Wildlife Matters Investigates the wild animals which are being poached for their body parts for the Illegal wildlife trade. Looking at the individual species and revealing the huge numbers of individuals that are being killed to fuel the black economy and the massive market with a misplaced faith in traditional medicine that is based on animal body parts.
Elephants – 1000 a week being killed!
The ivory tusks of African elephants are stained red with the innocent blood they have spilt.
Every year, 35,000 – 50,000 are slaughtered for their precious tusks, and their lives were taken to feed relentless and cruel greed. The lucrative illegal wildlife trade, worth billions of dollars per year, is driven by the soaring prices of ivory and other animal parts – prices that have increased over 1000% since the 1990s.
In just 30 years, Africa’s Savannah Elephant population has been cut in half due to poaching, and this rate could lead to their extinction within a decade if it is not halted.
On average, 96 elephants are killed each day in Africa by poachers who seek to profit from this dark and sinister trade. But Elephants are not the only species being slaughtered; other wildlife including rhinoceroses, tigers, and pangolins are also being hunted mercilessly for their body parts.
Their passing is creating an eerie silence on the savannahs as species vanish at an alarming rate, driving us ever closer to the brink of the sixth mass extinction.
The death of these majestic creatures will echo through time as a sad reminder of what we have lost when we allowed greed to overcome our humanity.
Plants and animals go extinct for a variety of reasons, including climate change, habitat destruction, hunting and the introduction of non-native species.
The use of animal parts in traditional medicine can also contribute to a species’ decline, despite there being no real evidence of the efficacy of these treatments. The rarity of a creature does not protect it from being killed in the name of “medicine”; it just raises the market price.
The illegal wildlife trade is the second most lucrative illegal trade after drugs.
Between 35,000 – 50,000, African Elephants are Poached a Year!
Whilst Elephants are probably the most affected species, they are not the only wildlife that is killed at the hands of poachers for their body parts.
Three Rhinos are Poached Every day!
The vicious and merciless poaching of rhinos continues to escalate, with three rhinos being cruelly slaughtered every single day – driving all five species of this majestic animal towards the brink of extinction.
Driven by greed and deception, poachers are lured by the lucrative market for Rhino horn that persists in Eastern traditional medicine, where it is falsely believed to cure an array of illnesses, including cancer. The rumour that a VIP in Vietnam was cured of terminal liver cancer with Rhino horn caused an eruption in demand, skyrocketing the price to an obscene $30,000 per kilo.
This cruel trade has brought these gentle giants perilously close to extinction; the plight of the Javan and Sumatran Rhinos is particularly dire, with numbers now so low they are at risk of becoming extinct any day
With only 29,000 rhinos left in the world today, it is heartbreaking to know that these beautiful animals may be wiped off the face of this earth forever.
Over One Million Pangolins Have Been Traded in the Past 10 Years!
The pangolin, an animal of gentle nature, is being hunted to the brink of extinction by wicked human poachers.
Its unique scales, composed of keratin, the same material as human hair and fingernails, are prized in Traditional Chinese Medicine and sought after for false promises of healing illnesses such as rheumatism and fever.
In parts of Asia, the pangolin’s flesh is also seen as a delicacy, its unborn foetus brutally ripped from the safety of its mother’s womb.
Though the pangolin curls up in a defensive ball much like a hedgehog, its scaly skin does little to protect it from human hands. With ease, poachers can grab the poor creature and toss it into a sack for a few dollars, unaware that those same scales will be sold for hundreds of dollars per gram on the black market.
There are More Tigers in American Backyards Than in the Wild!
The illegal wildlife trade for exotic animals has decimated the population of tigers roaming in the wild, leaving only a fraction of the original population.
Horrifyingly, these majestic cats are hunted to the brink of extinction for their valuable body parts, skin, bones, teeth, and claws which are believed to possess supernatural powers such as strength, vitality, and sexual prowess.
With illegal poaching syndicates commanding prices of up to fifty thousand dollars for a single tiger, the criminal trade in tiger parts flourishes despite international bans.
And yet, some countries continue to allow the farming of tigers, which only further fuels demand on the black market.
40 % of the Asian Elephant Population is in Captivity!
The Asian elephant, a species once thought to be relatively safe from poaching, faces an uncertain future.
With only an estimated 50,000 left in the world, their numbers are dwindling dangerously. Around 40% of the remaining animals have been captured and forced into servitude, exploited as ‘working’ animals in the logging, mining, and tourism industries.
Poachers have even begun to target Asian elephants for their meat, hide, and ivory tusks, with some body parts, even made into a paste to treat hernias!
The animals are fighting an uphill battle against increasingly scarce natural habitats and growing human populations, making their extinction a real possibility. Unless we act now, this majestic species may soon be lost forever.
Every species of Gorilla is at risk of extinction
The fate of all gorilla species hangs in the balance in the Central African tropical and subtropical forests.
Unscrupulous poachers, driven by money, mercilessly hunt these remarkable creatures for the Bushmeat trade, leading to a devastating decline in numbers.
Forestry habitats are being decimated, leading to the Western Lowland Gorilla population being slashed to only 100,000 members.
The Cross River Gorilla is teetering on the brink of extinction with only 250-300 left. Tragically, the Eastern Lowland Gorilla – subspecies has had a fraction of its population wiped out in recent decades and only 4,000 of its members remain.
The Mountain Gorilla faced possible extinction in the latter part of the 20th Century but has been able to recover its numbers to 880 due to its home range in mountains and elevations as high as 10-13,000 feet above sea level.
28,000 Freshwater Turtles are Traded Every Day!
Around 80 per cent of Asia’s freshwater turtle species are in danger of extinction. These turtles are used for medicine, food or in the pet trade. Illegal trade in freshwater turtles generates millions of dollars every year.
Only 7000 Cheetahs remain in the wild today.
The fate of the cheetah hangs in the balance, with a staggering decline in population since 1970.
Cheetah numbers have been decimated by human interference, from habitat destruction as land is converted for agriculture or livestock, to illegal poaching for their skin and other body parts.
Vulnerable cubs have become highly sought-after as exotic pets, while unwitting cheetahs face frequent vehicle collisions or are maliciously slaughtered for bushmeat.
With such a devastating onslaught, the species is teetering on the brink of extinction unless drastic action is taken.
Sun Bear – Killed for their gallbladders
The merciless hunting of sun bears has had a devastating impact on their population, slashing it by more than 30 per cent in the past three decades.
The illegal killing of these bears is widespread throughout Southeast Asia but rarely enforced, as poachers continue to hunt them without consequence.
To add to their misery, unscrupulous commercial farms capture wild bears to ‘milk’ their gallbladders for the sought-after bile to be used in traditional Chinese medicine.
Grevy’s Zebra – Driven towards extinction because of farming
Once the wild and untamed symbol of Africa, Grevy’s zebra has been pushed to the brink of extinction in recent decades.
Hunting for their skin and competition for resources have caused their numbers to plummet from 25,000 in the 1970s to a mere 2,500 today.
They can now be found only in small pockets of northern Kenya and a few parts of Ethiopia, a far cry from their once vast range across East Africa.
If nothing is done to protect them, Grevy’s zebra may soon be relegated to the pages of history.
Hawksbill Sea Turtle – Face extinction so their shell can be made into trinkets.
The Hawksbill sea turtle species teeters on the brink of extinction, with their numbers dwindling as poachers hunt these majestic creatures relentlessly.
Driven by a callous human desire for their shells, which are sold worldwide as trinkets and jewellery, and for their oil, which is used for traditional medicine, these animals have suffered for the greed of people.
Despite immense conservation efforts to stop the trade of turtle parts and punish those who break laws, the species still hangs in peril.
The illegal wildlife trade is a ruthless, heartless and barbaric practice that has left countless species on the brink of extinction.
Wild animals, prized for their fur, ivory, horns, and other body parts are targeted mercilessly by poachers, whose shocking disregard for life has led to a never-ending bloodbath in the animal kingdom.
Humans are being killed as well – 100 Wildlife Rangers are killed each year.
The impact of this unscrupulous trade is not just limited to wildlife; over the past ten years, more than one thousand rangers have sacrificed their lives trying to protect vulnerable species from poachers.
The stories of these brave people are tragically forgotten. At the same time, we mourn the loss of majestic Elephants, Rhinos and other animals that were brutally slaughtered for the sake of tradition and fashion accessories.
Wildlife Matters believes that the only way to end this perverse global crisis is for governments worldwide to take decisive action now.
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Further Reading
The Illegal Wildlife Trade Crisis by ZSL London
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