The Illegal Wildlife Trade is a Global trade of endangered animals and their parts that threatens the survival of many species of Plants and Animals, the trade in animals and their parts is the 4th Largest Black Market in the world after Drugs, Weapons, and Human Trafficking, the trade is worth Billions of dollars with some estimates putting it at $23 Billion yearly.
Image: African Wildlife Foundation
Factors driving the trade
The main factor driving the trade is demand and it is one of the most essential factors for any Black market to thrive and grow, the demand can be classified further to understand why the trade exists:
The Demand for Luxury Goods- Animal parts such as Tiger and Leopard Skin, Rhino Horn, and Ivory are high in demand because of their use in making luxury items, as the middle class in China and Vietnam grows massive the people in bid to show off their wealth invest in Ivory carvings and Rhino horns, even though the Chiese Government has banned the domestic trade of Ivory but has allowed the sale of Ivory which was seized before the trade ban which is a convenient loophole which allows criminal Syndicate to mix in illegally sourced Ivory into the stockpile, in Vietnam, and other Southeast Asian countries the border villages are notorious for openly flouting the rules and selling illegal contraband like Ivory carvings, raw Rhino Horns, Ivory jewellery and a host of other animal products.
The Demand for Traditional Medicine/ TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine)- the demand for traditional medicine stems from a culture where Western modern medicine is largely disregarded among the middle class and the poor who resort to curing dangerous and life-threatening ailments by consuming Rhino horn, Shark organs, Pangolin scales, Tiger organs, and many more animals and their organs which stems from the lack of education and Ignorance and disbelief in modern medicine, in some cases this paraphernalia is consumed as an aphrodisiac, but in reality, the people are ignorant or refuse to acknowledge the fact that for Example Rhino Horn is made up of Keratin which is the same material that our skin and hair is made up of, the people in blind faith and desperation believe in such atrocious claims touted by sellers to sell these products.
The demand for exotic Pets: this habit is cultivated by the rich mostly in Asia and many parts of Europe where the demand for pets and wild-borne individuals causes the reduction of the concerned animals in the wild as captive breeding is not possible or not desired, this is just to show their wealth and maintain their prestige in the society hence many people keep exotic pets, when acquired are adorable but as they grow they become big and their needs increase making them undesirable which leads to the owner abandoning the pet or keeping it captive in deplorable conditions.
Poverty and Corruption: The abject poverty in some places of the world forces people to resort to capturing wild and endangered animals for food or selling them for little money to be able to afford to feed their family, Criminal Syndicates in many parts of Africa and Asia exploit the poor conditions of people living near wildlife sanctuaries and reserves to make them do the dirty work of butchering the animal and extracting the prized product in demand which differs from animal to animal.
Impact of IWT (Illegal Wildlife Trade)
The impact of illegal wildlife trade can be quantified in a few ways if IWT continues at this pace then the black market will grow in size prompting new players to enter the market and putting even more pressure on the wildlife population all over the world, The trade of wildlife is putting a lot of strain on our biodiversity and ecosystem which inevitably is linked to our survival as if the ecosystem collapses then the survival of mankind will be at stake. Also because of the incessant deforestation and wildlife trade the emergence of new diseases challenges us in ways we are not prepared to handle which in the end causes many deaths, the IWT is one of the ways through which terrorists finance their operations.
Humans should collectively work towards ending this barbaric trade as if due to this trade the ecosystem is imbalanced then the earth will be rife with death and disease, an Apocalypse is imminent.
