Illegal wildlife Trade: The most cruel human activities taking wildlife to the brink of extinction.

The survival of many species of wildlife is threatened owing to habitat destruction, climate change, illegal trade and pollution. But it may come as a surprise to many of us to know the second biggest direct threat to wildlife after habitat destruction is illegal wildlife trade. Illegal wildlife trade is becoming a big concern nowadays driving countless endangered wild species into the verge of extinction.

Just like the smuggling of drugs, women and weapons, the various parts of wildlife are also illegally trafficked for many purposes around many countries. According to WWF, wildlife trafficking comes under the world's fourth largest illegal business, after narcotics, women trafficking and trade in unauthorized goods and is estimated to reach USD 20 billion per year.

Pangolin, rhinoceros, elephant, tigers, red panda, otters, bear and turtle are the major species on the brink and they are frequently traded for their various parts. Unfortunately, pangolins are the most illegally trafficked am mammals and their poaching rates are far higher than all other wildlife species. Pangolins are traded for their scales and meat for Chinese traditional medicine. About 1 million of pangolins are estimated to have been traded in the past decades.

China and Vietnam are the two main Asian countries who have the largest market for all the illegal wildlife trade happening in the world. They are also the central countries which demands illegal parts many of the species mainly for traditional Asian medicine. They believe that the pangolin scales and rhino horns can cure all the diseases including mental illness, cancer and asthma. But there is no scientific evidence behind these because they are made from keratin-the same substance that makes our finger nails. Yet, these myths are pushing all the innocent wild creatures towards extinction from the planet.

Despite many national and international agencies working to curb the illegal wildlife trade the success rate is too low. Wildlife trade has become a massive business these days done by an organized group. Parts of wild animals are not the source of medicine, nor are they means of any means of any decoration, materials and clothing. Wildlife constitutes one part of the ecosystem like ourselves. So, we don’t have any right to poach or kill them for our benefits. Thus, strengthening anti-poaching laws is the only a sensible way a head to combat the illegal wildlife trade.

References:

·         Illegal wildlife trade, WWF. Available at: https://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/illegal-wildlife-trade

·         Unsustainable and Illegal wildlife trade, WWF. Available at: https://wwf.panda.org/our_work/our_focus/wildlife_practice/problems/illegal_trade/

·         Pangolins: Rare insight into world's most trafficked mammal. BBC, Science & Environment. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-47200816

·         The Biggest Issues for Wildlife and Endangered Species in 2019. Scientific American. Available at: https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/extinction-countdown/the-biggest-issues-for-wildlife-and-endangered-species-in-2019/

 Photo source: Wikipedia