What is Wildlife Trafficking?

Adams Cassinga

15 years: Wildlife Activist

We know poaching is wrong. But why is it still such a profitable industry? Join Adams Cassinga as he explores what poaching is and how wildlife trafficking operates.

Climate & Biodiversity

We know poaching is wrong. But why is it still such a profitable industry? Join Adams Cassinga as he explores what poaching is and how wildlife trafficking operates.

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What is Wildlife Trafficking?

11 mins 53 secs

Key learning objectives:

Define poaching and wildlife trafficking
Outline the 5 tiers of trafficking
Understand the value of wildlife

Overview:

Poaching is the act of illegally entering into a protected area with the intention of capturing, harming, or killing a wild animal, whereas wildlife trafficking is the act of making a profit from the poached animal or any wildlife byproduct. Poaching is worth $20-30 billion annually. It affects all continents but dominates in areas with large amounts of biodiversity, namely Africa and Asia. To sell the products of poaching there are 5 tiers involved in the wildlife trafficking chain: the desperate locals, the transporters, the marketers, the corrupt officials and the buyers.

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Summary

What is poaching?

Poaching is the act of illegally entering into a protected area with the intention of capturing, harming, or killing a wild animal.

What is wildlife trafficking?

Wildlife trafficking is the act of making a profit from the poached animal or any wildlife byproduct.

What is the scale of the poaching problem currently?

Poaching is worth $20-30 billion annually. It affects all continents but dominates in areas with large amounts of biodiversity, namely Africa and Asia. In 2019, the Democratic Republic of the Congo was voted as the most affected country in the world by the phenomenon of wildlife trafficking. There was a global decline of wildlife trafficking in 2020-21 due to the global COVID-19 pandemic but it ramped up again shortly afterwards.

What are the 5 tiers of wildlife trafficking?

1. Desperate

These are the locals who are paid the least in the trafficking chain and have to go into protected areas to poach the animals.

2. Transporter

These are the people who transport the contraband from the protected area into urban areas.

3. Marketer

These are the (typically local) people with connections abroad. They speak with the people who are in need of these products and facilitate money transfers.

4. Officials

These are the corrupt customs officials who fake permits and companies who are involved in freight and forwarding.

5. Buyer

These people are the end user, typically based in Asia, America and Europe.

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Adams Cassinga

Adams Cassinga, a wildlife activist and honorary park ranger of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, works for Conserve Congo, a nonprofit organisation in Central Africa focusing on combating wildlife trafficking. As a wildlife criminal investigator, he also serves as a park ranger in the DRC.

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