Photo Essay: The Booming Business of Wildlife Trafficking
I knew wildlife trafficking was a problem, but I didn’t realize just how much of a problem until I read this article by Charles Bergman in the November 2009 issue of Smithsonian Magazine.
According to Bergman and NGOs like the Coalitions Against Wildlife Trafficking (CAWT), animals stolen from their natural habitats and sold on the international black market represent a $10 billion business. Traffickers poach and then sell animals for food, medicine, pets, religious rituals, and private collections.
The threat of wildlife trafficking isn’t just species depletion or even eventual extinction. When animals are removed from their natural habitats, their absence disrupts the local ecosystem, and their introduction into a new environment results in problems related to non-native and invasive species.
Here are a few animals–from pocket sized to portly– prized by wildlife traffickers. Captions include text from Bergman’s article, as well as statistics from CAWT and TRAFFIC.
1. Butterflies Butterflies and other insects may be fragile, but they’re especially easy to traffic because of their small size. Butterflies are often sold to private collectors looking to expand their exotic menageries. Photo: e3000
2. Chicks Birds represent one of the biggest sources of income for traffickers, and Central and South America are high bird trafficking zones. As Bergman noted, “Ecuador–about the size of Colorado–has about 1,600 species of birds; the entire continental US has about 900.” Photo: oldcockatoo
3. Hummingbird According to Bergman, “two to five million wild birds, from hummingbirds to harpy eagles, are traded illegally worldwide every year.” Photo: hickoryhollow113
4. Turtle Turtles are sold for food, as pets, for medicine, and for their shells, which are turned into decorative items. Photo: notsogoodphotography
5. Snake Not every trafficker has the courage to hunt down and bag the world’s most venomous snakes, but those who do are paid handsomely for their efforts; snakes are sold for medicine, their skins, and as pets to exotic snake collectors. Photo: travlinman43
6. Monkey Monkeys may be harder to conceal, but experienced poachers know the pay-off is worth it: primates of all types are a hot commodity on the illicit wildlife underground. Bergman writes, “Wildlife trafficking is thought to be the third most valuable illicit commerce in the world, after drugs and weapons…according to the U.S. State Department.” Photo: individuo
Community Connection:
Concerned about animals and the impact of your travels on non-human communities? Read From Elephant Tourism to Elephant Voluntourism to learn how you can use your travel experiences to help protect animals.
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10 Comments... join the discussion!
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Wow, that is sad beyond belief. Beautiful, amazing pictures to go along with such a tragic topic.
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I might be wrong, but I think that monkey is actually a gibbon, a small and very cool ape.
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To see victims of wildlife trafficking first-hand, visit the Phnom Tamao zoo outside of Phnom Pehn, Cambodia. Description here:
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This is really sad Julie. I knew this was a problem, and it always breaks my heart when animals are treated as a commodity. Is there anything the average person can do to help curb the problem, besides not buying animals or animal products on the black market or otherwise that exploit this lucrative endeavor?
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JoAnna-
Your question is an important one.
Interestingly, the organizations like Traffic and CAWT don’t have any recommendations on their websites for people like you who want to prevent/combat wildlife trafficking, other than making donations to support their own work.
Beyond becoming aware and promoting awareness of this problem among your friends and family, I’d recommend the following:*Don’t buy products made of or with animal shells, horns, feathers, or other animal parts. Turtle shells, for instance, often become earrings, bracelets, or even purses. Unless you know for certain (and don’t just take a vendor at his or her word) that those products aren’t derived from trafficked or endangered animals, don’t buy them.
*Avoid eating unknown meats and “delicacies” (like eggs) at international markets unless you’re certain that they were sourced legally and sustainably. “Bushmeat,” for instance, often comes from poached animals.
*Report any trafficking you see. In Bergman’s article, he described some pretty surprising ways that traffickers transport animals: in thermoses, in hair rollers, and other small containers that are easy to carry onto planes. If you are in or traveling to the United States and you happen to notice any animals that seem as if they’re being transported illegally, notify US Customs of your suspicions by calling 1-866-DHS-2-ICE. You should indicate the name of the airline, the flight number, airports of departure and arrival, and any other descriptive information that might help customs agents investigate your claim.
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i agree with JoAnna, I hate how animals can be treated as “things” to be tortured and killed as humans see fit.
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Moving photos, Julie. And thanks for your recommendations in the comments. Doesn’t matter if human, animal, or otherwise; unfortunately, slavery is alive and well in the world, and we all need to keep up that awareness.
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This is so heartbreaking… I just read a great article in National Geographic’s January issue about Anson Wong, the world’s most wanted smuggler of endangered species. Despite knowing his crimes he is still in the process of building a “zoo” and his focus is now on tigers. So frightening considering they are almost extinct and he is still profiting from his illegal business.
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I just read about him in Nat Geo, too, it’s scary that there’s pretty much nothing that can be done to stop him.
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