Archive for category Wildlife Trade

4 Endangered Animals in Need of Protection

Posted by in Wildlife Trade on September 13, 2011

By Mark Bottell

Across the globe, more and more animal species face extinction. From the rhinos and great apes in Africa, the elephants in Asia, to the tigers in India, animals are becoming increasingly endangered. Conservation organisers have now developed the concept of gap years for adults where people volunteer to do animal conservation work and take some time out from their jobs. Here are just 4 animals in need of a serious wildlife conservation strategy.

Where Have all the Tigers Gone?

It is estimated that there are only about 4000 tigers remaining in the wild worldwide, making them one of the most threatened species. The habitat of the tiger stretches across South East China, and from the Russian Far East all the way to Sumatra in Indonesia. However, tigers can mostly only be found in tiny isolated pockets.

Despite wildlife conservation efforts, tiger population numbers continue to decrease. Tigers are dying because they are being killed for use within the illegal wildlife trade. They are being shot, poisoned and trapped to sell on this market, and it will take the best efforts of those involved with animal conservation work to counter this effect.

The habitat of the tiger is also diminishing because of the expanding human population. The poor local communities also need the land to sustain themselves, and are depleting the vegetation and prey in the tigers’ habitat. Wildlife conservation projects will therefore need to carefully consider how to reduce the need of the local populations to depend on the environment in a destructive way.

Rhinos No Longer Roam in the Wild

Almost no rhinos are still found surviving in the wild. But not so long ago, these creatures were roaming across the entire African continent, and the Southern parts of Asia. There are five species of rhino in existence, two of which are indigenous to Africa, and three to Asia. Volunteers involved with animal conservation work are trying hard to preserve all of these species, some of which face imminent extinction.

The northern white rhino is now on the critically endangered list, and a subspecies of the black rhino is now thought to be extinct. There are some wildlife conservation success stories, however, with the populations of the southern white and northern Indian rhinos now on the increase.

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Wildlife Trafficking

Posted by in Wildlife Trade on September 13, 2011

By Chantelle Simoes

Wildlife trafficking is one of the most valuable illicit industry in the world, earning more than $15 billion annually. Only the illegal weapon and drug markets are more lucrative. Birds are the most common animal traded on the wildlife black market, and experts believe that two to five million individuals are traded each year around the globe. The worldwide demand for birds coupled with the poverty experienced in regions of the world with high avian biodiversity can equal a thriving black market trade, but can also mean extinction for rare species.

The trade of wildlife species from country to country is monitored and controlled by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). This international law, enacted in 1973, works to prevent the illegal trade of endangered plants and animals or their parts. Each participating country imposes additional restrictions. In the United States, the Wild Bird Conservation Act, passed in 1992, prohibits the importation of wild birds from other countries. The European Union passed a similar law in 2007. Birds, especially parrots, are desirable pets, and are able to be smuggled more easily than other wildlife species. Birds are easily restrained – simply popping the animal into a sock and taping its beak can be enough to limit movement. Birds are also small and lightweight, and can fit easily underneath clothing or packed into a container. Eggs also pack and travel easily.

Today, the majority of parrots bound for the pet trade are raised in captivity, but these colorful, enigmatic birds are still highly impacted by poachers. Some of the world’s most endangered parrot species continue to be illegally removed from the wild to populate the private collections of collectors around the world. The world’s rarest bird, the Spix Macaw, exists only in captivity after poachers caught the last remaining wild individuals in the 1980s. A study on wild bird trafficking found that between 400,000 and 800,000 parrot chicks are taken from their nests in 14 Latin American countries each year.

Smuggled birds are automatically subjected to stressful and often life-threatening journeys. Birds are physiologically sensitive, and merely being restrained for an extended period of time can traumatize a bird to death. Birds can easily suffocate in cramped and ill-ventilated cages. Upon arrival, smuggled birds likely will not receive the diet that they are accustomed to in the wild, and many birds die of malnutrition. In addition, birds that are traded illegally are not screened for common and deadly avian diseases such as bird flu. These diseases are not only dangerous to the birds themselves, but can sicken humans and threaten wild and domestic birds.

Conservation efforts coupled with the enforcement of effective wildlife trafficking regulations can help reduce illegal trade in wild birds. Ecotourism is another tool that may help replace the demand for birds as pets with the demand for seeing birds in their natural habitat. If tourists are willing to pay to ensure that birds remain to be appreciated in the wild, would-be poachers may think twice about capturing wildlife for the black market.

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