In the past 200 years, over聽聽have gone extinct in the United States alone, and approximately one-third of the native species in our country are at risk for extinction.
鈥淎cross the globe, international聽wildlife trafficking聽creates an even more dire scenario. The IUCN Red List (International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species) has聽. Current statistics show that one out of four mammals and one in eight birds are on that list.鈥� 鈥� Assistant Professor Michael Moody, Conservation Law Enforcement at Unity College
While the risks that put these animals in danger are many, poaching and international聽wildlife trafficking聽are squarely at the top of the list. With animals hunted for everything from ingredients for 鈥渕edicinal鈥� purposes to trophies for the wall, conservation efforts are needed to put a stop to these聽illegal聽actions and help animals thrive again.
What Is International Wildlife Trafficking?
罢丑别听聽defines聽wildlife trafficking聽as 鈥渢he poaching or other taking of protected or managed species and the聽illegal聽trade in wildlife and their related parts or products.鈥� In other words, international聽wildlife trafficking聽is the聽illegal聽hunting of animals under legal protection for the sole purpose of harvesting their parts or products for sale. These protected animals are often endangered or at high risk of becoming endangered, so laws are in place to keep them safe in their natural habitats. While many of these animals are slaughtered as part of the trafficking process, sometimes they are captured alive to be sold to zoos or as pets.
Why Is Wildlife Trafficking a Problem?
Wildlife trafficking聽is a problem for two significant reasons. First, it is a major threat to global conservation efforts. When animals at risk of becoming extinct are unethically hunted, the effects on the environment are often devastating. Once an animal goes extinct, there are no options to get the species back. The impact can be far-reaching.
This problem also affects global and national security. When criminals are able to bring animals into a country illegally, they can effectively bring in other items, as well. Live animals that end up released into the environment can turn into invasive species that hurt the local ecology, and that has damaging effects in many areas of life. In developing countries where animals are a major source of food, poaching can hurt the livelihood of the local people.
Where Does Illegal Wildlife Trade Happen?
Illegal聽wildlife trade聽happens everywhere. In聽, law enforcement officers in 28 different countries worked together on a month-long operation to stop the聽illegal聽wildlife trade. This international effort ended with 400 arrests and 350 wildlife seizures in some of biggest problem areas such as Africa and Asia. According to the聽, the biggest hot spots for聽wildlife trade聽are:
- China鈥檚 international borders
- Eastern and Southern Africa
- Southeast Asia
- Eastern Europe
- Mexico
- The Caribbean
- Indonesia
- New Guinea
- The Solomon Islands
However,聽wildlife trafficking聽can happen anywhere interested buyers are found
How Big Is the Illegal Wildlife Trade?
That wildlife trade聽is such a serious issue is indicative of how big this聽crime聽has become in its impact on us all and the money it represents. Each year, the World Economic Forum estimates between聽聽in transactions happen because of聽illegal聽wildlife trafficking鈥�$200 million in annual revenue comes in from trophy hunting.
These numbers are on the rise. Rhino trafficking, a common problem in Africa, is a good example of this. In 2007, the country of South Africa lost just 13 rhinos to trafficking. In 2014, that number increased by 9,000% to 1,215, putting rhino populations at serious risk. Money talks, and people are going to continue working the聽illegal聽wildlife trade聽as long as it remains a profitable business. This is a huge reason why聽wildlife conservation聽efforts are so important.
What Are the Most Trafficked Animals?
The World Wildlife Fund indicates offers a list of the most commonly trafficked animals:
- African Elephant
- Amur Leopard
- Rhinos
- Green Turtle
- Hawksbill Turtle
- Indian Elephant
- Leatherback Turtle
- Orangutan
- Sunda Tiger
Each of these animals is hunted for a different reason. Elephants are usually hunted to harvest the ivory from their tusks, while leopards and tigers are poached for trophy hunting or the fur trade. These animals are endangered because of poaching, some of them critically so.
How Can We Stop Wildlife Trafficking?
There are many steps concerned individuals can take to stop聽wildlife trafficking. An easy place to start is to stop buying products that are not ethically sourced. For example, ivory is often from inhumanely harvested sources, so avoiding the purchase of products made from pure ivory will reduce the amount of poaching of elephants.
When shopping, consumers can ask themselves important questions about the content of the product or where it came from. This will help establish whether the product is an ethically produced product. If in doubt, opt for something made and crafted locally instead of overseas.
People who are concerned about聽animal conservation聽can also support legislation that makes it harder for traffickers to earn income. They can push their local governments to promote laws and law enforcement actions that stop these crimes in their own communities.
Finally, concerned individuals can take measures to promote environmental education. This helps raise a generation that is more open to discussing conservation and protecting endangered wildlife populations in the future.
What Can I Do to Help Stop Wildlife Trafficking?
If you have a passion for聽animal conservation聽and want to take a more active role in stopping poachers聽and the聽wildlife trade聽in general, a聽wildlife conservation聽degree may be a good fit.
Unity College offers a聽BS in Conservation Law Enforcement聽that teaches students not only how to promote conservation, but also how to enforce conservation efforts legally. This degree teaches students how to analyze conservation-related聽crime聽scenes, what current conservation policies are, how to search for evidence legally, surveillance techniques to spot and find poachers, evidence handling, and interviewing and interrogation techniques鈥攁ll with a conservation-minded focus.
What makes Unity College鈥檚 BS in Conservation Law Enforcement such a great choice is its hybrid-learning model. This provides students with the flexibility to study online and on-campus, depending on their schedules and needs. Each student’s Hybrid Learning Coach will help with the selection of instruction types to make the learning path exactly what the student needs.
This program also has a large amount of fieldwork, which gives students hands-on experience in conservation. All Conservation Law Enforcement students can use National Park Services Seasonal Academy training聽jobs聽as part of their credit, which is yet another way to get hands-on training.
If you are passionate about protecting endangered animals from poaching and trafficking crimes and have an eye for detail, then a career in conservation law enforcement may be a good fit.聽If you are interested in learning more about the Hybrid Learning聽Conservation Law Enforcement聽degree offered at Unity College,聽contact us today.
