Wildlife trade has been at the forefront for the last two years, especially for the following reasons.
- Illegal actions.
- Current pandemic or the anticipated ones.
This trade brings a lot of money to the poachers, and many people’s livelihood depends on it.
Our analysis suggested reasons that triggered the illegal & wildlife meat consumption ban
- From a health and hygiene perspective, it is a threat: In the past two years, the world realized the seriousness of this virus. It was a red flag for governments worldwide, partly due to social media clips of videos about the Wuhan meat market in China appearing on the Internet.
- Serious illnesses connected to such practice: Diseases linked with wild animals are known. Learning of MERS Cov and SARs Cov was a clear indication. Initially, it wasn’t viewed so serious by people.
- National and international trade got affected because of a sudden halt: Overall, the markets created a sense of fear among the masses. Nothing compared to what happened in the last three years.
- Seriousness seemed visibly undivided among elites when this virus came to their doorstep also. Many politicians, business people & even actors lost lives during these times. Although many made a lot of money when most of the world’s population didn’t.
- Since the exact reason is not published accurately with the final decision, banning wildlife meat consumption was the closest to the right decision.
- It didn’t affect our conscience. Only when its effects came on humans in the form of a virus and people started to lose their lives, that’s when we got serious. Large scale damage to the health & lives of the people triggered governments of many countries to take action.
Wildlife trade gets acceleration to fulfill 5 types of demand mainly
- Alive for keeping them as pets
- For animal products (skin, bone, fur, medicine)
- Stuffed dead animal trophies
- To sell exotic meat for profit
- Tradition & rituals
It is a point all of us need to reflect on if we need to end the illegal wildlife trade. We learn that income inequality is one of the factors. Here are some of the essential facts to note.
| Sellers that sell exotic animals or birds that are licensed and sold as per the government guidelines. |
| The middle man wants to make money as a supplier. He is able to hire locals quickly or nearby village guys (at times it could be their known people who only do this job for these middlemen).*1 |
| Customers come under the top 5 categories mentioned above. |
This may even vary based on the country the wildlife is traded to & from.
Wildlife trade is a huge industry that makes billions of pounds. To put it in numbers world economic forum provided astonishing numbers. It was $7 billion and $23 billion of illegal wildlife trade.
Next time you ever enter any office or home and if you see a stuffed animal or hunting trophy or wild animals then give it a thought.
Hunting safaris as the source of income or exploitation
Hunting Safaris are one of the issues. WWF considers it a threat second to only habitat destruction, threatening species survival.
Local traditional myths that also hamper the survival of these wild animals
Reasons for trading wild animals may vary. We have covered only a few. In some instances, local traditions or cultural ties to specific actions justify killing wild animals. Exotic birds or endangered animals are hunted or captured, not just in China alone.
On further investigation, you may find certain practices also acted upon due to the local (mythical) beliefs. Porcupine meat, Dog meat in Nagaland & Mizoram are a part of their consumption. Serving locals with the killing of a Dog is also a ritual in a community we investigated. People in Sikkim also eat frog legs, along with Chinese.
Myanmar also serves Monkey meat. Snakes and rats sell a lot in one of the Indonesian markets. People have been consuming Black Macac (Macaca Negra). Vietnamese eating rats and snakes, Kangaroos in Australia. People in Bali also consume Porcupines.
Why halt this illegal wild animals trade?
- To clamp down its impact on the economy of a country
- Bring the balance of wildlife that are in the endangered species category
- To prevent a new pandemic that could erupt
- Also, to end cruelty to animals
After more than a year of catastrophe caused by this virus, people are suffering even now. In some countries, the rate of cases and deaths is alarming.
The news that made headlines during 2020 when China suffered from this virus was about a ‘wild bat’. A viral video of a show host eating a bat soup caused controversy over the outbreak. Then it came to light that it could be a Pangolin behind this. It was legal in parts of China to consume wild animals. Hence, we came across videos of wild animal markets, where people buy exotic wild animals to eat.
Recently we came across China banning wildlife for consumption. It is freely visible even Vietnamese people consuming Snakes or dogs. If you happen to visit Vietnam, you could see restaurants that cook snakes. There are restaurants that all cook dogs. There is a whole village famous for snakes.
How old is this illegal wildlife trade?
It has been happening for many centuries. The process continued after the formal implementation of the law. Highlighting the significant problems, then creating a Bill, passing that Bill results in that Bill becoming new law.
Through News media, most of us know about killing wild animals for their byproducts, such as elephants for their ivory, lion and tigers for their skin, bones, flesh and even teeth. Even gorillas and monkeys are not safe from such practices.
In the medical industry, we know that many medicines contain animal byproducts. People have been traditionally using animal products and medicinal plants as for thousands of years.
As we always try to find a specific number of years, we learn about different dates. Specially tiger bone has been used for treating musculoskeletal diseases and is well known in the Chinese culture.
The Fact is that some of the herbivorous animals also eat such medicinal wild herbs in the forest. Hence, through them, people get that healing.
What are the most profitable and commonly affected animals & birds by this trade?
Animal & their products that sell for a hefty price are most affected. The most common animals that we find in the news are
- Tigers
- Civets
- Snakes
- Pangolin
- Elephants
- Turtles
- Parrots
- Rhinos
- Ostrich
- Peacock
- Wild Cat
- Beavers
- Red Squirrel
- Bats (mouse, grey long)
- Hedgehog
- Hazel door mouse
- Mountain hare
Educating masses on keeping it and or allowing them to get licensed could help reduce or even halt it to an enormous extent.
Are these steps taken going to stop the illegal wildlife trade?
No! it is not going to stop. It is because of the income of the people that live in the poorer countries. We learn from various articles and cases that we notice. We realise that It’s also a quick income for the locals of a particular village where these actions happen.
Possible solutions to eliminate or reduce the impact of illegal wildlife trade:
Developed countries fully establish a structure to help the poorer nations: monetary help distributed, ethical skills and just treatment. Not to rely on the local authorities to distribute the aid independently. In such countries, the money eventually has a high possibility of ending up in some politician’s account.
Local governments of many underdeveloped countries have the capability and can take action. However, without accountability, it could go out of hand. These local authorities also will have corruption within their system.
Option 2: Legalise wildlife to keep as a pet if certified and licensed. Local governments will still veto the transactions by simply charging more taxes, and again, the same issue of illegal wildlife trade.
The whole point boils down to if the general public has enough resources to take care of their families and feed, clothe and provide them proper shelter. As long as there is a hierarchy in the society again, the same issue will arise. So the whole point of stopping the illegal wildlife trade will fall down the drain.
- (Note: Solution could vary based on the specifics of the country of implementation)
