. Campaign to help the elephants and other animals (dogs and buffalos) from floods at the Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai
Our goal is to invite all Internet users to report poaching and fraudulent offers of endangered species on online sales sites and platforms to certified experts. The goal is not to harm these platforms, but to stop poaching and encourage decision-makers to take concrete measures to stem the scourge of online poaching and species trafficking, particularly on the black market. We also plan to eventually partner with scientific and (inter)national institutions, associations and decision-makers on these platforms to ensure general and concrete consistency in the fight against poaching and its causes.
Our Goal
How should OURANOS be used ?
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Search a website or online sales platform for any suspicious advert relating to the animal species being sold.
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Once the suspicious ad has been found, consult the identification sheets on this site (tab "Identification sheets" and "smart research"), in order to determine whether the species concerned is threatened or not. This step can be carried out automatically on certain sites concerned as soon as possible.
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Click on the “report” or "signal" tab on the site in question when it is present, before contacting the OURANOS Project.
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The OURANOS Project will highlight the offer on social networks and carry out events and rallyings focused on similar offers to get rid of them legally and/or on the websites itself
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When the suspicious offers are sent to the OURANOS Project, the partners on the field are contacted to save the living animals on the offers and carry them to a shelter, or at least to seize the dead ones
