POACHING

A seashell vendor sells seashells which have been taken alive from the water, killing the animal inside. Tourists who buy the shells encourage this form of poaching.

Poaching is illegal hunting or fishing. It may be illegal because:

• The game or fish is out of season.
• The hunter or fisherman does not possess an appropriate license.
• The animal is on restricted land.
• The right to hunt this animal is claimed by somebody.
• The means used are illegal (for example, baiting a field while hunting quail).
• The animal or fish is protected by law (see for example the Endangered Species Act for the USA).

It is currently estimated that the illegal wildlife trade is worth 10 billion US dollars.

Note that only wild animals can be poached. Stealing or killing domestic animals is theft ("cattle rustling"), not poaching.

Historical aspects

In the middle ages, poaching was a form of hunting unique to the poor, especially during the eras when hunting was a privilege reserved to landowners and the nobility. In the 16th century, killing a deer (a royal animal) was punishable by death. The poor typically hunted small animals such as rabbits (using snares and ferrets). Genuine hunting required weapons, considerable skill and spare time, which the average peasant simply did not have. A peasant was far more likely to kill the lord's deer to protect his fields. Still, killing the deer was considered poaching, no matter for what cause. Outlaws could support themselves by hunting, even though they could get into even more trouble doing so. In the medieval ages, wild animals were considered a major source of food because of several famines which diminished other sources of food. This led to an increase in poaching.'

Biodiversity implications

Since at least the 17th century some humans have killed certain wildlife species in locations not under their land ownership. Generally such actions have been conducted for commercial exploitation to retrieve antlers, tusks, hides or even as trophies. Besides issues of theft and immorality, there have arisen serious consequences of biodiversity impact. Species often targeted for poaching include African elephant, rhinoceros, tiger, marine turtle and many other. Poaching can also include live capture for commercial sale such as taking of primates for medical research. Significant attrition of many species has occurred especially over the last two centuries, sometimes leading to endangerment or even extinction.

As an example, the country of Chad has seen significant reduction in certain wildlife species in recent decades. In particular, elephant herds were substantial in number as recently as 1970 with an estiamted population of 300,000; however, by 2006 the number has dwindled to about 10,000. The African elephant nominally has governmental protection, but the implementation practices of the government (backed with certain EU help) has been insufficient to stem the slaughter by poachers[1].

Modern terminology

As of at least 1990 the verb is sometimes used to refer to the act of hiring employees who are already employed by another company (especially a competitor).

See also

• Black Act
• Endangered species
• WildAid
• Night Poaching Act 1828
• Wildlife Enforcement Monitoring System (WEMS)

References

1. The Trade in Wild Animals: A Serious Problem
2. Market size of the illegal trade in animals
3. Elephant Poaching

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