In Africa, nearly rangers charged with protecting wildlife were gunned down by poachers between and while in the line of duty. In addition to providing on-the-ground protection for animals, many countries make poaching an offense punishable by prison or monetary fees. Because poachers in Africa and Asia are often impoverished local people who make small profits in comparison to traders and kingpins, penalties for poaching wildlife are generally less severe than those for trafficking wildlife.
There are also numerous nonprofits around the world working to end wildlife poaching. Some of these groups have helped to promote alternative, more sustainable ways for poachers to earn a living.
Another way people are working to end poaching is by trying to decrease demand for illegal wildlife and wildlife parts. If no one's buying the products, there will be no need to kill the animals. All rights reserved. Why animals are poached Poachers sometimes kill or capture animals to sell them locally or for the global trade in wildlife.
Read more about poaching and wildlife crime at National Geographic's Wildlife Watch. See all of National Geographic's videos about poaching here.
Share Tweet Email. Why it's so hard to treat pain in infants. This wild African cat has adapted to life in a big city. However, there are often cases of corruption and cooperation with traffickers, as well within government authorities and politicians. Often local communities unaware about this issue and about the possibility of extinction for the elephants, cooperate with poachers in exchange of money or elephant meat. Sometimes it takes several days of walk into the bush, then they have to kill the animal and taking back the ivory and the meat to the village.
This is a difficult mission and the assistance from local people is really helpful for hunters. International ivory trade serves mostly Asian markets, in particular the Chinese one. Destroying and boycotting ivory products is the most effective way to stop this illicit activity and save the animals.
Historically, humans would hunt animals to feed themselves and their tribes. It was very much a subsistence way of living.
Things are very different today with increased connectivity between villages, towns, cities and places of wilderness. Roads now pass through previously pristine landscapes. These provide perfect access points for poachers to deliver their hunt to local markets.
Indeed, the research finds that one of the strongest predictors of hunting pressure and trade-induced declines in animal populations is the proximity to markets. Animal populations saw the greatest decline in areas where the travel time to human settlements with more than 5, people — large enough for markets to form was the shortest.
As the distance from local or national markets increased, the impact on animal populations decreased. This was true at both local and national-level scales.
As countries improve the connectivity between villages and towns, the line between dense human settlements and wilderness becomes more and more blurry. People hunt and sell animals and their body parts as a source of income.
We might therefore expect poaching rates to be associated with the prices that goods can sell for, and levels of poverty in local populations. Poorer communities may be more reliant on these sales as a source of income. The research suggests that market prices are strongly associated with poaching intensity: one study found strong correlation between ivory price and annual variation in poaching rates. Site-level variations in poaching rates were also related to poverty rates, with higher rates in communities with more people living in extreme poverty.
An obvious solution to poaching would be to increase the number and extent of protected areas. This, of course, rests on the assumption that protected areas are successful in preventing it. Is this really true? The research suggests that protected areas reduce, but do not eliminate hunting. Animal populations within many protected areas are still shrinking, but slower than populations outside these areas.
This is still worrying. A lot of protected areas across the Amazon, Africa and Asia have very little safeguarding and on-ground monitoring efforts. Simply designating an area as protected is not enough to safeguard wildlife. It needs proper reserve management, law enforcement and local monitoring on-the-ground.
Increasing the scope of protected areas is therefore important. But to be successful, we will need much more stringent enforcement at local levels.
Explore the diversity of wildlife across the planet — how many species are in each group, and where they live. See how wild mammal populations have changed over time; where they live today; and where they are threatened with extinction. Explore the diversity of birds across the world; how many species have gone extinct; and how populations are changing.
Explore the distribution of coral reefs across the world and how they are changing from human pressures. The Living Planet Index is one of the most-common biodiversity metrics.
Ivory has long been in demand in China, and as more people there become able to afford it, the market for it has grown, which encourages poaching. China did pass an ivory trade ban in , but as long as people want ivory, elephant poaching is likely to continue. Another way to reduce poaching is by having more effective law enforcement to protect the elephants throughout Africa.
However, this can be complicated by the fact that impoverished communities are more likely to allow poaching as it may be one of the few ways for people to support their families. If you, like many people, want to help end elephant poaching and protect these animals and the environments in which they live, there are a variety of things you can do. Do not buy ivory or products that contain it. Speak out against poaching, and support the anti-elephant-poaching organization of your choice. The International Anti-Poaching Foundation was founded in Since then, it has taken a novel and effective approach to conservation, transforming what has traditionally been an adversarial approach to one that is an empowering, innovative and gender-diverse model with a goal of protecting habitats and wildlife.
Our animal conservation organization not only protects and restores nature but helps empower indigenous communities while enhancing national conservation efforts. As an anti-poaching charity, we look at the big picture. IAPF starts from the ground up, targeting and working with the local residents who live near the habitat and wildlife that need protecting.
IAPF educates, trains and empowers local women so that they can become rangers. These women are rewarded with consistent income and the opportunity to have jobs that are respected in their community. There are multiple ways to get involved to help further our mission, but the best way is to make a donation to our unique, effective wildlife conservation charity.
Shop NEW! February 4, What is Poaching? Understanding Elephants and Behavior Elephants are the largest mammals on land and are characterized by their long trunks, large ears and huge bodies. The Impact of Elephant Poaching The poaching of elephants has consequences beyond the obvious. Sign up to get news straight from the field.
0コメント