Poaching, the illegal pet trade, and wildlife smuggling threaten biodiversity in several ways. Give examples of species under threat from these activities. What specific actions can individuals take to avert the threats that these activities pose?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

While many people that poach do so to secure necessary food, others do so strictly for profit. Poaching is illegal, and of particular concern is poaching threatened and endangered species, such as the Mountain gorilla and African elephant. The illegal pet trade can have direct environmental impacts. For example, people often use toxins in the process of capturing tropical fish. These toxins can kill fish that are not captured. Snakes such as the Burmese python sometimes released into the wild where they can suffer or become harmful invasive species in the local ecosystem. Wildlife smuggling is illegal and causes great distress to the wildlife, supports the illegal pet trade, and undermines safe practices in legal trade. For all of these issues it is more profitable for the local economy if the species are alive and intact. Over the life of an animal, ecotourist dollars generated often exceed the value that poached or illegally hunted animals fetch on the black market. For example, a seven year-old male lion in Kenya may generate $515,000 in tourist dollars over its lifetime, but it's skin is worth only $1000 to poachers. All of these issues contribute to species decline and therefore threaten biodiversity.It is the individual's role to educate others about these issues, to support the fight against these issues, to not purchase products from poached or illegally traded species, and to report known cases of poaching and illegal pet trading.