The Polarity between the uplisting of Polar Bears

Polar bear cubs triplet!

To uplist the Polar Bears from CITES Appendix II to Appendix I, or not?


Today, I will be sharing about the uplisting of the polar bears from CITES Appendix II to Appendix I. I'll be exploring whether or not the uplisting of the polar bears would actually benefit the remaining populations.

Some background information!
Currently, there are about 20~25000 polar bears worldwide, which are split into 19 seperate populations.

The conservation status of the polar bears varies greatly between countries.

• International: Vulnerable
• Canada (COSEWIC): Special Concern
• Greenland / Denmark: Vulnerable
• Norway: Vulnerable
• Russia: Uncertain, Rare, and Rehabilitated/Rehabilitating
• United States: Threatened

Annually, about 800 polar bears are harvested, primarily for subsistence purposes.

                                                                                                                                               

Recently, there has been a push to uplist polar bears from Appendix II to Appendix I on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). However, at the 15th CITES (CITES CoP15), the proposal to list the polar
bear was defeated (48 countries voted in support of the listing, 62countries opposed, and 11 abstained).

Under Appendix I of CITES, trade in specimens of these species must be subject to particularly strict regulation in order not to endanger further their survival and must only be authorized in exceptional circumstances.

                                                                                                                                               

Is there really a need for the uplisting of the polar bears? 

In my opinion, I feel that there is no need for an uplisting of polar bears from appendix II to appendix I. Simply because the biggest threat to polar bears is climate change and its impact on their habitat. Polar bears are generally well-managed and illegal hunting of polar bears does not appear to be a concern for most polar bear range! Besides, although there is indeed a sale of polar bear parts, it is only as an added benefit of the subsistence hunt. In most cases trade in these items does not appear to be the primary incentive for the hunt, but a by-product of the hunt.
Additionally, the hunting of polar bears plays an important cultural role in the native indigenous people. 

Hence, the ban of international trade of polar bears, through the uplisting of polar bears to Appendix I, will not eliminate the harvesting of these animals.

With global warming and climate change exacerbating the rate of loss of habitats for these animals, a precautionary approach is necessary to ensure that primarily commercial trade does not compound the threats posed to the species by loss of habitat. However, at this current point, it cannot be certain whether or not the ban on internation trade of polar bears could ultimately benefit the remaining populations of polar bears. 

If only sticky tape works...

                                                                                                                                               
References

Cites.org, (2014). Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. [online] Available at: http://www.cites.org/eng/disc/text.php#top [Accessed 15 Nov. 2014].

Wwf.panda.org, (2014). Polar bear status, distribution & population. [online] Available at: http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/where_we_work/arctic/wildlife/polar_bear/population/ [Accessed 15 Nov. 2014].

Parsons, E. and L. Cornick (2011). "Sweeping scientific data under a polar bear skin rug: The IUCN and the proposed listing of polar bears under CITES Appendix I." Marine Policy 35(5): 729-731.

Shadbolt, T., G. York and E. Cooper (2012). "Icon on Ice: International Trade and Management of Polar Bears." TRAFFIC, North America and WWF-Canada. Vancouver, BC.

BlackMarket Fish

Trafficking of wildlife does not only include the illegal trading of big, iconic or exotic animals. It also includes illegal harvesting and trading of other small wildlife. 

Instead of the usual iconic animals, today's post will be about the illegal poaching of smaller, less iconic animals.

File: The Obama administration announced new measures to combat black-market fishing and protect ocean ecosystems on Tuesday.

Black market fishing is estimated to cost the global economy by about $23 billion annually! Black market fishing is the unregulated and unreported fishing.

Illegal fishing has led to the collapse of wild fisheries, where fishes are harvested at rate that is way higher than its restoration rate!

This has led to a dwindling fish stocks, and increased competition between law-abiding fishermen and the illegal poachers. Some fishermen, unable to cope with the competition, will eventually ignore the fishing quotas that are set to allow fish population to rebound. Illegal fishing has also led to the decreased in prices of fish, where they overstock the demands for fish! Fishermen that are dependent on fishing for their livelihood suffered the greatest impact. 

Fishing is a major source of livelihood along the Mekong (Photo: Shamsuddin Ahmed/IRIN)

With majority of commercial fish stocks over-exploited and collapsed, many countries turned to fish aquaculture as an alternative! However, fish aquaculture has several environmental impacts as well. For instance, escaped fish can spread diseases to endemic species! Additionally, a lot of food is required to feed the fishes in the aquaculture! Ironically, most of these fish food are made from wild-caught fish!



Illegal poaching of wildlife, whether iconic or not, can have grave and adverse impacts on the environment. Illicit animal trading does not just affect endemic species and the environment, but could also impact us just as gravely and adversely.   




Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing.


References

Exposure, (2014). WWF - Chile on Exposure. [online] Available at: https://wwf.exposure.co/chile [Accessed 9 Nov. 2014].

Wwf.panda.org, (2014). EU Clears Five States Following their Improvements in Fighting Illegal Fishing, While Red-cardi. [online] Available at: http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/footprint/smart_fishing/latest_fishing_news/?230871/EU-Clears-Five-States-Following-their-Improvements-in-Fighting-Illegal-Fishing-While-Red-carding-Sri-Lanka [Accessed 9 Nov. 2014].

From Poacher to Protector

In my previous post, I've talked about engaging the communities that are nearest to the wildlife as part of wildlife conservation efforts. Today, I'll be sharing a success story, about how poacher turned himself in, and converted from a poacher into a protector.

Basumatary says he has remained most proud of his work in rehabilitating two clouded leopards. Photo credit: IFAW-WTI

"For over five years, 33-year-old Maheshwar Basumatary, a member of the indigenous Bodo community, made a living by killing wild animals in the protected forests of the Manas National Park, a tiger reserve, elephant sanctuary and UNESCO World Heritage Site that lies on the India-Bhutan border. Then one morning in 2005, Basumatary walked into a police check-post and surrendered his gun. Since then, the young man has been spending his time taking care of abandoned and orphaned rhino and leopard cubs."

In my opinion, this has got to be one of the best solutions for wildlife conservation. There is very little meaning in telling people what to do if they do not have any other alternatives. For instance, there is very little point in telling poor hunters that they should stop poaching because the animals that they are poaching are endangered. Why should they stop? It does not matter to the poachers whether or not the animals are endangered, but rather, what matter to them is whether they will be able to provide food for their family for the next day. 

Hence, it is very important to provide viable alternatives for these hunters. Currently, there are several "Poachers-to-Protectors" programmes, where they recruit and train ex-poachers to be park rangers, providing these ex-poachers with regular and dependable income. Besides converting poachers to rangers, alternative livelihood could be provided to these poachers, such as sustainable farming or beekeeping. 

"Engaging locals like Basumatary into wildlife protection and conservation is an effective way to curb wildlife crimes such as poaching, smuggling and the illegal sale of animal parts, according to Maheshwar Dhakal, an ecologist with Nepal's ministry of environment and soil conservation." 

Botswana Defence Force members march with school children in the Global March for Elephants and Rhinos

Locals stand to gain the most from wildlife conservation, since they are the ones that are directly dependent on their environment for their livelihood. Hence, for wildlife conservation to succeed, it is essential that we have the support of the locals. 




References

allAfrica.com, (2014). Africa: Curbing the Illegal Wildlife Trade Crucial to Preserving Biodiversity. [online] Available at: http://allafrica.com/stories/201410132924.html [Accessed 2 Nov. 2014].

Wcs.org, (2014). Zambia: Poachers-turned-Protectors – Wildlife Conservation Society - Wildlife Conservation Society. [online] Available at: http://www.wcs.org/conservation-challenges/local-livelihoods/community-based-conservation/poachers-turned-protectors-in-zambia.aspx [Accessed 2 Nov. 2014].

African Elephant Summit

World Governments Make a Stand Against Ivory Trading

Have you heard about the African Elephant Summit? 

Read more about it at
https://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/african_elephant_summit_final_urgent_measures_3_dec_2013.pdf

To summarise the summit, there are "14 Urgent Measures" in the African Elephant Summit to halt and reverse the trend in illegal killing of elephants and the illegal ivory trade.

I would like to pick out a few of the Urgent Measures which, in my opinion, are slightly more interesting.

Urgent Measure 9
"Design and carry out national studies and public awareness programs, aimed at all 
sectors, which include information on the ramifications of illegal killing of elephants and 
the illegal ivory trade on the economy, national security, public safety and the ecosystem 
services elephants provide."

Urgent Measure 11
"Develop and implement strategies to eliminate the illegal trade in ivory and use
evidence-based campaigns for supply and demand reduction that use targeted strategies
including, where appropriate, government-led approaches, to influence consumer 
behaviour. "

These two "Urgent Measures" targets the consumer, and they are the measures that I agree the most with! Indeed, education and awareness campaign targetted at the public would definitely help against illicit wildlife trafficking! As the saying goes, "Knowledge is Power". With knowledge, perhaps more people will understand the need for protecting wildlife and their environment. In my opinion, awareness and education are likely to curb the demand for such illegal wildlife products.

Urgent Measure 12
"In African elephant range States, engage communities living with elephants as active 
partners in their conservation by supporting community efforts to advance their rights 
and capacity to manage and benefit from wildlife and wilderness."

Besides targetting the consumers, the next most important player to target will be the people living nearest to the wildlife, since they are the ones could are directly affect the animals. As mentioned in the previous post, many people tend to blame the poor for the overexploitation of natural resources. However, we have to take into account their underlying reasons for the exploitation. Hence, by engaging the communities, we could potentially curb one of the root cause of the illegal hunting of elephants.    

Additional News~

More reasons to rejoice! 
Additional Hope for the Wildlife! 

A reason for Hope (:

Last year, 5 African Nations, Gabon, Botswana, Chad, Tanzania, and Ethiopia, signed up for the Elephant Protection Initiative in London in February! 

Read more about it at Elephant Protection Initiative.

References

Anon, (2014). [online] Available at: https://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/african_elephant_summit_final_urgent_measures_3_dec_2013.pdf [Accessed 2 Nov. 2014].

Killer Looks?

It is not difficult to find videos of cute animals like this online, especially with an increasing use of social media. In my opinion, such videos could potentially exacerbate the current situation of illegal wildlife trafficking. On the other hand, these videos could help with illegal trafficking, by drawing attention and creating awareness for themselves.

For such videos to be helpful against illegal wildlife trafficking, the mindset of the audience must change. Instead of "Oooo this is so cute I wish I had one as a pet!", to "Oooo this is is cute I wish I could do something to help protect this animal!".  This boils down to the need for proper education and awareness of wildlife trading against illegal wildlife trading.

Its not all gloom and doom for these cute endangered wildlife though!

GOOD NEWS!

Traffic, a wildlife trade monitoring network, reported that "Nine of the leading online retail sites in China, including Alibaba, Tencent, Sina, Airmedia, SMG and arton.net agreed earlier this month not to provide opportunities for promotion or trade of illegal wildlife products on their platforms."

One small step for man, a giant leap for Wildlife~

It is exactly 1 month since my first post. Hence, today's blogpost shall be a summary of what I have learnt about illegal wildlife trafficking. 

Drivers of Illegal Wildlife Trade

1. Medicinal Purposes

2. Culture and Tradition

3. Livelihood of Poor

    - High profit, Low Risk

4. Luxurious Items; Indicator of Wealth

    - Creation of demand by the Affluent  

5. Corrupted Personnel

    - Trafficking of animals requires the movement of the organisms across countries. Corrupted personnel increases the ease to move the organisms across.

6. Banning of wildlife trade

   - Illegalisation of wildlife products led to a surge in prices for such products, increasing incentives for poachers.

Explanation for ecological deterioration tends to blame the poor. 

Even though majority of the poaching and hunting of wildlife are done by the poor, I feel that it is not right to blame the poor at all for the rise in illegal wildlife trafficking! In most places where illegal wildlife poaching is very prevelant, jobs are scarce, and even if you have a job, most people are not paid enough. Given this situation, it is hard to blame the people for turning to the environment to supplement their income to provide for their family. 

For example, when a family member falls sick, it is hard for people living in poverty to afford for medical bills. However, by hunting in the forest, say for a rhinoceros horn, the person could easily sell their kill, which would then be used to pay for their medical bills. 

Hence, instead of always blaming the poor for the exploitation of wildlife, one should consider what is the underlying reasons for their exploitations.

Commodification of wildlife could help protect or destroy nature.

A change in perception in human will change what is considered as a resource. Its the resourcefulness of humans that decides what is a resource. When wildlife ceases to be part of our human resources, wildlife trafficking would naturally disappear.

How Beauty killed the Beast

Instead of the normal discussions I have on my blog, the blogpost today will be showing a list of a few animals that are classified as near extinction, as a result of illegal poaching.

S

An excellent exmaple of how beauty killed the beast. Famed for their beautiful fur coat, the Amur Leopards were poached extensively. There are now  fewer than 30 of them left in the wild.

Hawksbill turtle are classified as crictically endangered. There is a large amount of illegal trade in their shells and the products derived from it.

There are fewer than 5000 of these black rhinoceros left in the wild. They are poached for their horns as a trophy, or for "remedies" for several illnesses.

There are fewer than 400 Sumatran Tigers left in the wild. According to Traffic, illegal poaching is responsible for over 78% of Tiger deaths!

A common ingredient for Traditional Chinese Medicince. Over the last 10 years, the population of Saiga Antelopes declined by over 90%, mainly due to poaching for the trade of horns.

Sahafary Sportive Lemur

Hunted extensively for wild bush meat and traded illegally as pets.
Wild population of the Lemur numbers no more than 50.


















Beautiful creatures. Is it too late to start saving them?

Could the Legalisation of trade be just a cover for Laundering Wildlife?

South Africa has been pushing hard for the legalisation of wildlife trade, specifically in the sales of rhinoceros’ horns. The idea behind legalisation of wildlife trade is to combat the uncontrollable poaching of the animals. However, I do not agree that legalisation of the trade would be a viable solution to the problem. Instead, legalisation of the trade of wildlife products will only worsen the situation, exacerbating the market for such products.

There are indeed some success examples showcasing how legalisation can help save an animal from extinction, such as the vicuña wool. However, it is unlikely for such results to be replicated in other wildlife products such as horns, ivories and bear bile. How could the shearing of an animal for its wool be compared to the abstraction of an internal biological fluid from another animal?

Besides, legalisation of wildlife trade would work if and only if the legal supply is able to meet the demand. Speaking at a debate organised by environmental research organisation Earthwatch at the Royal Geographical Society on 17 October, Rice said: “Legal trade is not the solution for the long term survival of elephants and rhinos in the wild. “Opening markets without fully understanding the impact of these markets is extremely high risk - and even if it is just slightly off the mark, it is irreversible.”

Stockpile of Rhinoceros' horn

The push for the legalisation of trade could be due to certain underlying reasons. For example, the huge amount of profit that can be made from the country through the sales of confiscated good is enormous. Could legalisation of the trade be just a cover for laundering wildlife? There are huge stockpile of rhinoceros’ horns and elephants’ ivory, either through confiscation or natural death of the animal. Hence, people supporting the legalisation of trade stand to gain a large profit from it. In the end, legalisation of trade is just about the money, and not for the conservation of the animals. 

Is Banning the Bane of wildlife?

1979, that was the year where over a 100 countries agreed to push for the ban in the trading of rhinoceros’ horns. However, over 30 years after the agreement, an estimated 1000 rhinoceros were killed for their horns in 2013, an increase from around 668 in the year 2012. Considering the ban on the trade of rhinoceros’ horns, why then have the slaughtering of rare animals not ceased, but instead, are still prevailing and rising? In this blogpost, I will be discussing about the possibility of reducing illegal wildlife trafficking through the legalisation of such trade.

Could legalisation of trade be the way to go to protect these animals?

“Since the trade ban was imposed in China 14 years ago, prices of tiger parts (such as penises, paws and bones) had surged sky high on the black market[1]”. The ban on wildlife products have raised the values of these products significantly, as it makes it harder to hunt for the products, whereby only the skilful and the professional are capable enough to make use of the loopholes and flaws in the system. As the prices of wildlife products are driven sky high by the ban on the products, removing the ban could potentially increase the supplies of products in the market through a sustainable farming (click to read more about sustainable farming of animal products such as the rhinoceros’ horns), and hence decreasing the price on the market.

 

Dehorning of a rhinoceros to protect it from poachers

As mentioned in the previous post, since animal products are often seen as a luxurious item, perhaps the increase in supply and, hence the decrease in price, would make such products less luxurious. (Assuming that the products are considered luxurious due to their scarcity and price) An example of success, in Peru, where the legalization of the sales of wool from vicuña helped to save the animal from extinction.  

The legalisation of sales of wool from vicuña helped increase its population size from a mere 5000 to more than 200000 today.

Would the legalisation of sustainable wildlife trading stimulate better protection from the suppliers' side? Is the legalisation of the sales a smart choice, or would it further aggravate the situation? In my next few blog posts, I will be further discussing about the pros and cons of legalising wildlife trade.  

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[1] http://www.asiabiotech.com/publication/apbn/11/english/preserved-docs/1117n18/1196_1197.pdf

The Pen is Mightier than the Gun

As discussed before, the main driver of illegal wildlife trading is the demand of products created by the affluent. By definition, trafficking is the trading of products between different places or countries.[1] Therefore, for illegal wildlife trafficking to proceed, the products must be able to be transported away to the market. Again, by definition, poaching is the trespassing of an area to illegally take game.[2] Considering the two definitions I have mentioned, is it right that only the poachers are to be liable for illegal wildlife trafficking?

As the title of this blogpost suggests, I will be discussing about the facilitators of illegal wildlife trafficking, and how it exacerbates the problem of illegal wildlife trafficking.

http://speakupforthevoiceless.org/2013/02/18/environmentalism-chapter-23-understanding-poaching/

As mentioned above, for wildlife trafficking to proceed, it must first be transported out of the country. Hence, one of the main facilitators of illegal wildlife trafficking would be the personnel located at the point of entry or exit. “Corruption is seen as one of the most critical factors enabling illicit wildlife trafficking”[3]. Given that there are many ways that wildlife can be illegally transported out of a place or country, corrupted practices have increase the ease of which illegal products can be transported. A common form of corruption would simply be the receiving of payments from smugglers to officials to turn a blind eye to their act. For instance, as reported in People Newspaper, 17204, August 2002, 66% of customs officials of Tan Thanh, an important illegal wildlife trade exit point from Vietnam to China, accepted bribes and had links to illegal wildlife traders. Imagine the amount of illegal wildlife trade that could be have prevented!

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agent David Bonham and others carry confiscated ivory to a crusher to be pulverized.

Since the illegal transaction of wildlife products cannot be complete without the help of some corrupted officials, it is important to ensure that officials are professional, and understand the problem and impact of illegal wildlife trafficking as well. Given the amount of illegal wildlife products officials will be facing with, as well as the high prices that have been placed on such items, it is imminent that some officials will be swayed. This further drives my point that officials have to be selected more strictly and more professionally.

As the saying goes, the pen is mightier than the sword, which is directly translatable into the situation of illegal wildlife trafficking. The fuel for the illegal wildlife trafficking is the ease at which poachers can smuggle and trade illegal products, which is a result of corrupted officials. Hence, should there be more stringent penalties against corruption, perhaps the number of illegal wildlife trafficking cases can be reduced.

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[1] http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/trafficking?s=t

[2] http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/poaching?s=t

[3] http://www.transparency.org/whatwedo/answer/wildlife_crime_and_corruption

The Influence of the Affluent on Illegal wildlife trading

Before the era of humans, planet Earth have went through 5 mass extinctions, through glaciation events, massive volcanic eruptions, extra-terrestrial impacts etc, where exceptionally large number of species goes extinct. Unknown to many people, many researchers claim that the world in the midst of the 6th mass extinction event[1]. Although the causes of the previous 5 mass extinctions are theories that cannot be confirmed, what we can be sure of today is that the mass extinction event that we are currently in is largely due to the impact of humans, through our impacts have increased the rate of extinction by over a 1000 times.[2]

One of the contributing impacts humans have on the environment is the illegal trading of animals. The price tagged onto animals have led to an unsustainable hunting and capturing of the animals. It is hard for the animals to escape their fate, as like a vicious cycle, the more endangered or the rarer the animal, the higher the price it will fetch in the black market. This cycle pushes many animals onto the brink of extinction. As mentioned earlier in this blog, I will be discussing about what I feel is the main driver for illegal wildlife trading.


Confiscated illegal wildlife trafficking goods

“When the buying stops, the Killing can too[3].” In my opinion, the main driver for illegal wildlife trade is the rising affluence and the increasing disposable income in the consumers’ countries. As mentioned in the past blogpost, wildlife products have transited as a cultural product, to luxurious items, things people will buy to flaunt and to showcase their wealth. When a price is placed on an animal, it is naturally for people to seek out these bounty. Should there not be a monetary value placed on animals, perhaps the threat of illegal wildlife will cease to exist. As animals are illegally exploited without control for monetary benefits, the population of several animals spiral quickly. This reduction in their population size in turns drive up the prices placed onto them as they become harder and harder to catch, becoming more profitable for traders.


A dart shot onto an elephant

As the profit and difficulty for illegal trafficking of wildlife increase, the hunters will be forced to become more professional and specialised. This in turn leads to them spending money on better technology and equipment, such as tranquiliser guns, and more time searching in forests for the animals. As a result, hunters will gradually become more dependent on wildlife trading for their livelihood, and would be difficult for them to leave the trade. Hence, this shows that the main driver for the intensive and extensive wildlife trafficking is wealth, where the high values placed on wildlife are trapping both the hunters and hunted alike in a viscous cycle of supply and demand.

Therefore, I feel that for an effective campaign against illegal wildlife trafficking, the solution is not just about alleviating poverty, but rather, to educating the affluent.

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[1] http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/02/140218-kolbert-book-extinction-climate-science-amazon-rain-forest-wilderness/

[2] http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/05/140529-conservation-science-animals-species-endangered-extinction/

[3] http://www.wildaid.org/about

Making a Living, or Making a Killing?

This blogpost will mostly be referencing from a report done by the World Bank[1]. Details of the report can be obtained at the end of this post.

Natural forest ecosystems in Tam Dao national Parks, Vinh Phuc province

Close your eyes and imagine the sights and sound in Tam Dao National Park, Vietnam. A green and lush forest, with rays of sunlight filtering through the leaves. Imagine the sound of the rushing water from the nearby stream in the forest, with a gentle breeze brushing against your face. Sounds like a nature paradise? What I have just describe above is in fact what you would have observed in Tam Dao National Park, and just like what I did not mention above, there are no bird calls, no cricket chirping, no signs of animals at all. Birds, mammals, reptiles and even insect are not spared in the onslaught by humans on the forest wildlife. In fact, Tam Dao National Park is listed as an example of an “Empty Forest Syndrome”, where all the animals in the forest have been exploited and removed from the forest by illegal hunters and poachers to support their livelihood, by 

meeting the demand for products by the affluent.

In this blogpost today, I will be discussing about whether poverty is indeed the main driver of wildlife, or is there more than meets the eye.

Tortoises poached on the southern side of Madagascar

When thinking about the illegal trafficking of wildlife, people will naturally tend to think about the money and revenue that could be generated by such sales, which would then inevitably lead their thoughts into the people selling such products. This chain of thoughts would therefore point to the people that supplies the products as the cause of illegal wildlife trafficking. Although it is true that wildlife trafficking does generate income a significant income for the people, I do not agree that generation of revenue is the main driver for the rise in illegal wildlife trafficking. Contradictorily, I feel that the buyers are the one fuelling the increase in illegal wildlife trafficking.

A tiger being starved to death to be made into tiger wine, an expensive medical liquer.

As the title of this blog post suggests, illegal wildlife trafficking can be seen from 2 sides, where it can either be seen as ‘making a living’ or ‘making a killing’. It is undeniable that many people living in poverty depends on wildlife trading for their livelihood, where “the illegal extraction of forest products was the only activity available to generate the income necessary to buy rice.” However, these people are only able to depend on those sales because they have someone to sell it to. Because of the demand created by the affluent for rare wildlife products, it will in turn create the motivation for people to hunt the animals to meet the demand and claim the bounty.

An Inuit boy watches the head of a legally hunted polar bear set out to defrost. Polar bear is part of the Inuit ancestral food tradition.

Hence, I feel that should the demand for illegal wildlife products cease, the motivation for people to poach and hunt the animals will be gone, and the people would have to turn to something else more conventional for their livelihood. However, it will not be true to say that wealth is the only driver for illegal wildlife trade, as there are many other important drivers as well, and the drivers are more than often interconnected and interlinked.


Slow lorises have their front teeth cut or pulled before being sold as pets, a practice that often causes infection and death

"Trafficking relies on porous borders, corrupt officials, and strong networks of organized crime, all of which undermine our mutual security... Local leaders are telling their national leaders that they can lose control of large swaths of territory to these criminal gangs. Where criminal gangs can come and go at their total discretion, we know that begins to provide safe havens for other sorts of threats to people and governments." [2]

In my next blogpost, I will be discussing more about the other drivers of illegal wildlife trading and how it drives illegal wildlife trade to the scale it is today.

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[1] Going, Going, Gone: The illegal trade in wildlife in East and Southeast Asia; 

http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTEAPREGTOPENVIRONMENT/Resources/going-going-gone.pdf

[2] Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

<http://iccfoundation.us/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=445&Itemid=367

Trafficking gone Wild

It has been said that grounded rhinoceros’ horns can cure headaches and fevers, while drinking the soup made with a tiger’s genital can supposedly help with a man’s fertility. Based on such statements/assumptions, animal parts such as the rhinoceros horns can fetch a healthy price in the market. However, did you know that, the rhinoceros horn is actually made of the same material as our fingernails?[1] Essentially, chewing your own nails would give the same effect as that of consuming the horns from rhinos! Most of the effects from the medication made from animal parts are purely psychological, and are based on traditional beliefs, which not actually help with their illnesses.

 vs 

Nail biting                                               Rhino's Horn

Yao Gao Zhong, a professor of history and philosophy of science said this “Chinese medicine practitioners often concoct cures for disease by examining relations between written Chinese symbols for certain animals and certain diseases. In Chinese, the character for maple bark is fong, and similarly, arthritis pain is tong fong. This coincidence forms the basis of the belief that maple bark cures arthritis pain. If the word matches, Zhong says, they believe they have found a cure for the disease.” [2]

http://www.ministryoftofu.com/2012/02/cartoon-i-sympathize-with-bears-toobut-bears-sympathize-with-us-even-more/

Biles are often extracted from bears through cruel and inhumane methods. For instance, as shown in the photograph above, bears are kept in tight cages to prevent them from moving around, while a tube is embedded under the skin, attached to the gall bladder[7]. To find out more about how bile are extracted from bears, click on this link. It is shocking to see how much pain humans put on these creatures, just to extract a substance that may or may not even be benefit us. 

In the production of traditional Chinese medication (TCM), animal parts are often found as part of the active ingredient. Even though there are no scientific prove that the animal parts are beneficial to the human health, many TCM practitioner are adamant on their stance that their medication are useful, and that the animal parts in the medicine are irreplaceable.[3] This is, of course, not true! For instance, the bile harvested from bears, which is used as a remedy for treatment of gall stones, biliary cirrhosis, and liver cancers[4], can be made synthetically in the lab!

Over the past few years, the number of illegal wildlife products confiscated from smugglers has almost tripled, from 18000 to 46000 in a span of just two years.[5] This increase in wildlife trafficking is worrying, with size of population the animals in the wild quickly dropping in numbers.

 

http://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/wildlife-crime-a-threat-to-regional-security

What scares me the most is that the buyers of these illegal wildlife are mostly the rich and the educated, where wildlife products are seen as a way to showcase their economic power. In fact, researches by Traffic has proven that “wealth is a stronger driver of illegal and unsustainable wildlife trade in Southeast Asia than poverty”[6]. Compared to the people who seek the animal parts as a form of medicine in desperation, the people that buy the products to flaunt their wealth is simply unforgiveable.

Gifts from animal parts include the hoof of elephants, rhinocero's horns etc.

In the next post, I will be exploring the drivers of illegal wildlife trafficking. Should the poor be blamed for providing with the supply to support their own livelihood, or should blame be on the affluent for creating the demand? 

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[1] Using Endangered Animal Species in traditional Chinese medicine; http://www.asiabiotech.com/publication/apbn/11/english/preserved-docs/1117n18/1196_1197.pdf

[2] http://scienceline.org/2011/06/from-beijing-to-new-york-the-dark-side-of-traditional-chinese-medicine/

[3] From Beijing to New York: The dark side of traditional Chinese medicine

http://scienceline.org/2011/06/from-beijing-to-new-york-the-dark-side-of-traditional-chinese-medicine/

[4] The journey of Chinese medicine; http://www.jcm.co.uk/endangered-species-campaign/asiatic-black-bear/use-in-traditional-medicine/

[5] A Burden of Care Over Seized Exotic Wildlife in Thailand; http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/05/world/asia/thailand-faces-a-noahs-ark-size-burden-of-wildlife-care.html?_r=0

[6] TRAFFIC (2008), ‘What’s Driving the Wildlife Trade? A Review of Expert Opinion on Economic and Social Drivers of the Wildlife Trade and

Trade Control Efforts in Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR and Vietnam’, p. xiv.

[7] Bear bile extraction; http://www.jcm.co.uk/endangered-species-campaign/asiatic-black-bear/bear-bile-extraction/