Editing Poaching (section)

== Anti-poaching efforts ==
There are different [[anti-poaching]] efforts around the world. And research suggests that such work may be more effective at improving populations affected by poaching than protected area expansion.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Timms |first1=Liam |last2=Holden |first2=Matthew H. |date=2024-02-01 |title=Optimizing protected area expansion and enforcement to conserve exploited species |journal=Biological Conservation |volume=290 |pages=110463 |doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110463 |issn=0006-3207|doi-access=free |bibcode=2024BCons.29010463T }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kuempel |first1=Caitlin D. |last2=Adams |first2=Vanessa M. |last3=Possingham |first3=Hugh P. |last4=Bode |first4=Michael |date=May 2018 |title=Bigger or better: The relative benefits of protected area network expansion and enforcement for the conservation of an exploited species |url=https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/conl.12433 |journal=Conservation Letters |language=en |volume=11 |issue=3 |doi=10.1111/conl.12433 |bibcode=2018ConL...11E2433K |issn=1755-263X|hdl=10072/417009 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

=== Africa ===
The [[Traffic (conservation programme)|Traffic conservation programme]] brings to light many of the poaching areas and trafficking routes and helps to clamp down on the smuggling routes the poachers use to get the ivory to areas of high demand, predominantly Asia.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.traffic.org/|title=TRAFFIC {{!}} Wildlife trade specialists|website=www.traffic.org|language=en|access-date=2019-01-10}}</ref>

As many as 35,000 [[African elephant]]s<ref>[https://www.awf.org/wildlife-conservation/elephant African elephants]</ref> are slaughtered yearly to feed the demand for their ivory tusks. This ivory then goes on to be used in jewelry, musical instruments, and other trinkets.

Members of the Rhino Rescue Project have implemented a technique to combat rhino poaching in [[South Africa]] by injecting a mixture of indelible [[dye]] and a parasiticide into the animals' horns, which enables tracking of the horns and deters consumption of the horn by purchasers. Since rhino horn is made of [[keratin]], advocates say the procedure is painless for the animal.<ref>Angler, M. (2013). [http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/2013/05/09/dye-and-poison-stop-rhino-poachers/ Dye and Poison Stop Rhino Poachers], Scientific American, retrieved 8 August 2013</ref>

Another strategy being used to counter rhino poachers in Africa is called RhODIS, which is a database that compiles rhino DNA from confiscated horns and other goods that were being illegally traded, as well as DNA recovered from poaching sites. RhODIS cross-references the DNA as it searches for matches; if a match is found, it is used to track down the poachers.

Africa's Wildlife Trust seeks to protect [[African elephant]] populations from poaching activities in Tanzania. Hunting for [[Ivory#Availability|ivory]] was banned in 1989, but poaching of elephants continues in many parts of Africa stricken by economic decline. The [[International Anti-Poaching Foundation]] has a structured [[military]]-like approach to conservation, employing tactics and technology generally reserved for the battlefield. Founder [[Damien Mander]] is an advocate of the use of military equipment and tactics, including [[Unmanned Aerial Vehicles]], for military-style anti-poaching operations.<ref>{{cite news |author=Dunn, M. |year=2012 |title=Ex-soldier takes on poachers with hi-tech help for wildlife |url=http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/ex-soldier-takes-on-poachers-with-hi-tech-help-for-wildlife/story-e6frf7kx-1226541411880 |newspaper=Herald Sun}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Mander, D. |year=2013 |title=Rise of the drones |journal=Africa Geographic |issue=February |pages=52–55 |url=http://www.iapf.org/images/documents/riseofthedronesjan2013.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402124230/http://www.iapf.org/images/documents/riseofthedronesjan2013.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2015-04-02 }}</ref><ref>Jacobs, H. (2013). [http://www.australiaunlimited.com/environment/eco-warrior ''The Eco-Warrior''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140317005631/http://www.australiaunlimited.com/environment/eco-warrior |date=17 March 2014 }}. Australia Unlimited, 19 April 2013</ref> Such military-style approaches have been criticised for failing to resolve the underlying reasons for poaching, but to neither tackle "the role of global trading networks" nor the continued demand for animal products. Instead, they "result in coercive, unjust and counterproductive approaches to wildlife conservation".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Duffy |first1=R. |year=2014 |title=Waging a war to save biodiversity: the rise of militarized conservation |journal=International Affairs |volume=90 |issue=4 |pages=819–834 |doi=10.1111/1468-2346.12142 |url=http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/109071/1/Duffy-Int%20Affairs%20pre%20publication%20version.pdf}}</ref>

Chengeta Wildlife is an organization that works to equip and train wildlife protection teams and lobbies African governments to adopt anti-poaching campaigns.<ref>{{cite news |publisher=huffingtonpost.com |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/30/ivory-trade-elephants-extinct_n_5631782.html |title=African Elephants May Be Extinct By 2020 Because People Keep Eating With Ivory Chopsticks |date=30 July 2014}}</ref>
[[Jim Nyamu]]'s elephant walks are part of attempts in Kenya to reduce ivory poaching.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/environment/africa-wild/2015/nov/16/strategies-for-success-in-the-ivory-war] Strategies for success in the ivory war, The Guardian, Paula Kahumbu, 2015</ref>

In 2013, the Tanzanian Minister of Natural Resources and Tourism urged that poachers be shot on sight in an effort to stop the mass killing of elephants.<ref>{{cite news |first=D. |last=Smith |date=2013 |title=Execute elephant poachers on the spot, Tanzanian minister urges |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=29 December 2016 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/oct/08/shoot-elephant-poachers-tanzania-ivory}}</ref>
Since December 2016, anti-poaching police units in Namibia are permitted to return fire on poachers if fired upon.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.namibiansun.com/news/no-mercy-for-poachers/ |title=No mercy for poachers |first=J.-M. |last=Smith |date=2016 |newspaper=[[Namibian Sun]] |access-date=30 December 2016}}</ref>
The government of Botswana adopted a shoot-to-kill policy against poachers in 2013 as a "legitimate conservation strategy" and "a necessary evil", which has reduced poaching to the point it is thought to be "virtually non-existent" in the country, and that neighbouring countries like South Africa should also adopt similar measures in order to save wildlife from extinction.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mogomotsi |first1=G. |last2=Kefilwe Madigele |first2=P. |date=2017 |title=Live by the gun, die by the gun: An Analysis of Botswana's 'shoot-to-kill' policy as an anti-poaching strategy |journal=South African Crime Quarterly |issue=60 |doi=10.17159/2413-3108/2017/v0n60a1787 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Carnie |first=T. |date=2017 |title=Should rangers be allowed to kill poachers on sight? Yes' researchers say |url=http://www.heraldlive.co.za/news/2017/07/18/rangers-allowed-kill-poachers-sight-yes-researchers-say/ |newspaper=The Herald (South Africa) |access-date=July 20, 2017}}</ref>
In May 2018, the Kenyan government announced that poachers will face the [[death penalty]], as fines and life imprisonment have "not been deterrence enough to curb poaching, hence the proposed stiffer sentence".<ref>{{cite news |last=Dalton |first=J. |date=2018 |title=Wildlife poachers in Kenya 'to face death penalty' |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/poachers-kenya-wildlife-death-penalty-capital-punishment-najib-balala-a8349966.html |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |access-date=April 3, 2019}}</ref> Human rights organizations oppose the move, but wildlife advocates support it. [[Save the Rhino]], a UK-based wildlife advocacy organization notes that in Kenya, 23 rhinos and 156 elephants were killed by poachers between 2016 and 2017. As of March 2019, the measure is being put on the fast track to implementation by Kenyan lawmakers.<ref>{{cite news |last=Chavez |first=H. |date=2019 |title=Kenya's Poachers To Face Execution For Killing Treasured Species |url=https://www.inquisitr.com/5321372/kenyas-poachers-to-face-execution-for-killing-treasured-species/ |newspaper=[[Inquisitr]] |access-date=April 3, 2019 }}</ref>

=== Asia ===
Large quantities of ivory are sometimes destroyed as a statement against poaching, a.k.a. "[[Destruction of ivory|ivory crush]]".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fws.gov/international/pdf/factsheet-ivory-crush-qa.pdf |title=U.S. Ivory Crush |publisher=U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service |date=2013 |access-date=2014-02-01}}</ref> In 2013 the [[Philippines]] were the first country to destroy their national seized ivory stock.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/06/130618-philippines-ivory-crush-elephants-poaching-world-asia/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130620173305/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/06/130618-philippines-ivory-crush-elephants-poaching-world-asia/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=20 June 2013 |title=In Global First, Philippines to Destroy Its Ivory Stock |magazine=National Geographic |date=2013-06-18 |access-date=2014-02-01}}</ref> In 2014, [[China]] followed suit and crushed six tons of ivory as a symbolic statement against poaching.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/01/140106-china-ivory-crush-elephant-conservation/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140110074442/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/01/140106-china-ivory-crush-elephant-conservation |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 January 2014 |title=China Crushes Six Tons of Confiscated Elephant Ivory |magazine=National Geographic |date=2014 |access-date=2014-02-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jan/06/china-crush-ivory-elephant-poaching |title=China crushes six tons of ivory |newspaper=The Guardian |date=2014 |access-date=2014-02-01}}</ref>

There are two main solutions according to Frederick Chen that would attack the supply side of this poaching problem to reduce its effects: enforcing and enacting more policies and laws for conservation and by encouraging local communities to protect the wildlife around them by giving them more land rights.<ref name=":5" />

Nonetheless, Frederick Chen wrote about two types of effects stemming from [[demand-side economics]]: the bandwagon and snob effect. The former deals with people desiring a product due to many other people buying it, while the latter is similar but with one distinct difference: people will clamour to buy something if it denotes wealth that only a few elites could possibly afford. Therefore, the snob effect would offset some of the gains made by anti-poaching laws, regulations, or practices: if a portion of the supply is cut off, the rarity and price of the object would increase, and only a select few would have the desire and purchasing power for it. While approaches to dilute mitigate poaching from a supply-side may not be the best option as people can become more willing to purchase rarer items, especially in countries gaining more wealth and therefore higher demand for illicit goods—Frederick Chen still advocates that we should also focus on exploring ways to reduce the demand for these goods to better stop the problem of poaching.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Chen |first=F. |date=2016 |title=Poachers and Snobs: Demand for Rarity and the Effects of Antipoaching Policies |journal=Conservation Letters |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=65–69 |doi=10.1111/conl.12181 |issn=1755-263X|doi-access=free|bibcode=2016ConL....9...65C }}</ref> Indeed, there is some evidence that interventions to reduce consumer demand may be more effective for combatting poaching than continually increased policing to catch poachers.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Holden|first1=M. H. |last2=Biggs |first2=D. |last3=Brink |first3=H. |last4=Bal |first4=P. |last5=Rhodes|first5=J. |last6=McDonald-Madden |first6=E. |name-list-style=amp |year=2018 |title=Increase anti-poaching law-enforcement or reduce demand for wildlife products? A framework to guide strategic conservation investments |journal=Conservation Letters |volume=12 |issue=3 |pages=e12618 |doi=10.1111/conl.12618|doi-access=free|hdl=10072/385839 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> However, almost no groups deploying interventions that attempt to reduce consumer demand evaluate the impact of their actions.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Veríssimo|first1=D. |last2=Wan|first2=A. K. Y. |name-list-style=amp |title=Characterizing efforts to reduce consumer demand for wildlife products |journal=Conservation Biology |volume= 33|issue= 3|pages=623–633 |doi=10.1111/cobi.13227 |year=2019 |pmid=30259569 |bibcode=2019ConBi..33..623V |s2cid=52842222 |url=https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:fa31e9f9-ee2e-4aa1-a28e-7a3eaa5ed984 }}</ref>

Another solution to alleviate poaching proposed in ''Tigers of the World'' was about how to implement a multi-lateral strategy that targets different parties to conserve wild tiger populations in general. This multi-lateral approach include working with different agencies to fight and prevent poaching since organized crime syndicates benefit from tiger poaching and trafficking; therefore, there is a need to raise social awareness and implement more protection and investigative techniques. For example, conservation groups raised more awareness amongst park rangers and the local communities to understand the impact of tiger poaching—they achieved this through targeted advertising that would impact the main audience. Targeting advertising using more violent imagery to show the disparity between tigers in nature and as a commodity made a great impact on the general population to combat poaching and indifference towards this problem. The use of spokespeople such as Jackie Chan and other famous Asian actors and models who advocated against poaching also helped the conservation movement for tigers too.<ref name=":4" />

In July 2019, rhino horns encased in plaster were seized in [[Vietnam]] that were being trafficked from the [[United Arab Emirates]]. Despite the ban on trade since the 1970s, poaching level of rhino horns has risen over the last decade, leading the rhino population into crisis.<ref>{{cite news |title=Vietnam seizes 125kg of rhino horn worth £6m concealed in plaster shipment |access-date=29 July 2019 |newspaper=The Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/07/29/vietnam-seizes-125-kg-rhino-horn-worth-6m-concealed-plaster/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/07/29/vietnam-seizes-125-kg-rhino-horn-worth-6m-concealed-plaster/ |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Poaching has many causes in both Africa and China. The issue of poaching is not a simple one to solve as traditional methods to counter poaching have not taken into the account the poverty levels that drive some poachers and the lucrative profits made by organized crime syndicates who deal in illegal wildlife trafficking. Conservationists hope the new emerging multi-lateral approach, which would include the public, conservation groups, and the police, will be successful for the future of these animals.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.rti.org/impact/usaid-protect-and-usaid-wildlife-asia-combating-illegal-wildlife-trafficking |title=USAID PROTECT and USAID Wildlife Asia: Combating Illegal Wildlife Trafficking |date=2018 |website=RTI International |access-date=2020-04-22}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.giz.de/en/worldwide/66553.html |title=Partnership against Poaching and Illegal Wildlife Trade in Africa and Asia |website=Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH |access-date=2020-04-22}}</ref>

=== United States ===
Some [[game warden]]s have made use of robotic decoy animals placed in high visibility areas to draw out poachers for arrest after the decoys are shot.<ref>{{cite news |author=Jones, M. |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1683&dat=20010402&id=vr0aAAAAIBAJ&pg=3886,2120467 |title=Animal robots help enforce hunting laws |newspaper=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel |year=2001 }}{{Dead link|date=April 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Decoys with robotics to mimic natural movements are also in use by law enforcement.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Neal |first1=M. |title=Poachers are still getting duped into shooting robot Deer |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/poachers-are-still-getting-duped-into-shooting-robot-deer/ |website=Motherboard |publisher=Vice |access-date=12 April 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160602101402/http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/poachers-are-still-getting-duped-into-shooting-robot-deer |archive-date=2 June 2016 }}</ref> The [[ProtectedSeas|Marine Monitor]] radar system watches sensitive marine areas for illicit vessel movement.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://globalconservation.org/news/mpa-protection-mission-isla-de-la-plata-machalilla-national-park/|title=MPA Protection Mission – Isla de la Plata, Machalilla National Park, Ecuador|date=February 8, 2019|website=Global Conservation|access-date=March 17, 2020|archive-date=17 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200317210958/https://globalconservation.org/news/mpa-protection-mission-isla-de-la-plata-machalilla-national-park/|url-status=dead}}</ref>