Poaching poses a growing threat to elephants, rhinos, and other charismatic animals, as well as to smaller and more obscure creatures, like certain lizards and monkeys.
Like in many other parts of the world, Ethiopia’s wildlife faces major threats from poaching and the illegal wildlife trade. Population growth and expansion of developmental activities such as agricultural plantation nearby PAs are contributing to the loss of wildlife habitats. The land has become a critical factor for Ethiopia since agriculture (mechanized and smallholding) is considered the biggest contributors to Ethiopia’s GDP. Ethiopia’s current rate of economic growth did not come without a cost, mainly to wildlife conservation whereby many protected areas, which were once considered as the last frontiers, were invaded by large scale farms. Some of the critical wildlife habitats such as Gambela, Omo and Mago National parks and Babille elephant sanctuary are threatened by human activity, yet they are home to vulnerable species such as elephants, wrote an Environmental Consultant Mekbeb E. Tessema (PhD).
However, in the past few years, successful efforts to combat trafficking have increased the detection of ivory carried by passengers at Bole International Airport (BIA). Priorities now are to put in place customs training, a dog unit and additional scanners to increase ivory detection in cargo and at land borders, particularly in Ethiopian Somali and SNNP National Regional States. Moreover, local community engagement, multi-sectoral integration and awareness-raising are critical to decreasing demand and participation in the illegal wildlife trade. Capacity building and collaborating with Federal and Regional Police and judiciary is important to increase prosecution rates and the revision of related legislation including the penal code of the country to ensure that it provides sufficient and deterrent penalties to traffickers. It is also important to continue collaborating with international partners like INTERPOL, the UN drug control agency, NGOs working on combating wildlife crime and law enforcement agencies across Africa and Asia.
Poachers sometimes kill or capture animals to sell them locally or for the global wildlife trade. Wildlife trading is a major black market that has increased alongside rising wealth in Asia–a major consumer of wildlife–and the advent of e-commerce and social media websites.
Some animals, such as birds, reptiles, and primates, are captured live so that they can be kept or sold as exotic pets. Slaughtered animals, on the other hand, have commercial value as food, jewellery, decor, or traditional medicine. The ivory tusks of African elephants, for example, are carved into trinkets or display pieces. The scales of pangolins, small animals that eat ants, are ground into a powder and consumed for their purported healing powers. The meat of apes, snakes, and other bush animals is considered a delicacy in parts of Africa.
In addition to killing for direct profit, poachers target animals to prevent them from destroying crops or attacking livestock. This happens to lions and elephants in Africa, as well as to wolves, coyotes, and other predators in North America and beyond.
Poaching has devastating consequences for wildlife. In some instances, it’s the primary reason why an animal faces a risk of extinction. This is the case with the African elephant, more than 100,000 of whom were killed between 2014 and 2017 for ivory. Poaching has also had a catastrophic impact on rhinos, with more than a thousand slaughtered a year for their horns.
Poaching for the exotic pet trade affects an animal’s welfare in addition to its numbers in the wild. Most wild animals eat specialized diets found in nature, and they need space to fly, roam, and swing from branches. Captured animals are stuffed into boxes, suitcases, or sacks, and even if they survive transport, they often suffer in their new, unnatural situations.
Then there are the tragic ways poaching affects people. In Africa, nearly 600 rangers charged with protecting wildlife were gunned down by poachers between 2009 and 2016 while in the line of duty. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Virunga National Park, one of the continent’s most dangerous, at least 170 rangers have been killed during the past two decades.
What’s more, poaching has been linked to armed militia groups in Africa suspected of trafficking ivory to fund their operations, and it often occurs alongside other crimes including corruption and money laundering. And poached animals can spread diseases, such as Ebola and SARS.
In addition to providing on-the-ground protection for animals, many countries make poaching an offence 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 the demand for illegal wildlife and wildlife parts. If no one’s buying the products, there will be no need to kill the animals.