Poaching and trafficking of wild animals

What is poaching and trafficking of wild animals?

Poaching is the illegal hunting of protected wildlife and violating laws in the area. It concerns both live and dead, specimens and products of wild animals. It has been started in the 1700's in Europe. INTERPOL has been estimated that it is the third largest illegal trade after drugs and guns.  According to the United Nations Environmental programme Year Book 2014, the annual dollar value of illegal wildlife trade is somewhere between $50-$150 billion dollars per year.

Modern wildlife management permits only hunting and fishing of certain species under carefully controlled regulations which can include seasons, time of day, sporting equipment restrictions and other items. Much of this illegal trade is reported from developing countries, which contain most of the world's biodiversity to developed ones which provide the demand.

According to the recent media reports, photogenic animals including elephants, rhinos, and tigers are the main targeted animals. Many of these animals are critically endangered or have already gone extinct in the wild. As an example, both the Western Black Rhino (Save the Rhino International 2015) and the Northern White Rhino are believed to be extinct in the wild (WWF 2015) as a direct consequence of rhino poaching for their horns.

The poaching and illegal trafficking of animals and or their by-products is not limited to photogenic species. Pangolins are not particularly attractive (Gill 2012) and do not receive much media attention, but are among the most poached mammals in the world for their meat and scales (Sutter 2014).

                                    -Pangolin 

Why are animals poaching?

World-wise database has recognized that the illegal trade of wildlife has mainly focused on seven sectors as seafood, pets and zoos, food and medicine, art and jewelry, cosmetics and perfume, fashion and furniture.

 Flesh and eggs of turtles are illegally consumed.

Most live animals are caught to sell as a pet or showpieces zoos. Western countries prefer wild animals than cats and dogs to keep as pet. Urban communities tend to display these wildlife in their market place including restaurants to attract more customers. Parrots Including macaws, cockatoos and parakeets and orangutans, gibbons and clouded leopards are mostly caught and exchange in global pet trade.

 Rhino horns, parts of Tigers including its bones, skin, teeth and claws, wild bear bile, Pangolin scales and freshwater turtles and tortoises have highest demand at the global medicine trade.  Even though their medicinal values is less, some healers still prefer medicine extracted from animals.  Bushmeat are highly demanded as a status meal in some country. Flesh of Tragulus kanchil (Mouse deer) and Ratufa macororura (gaint squaral) are example of few animals being killed for bush meat.

 Animal body parts are used for ornamental purpose. Big cat skins are kept as a status symbol in luxury home decorations. Ivory and horns of elks and deer had used to show their pride in rich house in Sri Lanka. . Ivory, turtle shells and tiger teethes are craved to jewelry, utensils, religious figurines and trinkets

 Kathuri deer is poached to extract kasthuri for perfume production in India. Animals’ far and skins including river otter skins, brown fur seal skins, Pangolin skin, skins of all Asian big cats including tigers, snow leopards, clouded leopards, leopards, and Asiatic lions, zebra skin, reptiles skin and bear fur are harvested annually for manufacturing high end products such as shoes, handbags, costumes and other leather products.

 Animal body parts are extracted to produce furniture. Ivory and horns of elks are widely used for production of tables.

                                   Piano keys are made of ivory.

Methods used for poaching and trafficking of wild animals

Poaching and trafficking is the well organized crime in the global trade. Sophisticated as well as conventional techniques are used for illegal killing or catching wild animals. Poachers spray poison to water to kill large number of wild animal at one time. Wire snares are tied to trees in order to choke the animal when they run or walk.

The hakka patas which is a mixture of explosive matters is mainly used to kill elephants targeting their tusks.

                                    Tiger was trapped in a wire snare. 

With the assistance of dogs, wild animals are chased toward the trap net which are laid over the ground or pitfall. Electrocution is the placement of 230 volts -11KV overhead electrical wires on animal route to kill animals.  Poachers tend to set sudden fire during the summer. They try to kill or caught the wild animals which run away to escape form the fire. GPS and low lying helicopters are used to detect the location of targeted wild animals. Then poachers study the animals’ daily routines and plan according to the observations.

Driving factors

Poverty: Poverty is often recognized as the main driver of the Illegal wildlife trade (Duffy and St John, 2013; Duffy et al, 2016). It has been revealed that higher levels of elephant poaching is being recorded in the areas with serve poverty and the poaching decreases as a results of increasing of food security(CITES Secretariat et al, 2013). Individuals from poor communities would not involve in the poaching of economically valuable species unless wealthier communities forces rapid demand (Duffy and St John’s, 2013).

Role of demand and price: The rising income in consumer countries has created a strong demand for wildlife products (Duffy and St John, 2013). Altogether increasing economic and development of infrastructure links between Africa and Asia have been increased the elephant poaching and the illegal international ivory trade from 2006 onwards (Bennett, 2014). Rising prices and increased levels of purchasing high value species has been noted that demand for illegal trade may also be growing (Challender and MacMillan, 2014). Ivory is of high value per unit mass, the hunter potentially receives a highly disproportionate price, equivalent to annual earnings, from the sale of ivory from even a single animal, and prices increase all along the trade chain.

Lack of alternative livelihoods, subsistence and income generation: Economic activity or employment opportunities cannot find easily in the most of rural areas in which wildlife is abundant. Illicit wildlife trade including selling of bush meat provides great opportunity for local people with few alternative livelihood options to gain quick cash income (Lindsey et al, 2015). In rural Zambia, some hunters are able to earn nearly US$100 from a single expedition and hunters are among the wealthiest community members (Brown, 2007 in Lindsey et al, 2015).That bush meat was recognized as a cash generating income after agriculture, suggesting that bush meat constituted an important element in the local economy (Loibooki et al., 2002). the rate of hunting and household bush meat consumption decline sharply during the peak time of agricultural activity (Lindsey et al, 2015). Some people depend on wild meat for their annual protein supply because they cannot afford alternative sources. In rural areas which are close to wildlife source populations, bush meat is preferred because it is normally cheaper than alternatives. In urban areas, demand for bush meat is driven by preference for its taste and it is recognized as a way of preserving traditions. (Lindsey et al, 2015; UNOCD, 2016).

Level of poaching

Level of poaching has identified three main types of criminals involved in wildlife trafficking ( Zimmerman 2003).

At the, subsistence Level, a person usually hunts animals for feeding himself and his family.  This individual is often posed by poverty but he can quickly improve to become a commercial poacher. They will often live in the surrounding areas or within the wilderness and well know the terrain, habitat, infrastructure, routines and resident species remarkably. Subsistence poaching is often characterized by low technology including use of traps and snares with a minimal impact on wildlife populations (Mackenzie, 1988; Adams, 2004; Fischer et al. 2013: 264; Adams et al. 2009).But the use of non-selective hunting technologies can be detrimental to species of both conservation concern and critical to nature-based tourism including elephant, lion and wild dog (Becker et al. 2013).

Commercial Poaching involve illegal hunting of animals for bush meat, traditional medicine & narcotic sales. Recently developed subsistence level poacher and traditional physicians fall into this category. Unlike subsistence poachers, professional poachers have well-structured operations and use high technology methods for poaching activities (ESAAMLG, 2016) including firearms, telescopic sights, night vision spotlights, radio communications and vehicles. Some countries especially those with a recent history of conflict, poachers have had military training (ESAAMLG, 2016).

 Syndicate Poaching is sophisticated organized crime, well-funded, well networked and internationally orchestrated. They always operate in large groups with minimum 5 members. They are exceedingly well equipped with light aircraft, helicopters, assault rifles, explosives, night vision optics, vehicles, (encrypted) radio communication, dart guns and camouflage clothing. They are professionals, frequently with a military or Para-military background and training. They are target Selective, with species including black & white rhino, elephant, lion and leopard.

Current situation of poaching and tracking in the world

Illegal trade of wild animals has been identified as organized crime at global scale. It severely affect the ecosystem balance and it also hinders social and economic development in many communities (Warchol 2004; Sollund 2011 The Wildlife Trade Monitoring Network(TRAFFIC) has already recognized  places where wildlife trade is particularly threatening called “wildlife trade hotspots.” including China’s international borders, trade hubs in East/Southern Africa and South-east Asia, the eastern borders of the European Union, some markets in Mexico, parts of the Caribbean, parts of Indonesia and New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands.

  World Wildlife Seizure database (World WISE) which was assembled according to the annual and biennial reports of CITES parties currently contains over 164,000 seizures from 120 countries by the end of October 2015.

Pie chart- Share of total seizure incidents in World WISE by region, aggregated 2005-2014

Although African countries, India and Sri Lanka often act as source country in the illegal trade, they accounts  a small fraction of World WISE database because most of their countries have never been submitted a Biennial report to CITES.  The World WISE database is still under development and there are remaining gaps in its geographic and temporal coverage. CITES has been recorded that actual number of animals being killed cannot estimated after transportation because wildlife is often processed before shipments. Therefore actual condition of poaching and tracking may be more worsen than the recorded seizures.

Pie chart- Share of taxonomic class among total aggregated seizures in World WISE by region, aggregated 1999-2015(source-world wise)

Nearly 7,000 species have been seized, including mammals, reptiles, corals, birds and fish. No single species accounts for more than 6% of the seizure incidents.

Every country in the world plays a role as a source, transit or destination in the wildlife crime and no single country is responsible as the source of more than 15% of the total number of seized shipments captured in the database. Suspected traffickers belongs 80 nationalities, proving that wildlife crime is truly a global issue.

Illegal Birds trade is most strongly associated with Central and South America, mammals with Africa and Asia, reptiles with Europe and North America; and corals with Oceania. Some species and regions are more affected than others due to the limited availability and higher demand. Scale of the seizures are ranging several container loads of illegal wildlife to a single item in the hand baggage of a tourist.

Some markets make use of multiple species, while some species go for multiple distinct markets. As an example the illegal exotic leathers trade is feeding by a range of reptiles including various species of python, crocodile and lizard poached for their skins. At the same time, pythons are illegally hunted not only for their skins, but their meat is eaten, they are kept as pets and their gallbladders are used as an ingredient in the traditional medicine.

With regard to trafficking, some criminal groups are involved in smuggling multiple species.   Ivory, rhino horn, and pangolin scales are often detected in the same shipment on multiple occasions. Most seizures in World WISE database have been transported by the shipments of a single species.

The regulations related to illegal trade also vary with the countries. Most countries allow for the sale of antique ivory including pianos with ivory keys those belong to the elephants killed before the formulations of international convention. There are also countries where dealing in freshly-taken ivory is allowed, including countries where elephants naturally range. But the contribution of these legal markets is seems to be insignificant compare to the illegal market for decline of the wildlife.

The traffickers can broaden their access to a new groups of buyers through the introduction of illegal products into legal markets because buyers are not well aware whether the commodities are legal origin or not.

A significant amount of wildlife trafficking is reportedly dependent upon the Internet (Williamson 2004; IFAW 2005, 2012; WU 2007; Troiano 2011; Interpol 2013)c.

The Internet has boosted wildlife trafficking in a substantial way by lowering the barriers to entry into criminal markets and opening the way for new criminal actors (Anita Lavorgna, 2014).In most cases, Internet-mediated wildlife trafficking is connected with legal markets. On the one hand, criminals can expand their illegal wildlife trade under the coverage of legitimate companies on internet. Many legitimate traders in wildlife and pets tend to increase their profit embracing criminal opportunities in the online as it appears an easy and safe way to earn more money.

Wildlife trafficking has been recognized as an increasing threat to national and global security(IFAW 2008) due to the use  of its profit  for the terrorism and guerrilla insurgency (IFAW 2008; Dalberg 2012).As an example, African terrorist groups are making large sums of money by poaching elephants for their ivory in the areas they control.

Poaching in Asia

Wildlife trade within Asia is also regulated through the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of wild fauna and flora (CITES) .More than million animals (0.3 million butterflies; 16.0 million seahorses; 0.1 million other fish, 17.4 million reptiles; 0.4 million mammals, 1.0 million birds) were exported within the period of 1998-2000 and 30 million (*300 species) of them were being wild-caught. In addition 18 million pieces and 2 million kg of live corals were exported.

Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia and China have been revealed as the major exporters of wild-caught animals and the European Union and Japan are the most significant importers (Vincent Nijman, 2009). Over this period exports in birds has been significantly decreased, trade in the other taxa either increased or remained stable. Butterflies represent the vast majority of individuals of the wild-caught animals. Records of illegal or undeclared international trade can be significantly larger than levels of official exports.

Recently McNeely et al. (2009) identified  Most of the countries in  Asia are going through a transitional period  because economic development is spreading quickly in many countries (most notably the substantial investments in infrastructure in India and China) with expanding cities and it has been driven towards  an increasing trend of unsustainable   trade of wild animals.

Countries in Southeast Asia including China’s international borders and parts of Indonesia have been identified as a ‘wildlife trade hotspots’ where wildlife trade poses a disproportional large threat (Davies 2005; TRAFFIC 2008; see also Sodhi et al. 2004).

While most wildlife is traded locally or within the political borders of  countries, there is a large volume of wildlife that is traded internationally (Green and Shirley 1999; Wood 2001).Trade in CITES-listed species of wildlife from Asia involved millions of animals annually, with the majority of animals being derived from the wild.

For most taxa there is no or limited data available on what level of extraction is biologically sustainable, and it is difficult to draw conclusions on the impact that high levels of trade may have on wild populations

Numerous studies have concluded that regulation of wildlife trade laws within Asia in relation to international or domestic trade are insufficient (van Dijk et al. 2000; Nooren and Claridge 2001) and there is an urgent need for initiatives to make regulatory mechanisms more effective.