The Illegal Wildlife Trade (IWT) is an area of conservation I am particularly interested in and passionate about fighting. Having brushed over it in various modules at university, I chose to develop my knowledge further through doing an assessed piece of work on the barriers to tackling the IWT, as well as recently completing an online course about IWT run by National Geographic.
Despite its huge threat to biodiversity, as featured in David Attenborough’s recent ‘Extinction: The Facts’ (which if you haven’t watched you really should!), I feel that there isn’t enough public awareness about its far reaching, devastating impacts of the industry. In this article I will briefly cover the drivers, impacts and solutions of this trade so you can become educated and empowered to help fight against this horrific industry.
A lot of big cats are subject to the IWT, tigers and their body parts are highly sought after for wines and medicinal uses. This handsome guy is one of Yorkshire Wildlife Park's Amur Tiger.
The IWT is the second biggest direct threat to species, pushing many towards extinction, including, high-profile species, such as tigers and African elephants; 30,000 elephants are killed each year for their ivory. The removal of species from their natural habitat can have significant negative impacts on the ecosystem functions and processes as well as threatening the health of humans, as trafficked animals can facilitate the spread of pathogens (a very hot topic given the current COVID-19 pandemic!) It is a corrupt, lucrative business worth an estimated USD $8-10 billion a year and is driven by consumer demand for luxury items such as:
Food – between 2005-2009 an annual average of 73 tonnes of caviar were traded.
Traditional medicine – 80% of the population still depend on traditional medicines.
Pets - since 2015, 1,200 cheetahs have been taken from the wild for the pet trade, however, less than 20% of individuals survive.
The IWT not only has devastating impacts on species and their environment but also negatively impacts local communities. Some rural communities rely on wild-caught animals as their main source of protein as well as flora for wood for fuel, and plants for medicinal uses. When species are over exploited for trade, these communities no longer have the resources they depend on for their livelihood. The lack of local wildlife can also lead to a decline in tourism to an area, reducing income. The social and cultural impacts of the IWT deprives communities of their cultural values whilst undermining sustainable development to alleviate poverty. On the flip side, IWT can also lead to economic growth of some communities. The IWT is particularly prevalent in countries of high biodiversity and social inequality where motivations for participation is frequently connected to the socio-economic characteristics of a region. Poor communities often have no choice as the trade is the only source of income. The contrast between positive and negative social and economic impacts of the IWT is one of the reasons it is so hard to tackle.
There has been an increase in the poaching of Snow Leopards for their fur and bones as their bones are being used as a substitute for tiger bones in traditional medicine.
This is Chan from the Highland Wildlife Park.
The first step to overcoming the IWT is to focus on the supply chains. This can be done through a number of ways. Alongside strengthening law enforcement and policies, community-level interventions can empower communities to shift their incentives from poaching to protecting wildlife. Anti-IWT interventions can educate communities on the benefits of wildlife conservation through community-based natural resource management or participation in payments for ecosystem service schemes. If communities see the financial benefits of wildlife and receive the revenues from its' protection, they will be more inclined to protect it. Employing locals and training them to become wildlife rangers in nature reserves will help protect species from entering the supply chain and provide a source of income for local communities. Employment in ecotourism is another way local communities can directly benefit from wildlife and profit from safe-guarding species.
All this work at the supply chain of the IWT is useless unless tackled in conjunction with the demand. Customer demand is the driving force behind the IWT, and where there is a market there is profit to be made. Rarer species are more desirable and fetch a higher price. This is especially prevalent in the exotic pet trade where illegal, rarer species have the highest value. Consumers are often unaware that animals die during trading or the environmental damage IWT causes. The illegal trade of marine ornamental fish has soared in recent decades. Unlike freshwater aquaria, marine species are often wild caught due to difficulties with captive breeding. A commonplace technique for harvesting fish, despite being illegal, is the use of cyanide to stun the fish, which is unsurprisingly hugely damaging to the marine environment.
Following Pixar's 'Finding Nemo' the demand for clownfish rocketed and posed a huge threat to wild populations.
Education is one of the most powerful tools for addressing the IWT, and here is where you can play a part. In many cases, consumers do not realise the product they are buying is illegally sourced, or if they do, they may not realise the far-reaching consequences of the trade. Here are a few tips to ensure you are avoiding products from the IWT.
Pick your pets wisely
The exotic pet trade is a major component of the IWT, with Europe and the US being major demand countries for trafficked animals. If you are considering buying an exotic pet such as fish, reptiles or birds, its very important to ensure the supplier can prove that the animal is from certified captive bred stock and not sourced from the wild. Even if the species you are interested in is legally traded, you must be aware that in the process of its capture, many non-target and potentially endangered species may have been caught and killed in the process.
Be a conscious tourist
When on holiday, be very careful of gifts and experiences. Always avoid places that offer selfies or hands-on experiences with animals, particularly large mammals such as tigers, bears and monkeys, as these animals are often sourced from the wild and drugged for tourists. Experiences with animals can inadvertently promote trafficking of species if tourists are paying to see them. Be wary when buying gifts out of animal products such as shells as they could have been illegally or unsustainably harvested. If you wish to experience the local wildlife, look into the eco-tourism options. By selecting the right experiences, you could contribute to the protection of the country’s wildlife and support local communities if they are involved in ecotourism.
Buy sustainably sourced products
It is always good practice to be a responsible consumer and look for certifications when buying products to ensure it is sourced from an ethical supply chain. It is particularly important when buying wood products to ensure its sustainably harvested: look to see if they are FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified. The illegal timber trade is the biggest sector of the IWT both in both value and volume and drives deforestation and biodiversity decline, opening up forests to poaching and animal trafficking. If products contain palm oil, check if it is sustainably sourced and is from RSPO (Rainforest Sustainable Palm Oil) certified sources. When buying fish or seafood, only buy products from sustainable sources such as those certified by the MCS (Marine Conservation Society) and consult their ‘Good Fish Guide’ which tracks products from origin to sales point.
Be aware and avoid buying products derived from wildlife. This includes items such as feathers, ivory products, cacti, corals and jewellery made from claws, skins and teeth. These items may be bought in good faith, without you realising they are products of the IWT. If you are in doubt you should if items come with documentation to prove it is legally sourced.
Education
Educate yourself and others about the IWT – it is one of the main threats to wildlife and needs to be known about!
I hope I have provided you with a quick overview of the IWT and some of the things you can do to help fight it. I would like to point out that this is a huge, complex and lucrative industry and there are many other dimensions to its demand and tackling it that I have not covered such as laws and governance, CITES and the transit and trafficking of products (the EU is the main transit route for the illegal trade of ivory!) I have provided some useful links below if you would like to educate yourself further.
Useful links and references
Overview of IWT - https://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/illegal-wildlife-trade
Overview of CITES - https://www.worldwildlife.org/pages/cites
More on the IWT - https://www.traffic.org/about-us/illegal-wildlife-trade/
MCS Good Fish Guide - https://www.mcsuk.org/goodfishguide/search
Other references
Bernard. E and Regueira. R (2012) Wildlife sinks: Quantifying the impact of illegal bird trade in street markets in Brazil, Biological conservation
Angulo et al (2006) Rarity Value and Species Extinction: The Anthropogenic Allee Effect, PLoS biology
Angelo et al (2020) The illegal pet trade is driving Madagascar's ploughshare tortoise to extinction, Oryx
Allan et al (2016) Developing a theory of change for a community-based response to illegal wildlife trade, Conservation biology
Destro et al (2020) Comparing environmental and socioeconomic drivers of illegal capture of wild birds in Brazil, Environmental conservation
Rosen and Smith (2010) Summarizing the evidence on the international trade in illegal wildlife, EcoHealth
Verissimo and Wan (2018) Characterizing efforts to reduce consumer demand for wildlife products, Conservation biology