View source for Poaching

{{Short description|Illegal hunting of wildlife}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Redirect|Illegal hunting|making hunting illegal|Hunting ban}}
{{Redirect|Poacher|other uses|Poacher (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2018}}
[[File:Le braconnier par Frédéric Rouge.jpg|thumb|''The Poacher'' by Frédéric Rouge (1867–1950)]]
{{Environmental law}}
'''Poaching''' is the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with [[land use rights]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Poaching |year=2002 |encyclopedia=Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary |edition=2nd |publisher=Random House |location=New York |isbn=978-0-375-42599-8}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |year=2005 |encyclopedia=World book Encyclopedia |volume=15 |title=Poaching |publisher=Merriam-Webster, Inc. |location=Springfield}}</ref>
Poaching was once performed by impoverished [[peasant]]s for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets.<ref name=Britannica>{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia =Encyclopædia Britannica |year=2010 |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/465611/poaching |title=Poaching |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |edition=15th |access-date=18 August 2013}}</ref> It was set against the hunting privileges of nobility and territorial rulers.<ref name=Krauss1997>{{Cite book |last=Krauss |first=M. |date=1997 |title=Herrschaftspraxis in Bayern und Preussen im 19. Jahrhundert: ein historischer Vergleich |publisher=Campus Verlag |chapter=Die Konfrontation mit dem traditionalen Rechtsverständnis: Raub, Holzdiebstahl, Lebensmitteltumult |pages=321–352 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xnX80Q8NiSQC&pg=PA322 |isbn=978-3-593-35849-9 |location=Frankfurt, New York |language=de}}</ref>

Since the 1980s, the term "poaching" has also been used to refer to the illegal harvesting of wild plants.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Power Bratton |first1=S. |year=1985 |title=Effects of disturbance by visitors on two woodland orchid species in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, USA |journal=Biological Conservation |volume=31 |issue=3 |pages=211–227 |doi=10.1016/0006-3207(85)90068-0 |bibcode=1985BCons..31..211P }}</ref><ref name="Muth1998">{{cite journal |last1=Muth |first1=R. M. |last2=Bowe |first2=Jr. |year=1998 |title=Illegal harvest of renewable natural resources in North America: Toward a typology of the motivations for poaching |journal=Society & Natural Resources |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=9–24 |doi=10.1080/08941929809381058 |bibcode=1998SNatR..11....9M }}</ref> In agricultural terms, the term 'poaching' is also applied to the loss of soils or grass by the damaging action of feet of livestock, which can affect availability of productive land, water pollution through increased runoff and welfare issues for cattle.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cuttle |first1=S. P. |editor1-last=McDowell |editor1-first=R. W. |title=Environmental Impacts of Pasture-based Farming |date=2008 |publisher=Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International |isbn=978-1-84593-411-8 |pages=36–38 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qoPW4zoFhGMC |access-date=19 February 2016 |chapter=Impacts of Pastoral Grazing on Soil Quality}}</ref> Stealing [[livestock]], as in [[cattle raiding]], classifies as [[theft]] rather than poaching.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=August |first1=R. |year=1993 |title=Cowboys v. Rancheros: The Origins of Western American Livestock Law |journal=Southwestern Historical Quarterly |volume=96 |issue=4 |pages=457–490}}</ref>

The United Nations' [[Sustainable Development Goal 15]] enshrines the sustainable use of all wildlife. It targets the taking of action on dealing with poaching and trafficking of protected species of flora and fauna to ensure their availability for present and future generations.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Goal 15 targets|url=https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-15-life-on-land/targets.html|access-date=24 September 2020|archive-date=4 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904001634/https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-15-life-on-land/targets.html}}</ref>

== Legal aspects ==
[[File:Tom Thomson Poacher.jpg|thumb|''The Poacher'', 1916 sketch by [[Tom Thomson]], Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto]]
In 1998, [[Environmental science|environmental scientists]] from the [[University of Massachusetts Amherst]] proposed the concept of poaching as an [[environmental crime]] and defined as any illegal activity that contravenes the [[law]]s and regulations established to protect renewable [[natural resource]]s, including the illegal harvest of [[wildlife]] with the intention of [[possession (law)|possessing]], [[transport]]ing, consuming or [[sales|selling]] it and using its body parts. They considered poaching as one of the most serious threats to the survival of plant and animal populations.<ref name="Muth1998" /> [[Wildlife biologist]]s and [[conservation biology|conservationists]] consider poaching to have a detrimental effect on [[biodiversity]] both within and outside [[protected area]]s as wildlife populations decline, [[species]] are depleted locally, and the functionality of [[ecosystem]]s is disturbed.<ref name="Lindsey2012">{{cite book |author1=Lindsey, P. |author2=Balme, G. |author3=Becker, M. |author4=Begg, C. |author5=Bento, C. |author6=Bocchino, C. |author7=Dickman, A. |author8=Diggle, R. |author9=Eves, H. |author10=Henschel, P. |author11=Lewis, D. |author12=Marnewick, K. |author13=Mattheus, J. |author14=McNutt, J. W. |author15=McRobb, R. |author16=Midlane, N., Milanzi, J., Morley, R., Murphree, M., Nyoni, P., Opyene, V., Phadima, J., Purchase, N., Rentsch, D., Roche, C., Shaw, J., van der Westhuizen, H., Van Vliet, N., Zisadza, P. |year=2012 |title=Illegal hunting and the bush-meat trade in savanna Africa: drivers, impacts and solutions to address the problem |location=New York |publisher=Panthera, [[Zoological Society of London]], [[Wildlife Conservation Society]] }}</ref>

=== Continental Europe ===
[[File: Das Ende des Wildschuetzen.jpg|thumb|End of the poacher, illustration based on a painting by August Dieffenbacher, 1894]]
[[File: Schliersee JennerweinGrab.jpg|thumb|Grave of a poacher in Schliersee, quoting the first stanza of the Jennerwein song. Now and then, poached game is being placed on the grave to commemorate 'Girgl'.]]
[[File:Marterl Riederstein.jpg|thumb|[[Wayside shrine|Marterl]] at the Riederstein, near [[Baumgartenschneid]], Tegernsee. The remains of a poacher, who had never returned from a hunting expedition in 1861, were found at the site in 1897.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://bergundtotschlag.wordpress.com/tag/leonhard-pottinger/ |title=Leonhard Pöttinger {{!}} Berg und Totschlag (Poettinger – mountain and murder) |last=Bauer |first=D. |date=2013 |website=bergundtotschlag.wordpress.com|access-date=2016-09-10}}</ref>]]
Austria and Germany refer to poaching not as theft but as intrusion into third-party hunting rights.<ref name=Girtler1998>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qlZPi7LkeH4C |title=Wilderer: Rebellen in den Bergen |last=Girtler |first=R. |date=1998 |publisher=Böhlau Verlag |location=Wien |isbn=978-3-205-98823-6 |language=de}}</ref> While [[ancient Germanic law]] allowed any free man, including peasants, to hunt, especially on [[common land]], [[Roman law]] restricted hunting to the rulers. In [[medieval Europe]] rulers of feudal territories from the king downward tried to enforce exclusive rights of the nobility to hunt and fish on the lands that they ruled. Poaching was deemed a serious crime punishable by imprisonment, but enforcement was comparably weak until the 16th century. Peasants were still allowed to continue small game hunting, but the right of the nobility to hunt was restricted in the 16th century and transferred to land ownership. The low quality of guns made it necessary to approach the game as close as {{convert|30|m|ft|-1|abbr=on}}. Poachers in the [[Salzburg]] region were typically unmarried men around 30 years of age and usually alone on their illegal trade.<ref name=BSZ2014>{{Cite news |url=http://www.bayerische-staatszeitung.de/staatszeitung/unser-bayern/detailansicht-unser-bayern/artikel/rebellen-der-berge.html |title=Rebellen der Berge |trans-title=Rebels of the mountains |date=2014 |newspaper=Bayerische Staatszeitung |access-date=2016-09-10}}</ref>

The development of modern hunting rights is closely connected to the comparatively modern idea of exclusive private ownership of land. In the 17th and the 18th centuries, the restrictions on hunting and shooting rights on private property were enforced by gamekeepers and foresters. They denied shared usage of forests, such as [[resin worker|resin collection]] and [[wood pasture]] and the peasants right to hunt and fish. However, by end of the 18th century, comparably-easy access to rifles increasingly allowed peasants and servants to poach.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5IT16_DDq4gC |title=Allmende und Allmendaufhebung: vergleichende Studien zum Spätmittelalter bis Zu den Agrarreformen des 18./19. Jahrhunderts |last=Zückert |first=H. |date=2003 |publisher=Lucius & Lucius |isbn=978-3-8282-0226-9 |language=de}}</ref> Hunting was used in the 18th century as a theatrical{{clarify|date=December 2021}} demonstration of the aristocratic rule of the land and also had a strong impact on land use patterns.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.sehepunkte.de/2004/02/3754.html |title=Sehepunkte – Rezension von: Ebersberg oder das Ende der Wildnis – Ausgabe 4 (2004), Nr. 2, review of Rainer Beck: Ebersberg oder das Ende der Wildnis (Ebersberg and the end of wilderness), 2003 |website=www.sehepunkte.de |access-date=2016-09-10}}</ref> Poaching not only interfered with property rights but also clashed symbolically with the power of the nobility. Between 1830 and 1848, poaching and poaching-related deaths increased in [[Bavaria]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |url=https://www.historisches-lexikon-bayerns.de/index.php5?title=Wilderei&pdf=true#d.29_Zunahme_der_Wilderei_ab_1830 |title=Wilderei – Historisches Lexikon Bayerns, poaching entry in the Bavarian historical encyclopedia |last=Freitag |first=W. |date=2013 |website=www.historisches-lexikon-bayerns.de |access-date=2016-09-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160914153235/https://www.historisches-lexikon-bayerns.de/index.php5?title=Wilderei&pdf=true#d.29_Zunahme_der_Wilderei_ab_1830 |archive-date=14 September 2016 }}</ref> The [[German revolutions of 1848–49]] were interpreted as a general permission for poaching in Bavaria. The reform of the hunting law in 1849 restricted legal hunting to rich landowners and middle classes who could pay hunting fees, which led to disappointment among the general public, who continued to view poachers favourably.{{dubious|date=December 2021}}<ref name=":1" /> Some of the frontier regions, where smuggling was important, showed especially strong resistance to that development. In 1849, the Bavarian military forces were asked to occupy a number of municipalities on the frontier with Austria. Both in Wallgau (now part of [[Garmisch-Partenkirchen]]) and in Lackenhäuser, in the Bavarian forest, each household had to feed and accommodate one soldier for a month as part of a military mission to quell the disturbance. The people of Lackenhäuser had several skirmishes with Austrian foresters and military that started due to poached deer. The well-armed people set against the representatives of the state were known as ''bold poachers'' (''kecke Wilderer'').<ref name=Krauss1997/>
Some poachers and their violent deaths, like [[Matthias Klostermayr]] (1736–1771), [[Georg Jennerwein]] (1848–1877) and [[Pius Walder]]&nbsp;(1952–1982) gained notoriety and have had a strong cultural impact, which has persisted until today.<ref name=BSZ2014 /> Poaching was used as a dare. It had a certain erotic connotation, as in [[Franz Schubert]]'s Hunter's love song, (1828, [[Schubert Thematic Catalogue]]&nbsp;909). The lyrics of [[Franz von Schober]] connected unlimited hunting with the pursuit of love. Further poaching related legends and stories ranged from the 1821 opera [[Freischütz]] to [[Wolfgang Franz von Kobell]]'s 1871 story about the Brandner Kasper, a [[Tegernsee]] locksmith and poacher who struck a special deal with the [[Personifications of death|Grim Reaper]].<sup>[[Wolfgang Franz von Kobell#cite note-5|[5]]]</sup>

While poachers had strong local support until the early 20th century, Walder's case showed a significant change in attitudes. Urban citizens still had some sympathy for the [[hillbilly]] rebel, but the local community were much supportive.<ref name=Girtler1998/>

=== United Kingdom ===
[[File:Tremedda Warning.jpg|thumb|Brass plaque on door at [[Tremedda]] farm dating to 1868, warning that poachers shall be shot on first sight]]

Poaching, like [[wildlife trade#Illegal wildlife trade|smuggling]], has a long history in the United Kingdom. The [[verb]] ''poach'' is [[etymology|derived]] from the [[Middle English]] word ''pocchen'' literally meaning ''[[bag]]ged'', ''enclosed in a bag'', which is [[cognate]] with "pouch".<ref name="Oxford05">{{cite book |chapter-url=http://oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/poach--2 |title=The new Oxford American dictionary |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2005 |location=New York |chapter=Poaching |author=McKean, E. (ed.) |access-date=18 August 2013 |archive-date=28 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928003722/http://oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/poach--2 }}</ref><ref name="Merriam2003">{{cite book |url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/poaching?show=0&t=1376128897 |title=The Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary |publisher=Merriam-Webster, Inc. |year=2003 |location=Springfield |author=Merriam-Webster, Inc. |contribution=Poaching |access-date=18 August 2013}}</ref>
Poaching was dispassionately reported for England in "Pleas of the Forest", transgressions of the rigid Anglo-Norman [[royal forest#Forest law|forest law]].<ref>{{cite journal |year=1884 |title=Staffordshire Forest Pleas: Introduction |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=52372 |journal=Staffordshire Historical Collections |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=123–135 |last1=Wrottesley |first1=G. |author-link=George Wrottesley}}</ref> [[William the Conqueror]], who was a great lover of hunting, established and enforced a system of forest law. This system operated outside the [[common law]] and served to protect game animals and their forest habitat from hunting by the common people of England, while reserving hunting rights for the new French-speaking Anglo-Norman aristocracy. Henceforth, hunting of game in royal forests by commoners was punishable by hanging. In 1087, the poem "[[The Rime of King William]]", contained in the [[Peterborough Chronicle]], expressed English indignation at the severe new laws. Poaching was romanticised in literature from the time of the [[ballad]]s of [[Robin Hood]], as an aspect of the "greenwood" of [[Merry England]]. In one tale, Robin Hood is depicted as offering King [[Richard the Lion Heart]] venison from deer that was illegally hunted in the Sherwood Forest, the King overlooking the fact that this hunting was a capital offence. The widespread acceptance of the common criminal activity is encapsulated in the observation ''Non est inquirendum, unde venit venison'' ("It is not to be inquired, whence comes the venison") that was made by [[Guillaume Budé]] in his ''Traitte de la vénerie''.<ref>Budé, G. (1861). [https://archive.org/stream/traittedelavner00chevgoog#page/n10/mode/2up ''Traitte de la vénerie'']. Auguste Aubry, Paris. Reported by Sir Walter Scott, ''[[The Fortunes of Nigel]]'', Ch. 31: "The knave deer-stealers have an apt phrase, Non est inquirendum unde venit venison"; [[Henry Thoreau]], and [[Simon Schama]], ''Landscape and Memory'', 1995:137, reporting [[William Gilpin (priest)|William Gilpin]], ''Remarks on Forest Scenery''.</ref> However, the English nobility and land owners were in the long term extremely successful in enforcing the modern concept of property, such as expressed in the [[enclosures]] of common land and later in the [[Highland Clearances]], both of which were [[forced displacement]] of people from traditional land tenancies and erstwhile-common land. The 19th century saw the rise of acts of legislation, such as the [[Night Poaching Act 1828]] and the [[Game Act 1831]] ([[1 & 2 Will. 4]]. c. 32) in the United Kingdom, and various laws elsewhere.{{cn|date=October 2025}}

=== United States ===
[[File:Lady Baltimore, in her habitat.jpg|thumb|[[Lady Baltimore (bald eagle)|Lady Baltimore]], a [[bald eagle]] in [[Alaska]] survived a poaching attempt in the [[Juneau Raptor Center]] [[Mews (falconry)|mews]] on 15 August 2015]]
[[File:FMIB 34651 Ducks Illegally Netted in Lake Ontario.jpeg|thumb|Poached [[duck]]s in [[Lake Ontario]], 1915.]]
In North America, the blatant defiance of the laws by poachers escalated to armed conflicts with law authorities, including the [[Oyster Wars]] of the [[Chesapeake Bay]] and the joint US-British [[Bering Sea Anti-Poaching Operations]] of 1891 over the hunting of seals. In the [[Chesapeake Bay]] in the [[1930s]] one of the biggest threats to [[Anseriformes|waterfowl]] was local poachers using [[Flat-bottomed boat|flat boats]] with [[swivel gun|swivel]] [[cannon]]s that killed entire [[Flock (birds)|flocks]] with one [[gunshot|shot]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Dacy |first=George H. |date=1933 |title=Poaching Made Big Business by Ruthless Gangs of Killers |journal=Popular Science |volume=123 |issue=4 |pages=30–31}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Goodall |first=Jamie L. H. |title=Pirates of the Chesapeake Bay: from the colonial era to the Oyster Wars |date=2020 |publisher=History Press |isbn=978-1-4671-4116-1 |location=Charleston, SC |oclc=on1121083054}}{{Page needed|date=September 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Walsh |first=Harry M. |title=The outlaw gunner: a journey from hunting for survival to a call for waterfowl conservation |publisher=Schiffer Publishing |year=2020 |isbn=978-0-7643-6061-9 |edition=Second |location=Atglen, PA}}{{Page needed|date=September 2024}}</ref>

Violations of [[hunting laws]] and regulations concerning [[wildlife management]], local or international [[wildlife conservation]] schemes constitute wildlife [[crime]]s that are typically punishable.<ref name=Musgrave1993>{{cite journal |author1=Musgrave, R. S. |author2=Parker, S. |author3=Wolok, M. |year=1993 |title=Status of Poaching in the United States – Are We Protecting Our Wildlife? |journal=Natural Resources Journal |volume=33 |issue=4 |pages=977–1014}}</ref><ref name=Oldfield2002>{{cite book |editor=Oldfield, S. |year=2002 |title=The Trade in Wildlife: Regulation for Conservation |publisher=Earthscan Publications Ltd. |place=London}}</ref> The following violations and offenses are considered acts of poaching in the US:
* Hunting, killing or collecting wildlife that is listed as [[endangered species|endangered]] by the [[IUCN]] and protected by law such as the [[Endangered Species Act]], the [[Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918]] and international treaties such as [[CITES]].<ref name=Musgrave1993/>
* [[Fishing]] and [[hunting]] without a [[hunting license|license]].<ref name=Oldfield2002/><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Eliason |first1=S |year=2003 |title=Illegal hunting and angling: The neutralization of wildlife law violations |journal=Society & Animals |volume=11 |issue=3 |pages=225–244 |doi=10.1163/156853003322773032 |s2cid=143410598}}</ref>
* Capturing wildlife outside legal hours and outside the [[hunting season]];<ref name=Musgrave1993 /><ref name=Oldfield2002/> usually the [[breeding season]] is declared as the [[closed season]] during which wildlife is protected by law;
* [[Canned hunt]]ing;
* Prohibited use of [[machine gun]]s, [[poison]], [[explosive]]s, [[snare trap]]s, [[Net (device)|nets]] and [[pitfall trap]]s.<ref name=Musgrave1993/>
* Other offenses of incorrect weaponry, such as the use of cartridge rifles in muzzleloader or archery season or in shotgun-only areas, or the killing of big game animals with insufficient firepower such as [[.22 Long Rifle]] rounds.
* Prohibited use of [[bait (luring substance)|baiting]] with food, decoys or recorded calls in order to increase chances for shooting wildlife.<ref name=Musgrave1993 />
* Hunting from a moving [[vehicle]] or [[aircraft]].<ref name=Musgrave1993/>
* Scouting game animals from an aircraft.
* [[Spotlighting]], or shining animals with a [[searchlight|spotlight]] at night to impair their natural defences and thus facilitate an easy kill, is considered [[animal abuse]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Green |first1=G. S. |year=2002 |title=The other criminalities of animal freeze-killers: Support for a generality of deviance |journal=Society & Animals |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=5–30 |doi=10.1163/156853002760030851}}</ref> This hunting method is illegal in [[California]], [[Virginia]], [[Connecticut]], [[Florida]], [[Michigan]], [[New Hampshire]], [[Maine]], [[Texas]], and [[Tennessee]].<ref name=Musgrave1993/>
* Night Hunting;
* [[Trespassing]];
* Taking wildlife on land that is restricted, owned by, or licensed to somebody else.
* The animal or plant has been tagged by a researcher.
* Taking females and juveniles.  
* Hunting or fishing over [[Bag limits|limit]].  

=== Africa ===
Stephen Corry, the director of the human rights group [[Survival International]], has argued that the term "poaching" has at times been used to criminalize the traditional subsistence techniques of [[indigenous peoples]] and to bar them from hunting on their ancestral lands when they are declared as wildlife-only zones.<ref name="Diplomat">Harvey, Gemima (1 October 2015). [https://thediplomat.com/2015/10/indigenous-communities-and-biodiversity/ "Indigenous Communities and Biodiversity".] ''The Diplomat''.</ref> Corry argues that parks such as the [[Central Kalahari Game Reserve]] are managed for the benefit of foreign tourists and safari groups at the expense of the livelihoods of tribal peoples such as the Kalahari [[bushmen]].<ref>Smith, Oliver (1 October 2010). [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/8036214/Tourists-urged-to-boycott-Botswana.html "Tourists urged to boycott Botswana".] ''The Telegraph'' (London).</ref>

== Motives ==
[[Sociology|Sociological]] and [[Criminology|criminological]] research on poaching indicates that in [[North America]] people poach for commercial gain, home consumption, [[Trophy hunting|trophies]], pleasure, and thrill in killing wildlife or because they disagree with certain hunting regulations, claim a traditional right to hunt, or have negative dispositions toward legal authority.<ref name=Muth1998 /> In rural areas of the United States, the key motives for poaching are poverty.<ref name="Rural Policing 1994">{{cite book |last1=Weisheit |first1=R. A. |last2=Falcone |first2=D. N. |last3=Wells |first3=L. E. |year=1994 |title=Rural Crime and Policing |publisher=U.S. Department of Justice: Office of Justice Programs:National Institute of Justice |url=https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles/rcrp.pdf |access-date=9 August 2013}}</ref> Interviews conducted with 41 poachers in the [[Atchafalaya River]] basin in [[Louisiana]] revealed that 37 of them hunt to provide food for themselves and their families; 11 stated that poaching is part of their personal or cultural history; nine earn money from the sale of poached game to support their families; and eight feel exhilarated and thrilled by outsmarting [[game warden]]s.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Forsyth |first1=C. J. |last2=Gramling |first2=R. |last3=Wooddell |first3=G. |year=1998 |title=The game of poaching: Folk crimes in southwest Louisiana |journal=Society & Natural Resources |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=25–38 |doi=10.1080/08941929809381059|bibcode=1998SNatR..11...25F }}</ref>

In rural areas in [[Africa]], the key motives for poaching are the lack of employment opportunities and a limited potential for [[agriculture]] and [[Livestock husbandry|livestock production]]. Poor people rely on [[natural resource]]s for their survival and generate cash income through the sale of [[bushmeat]], which attracts high prices in urban centres. Body parts of wildlife are also in demand for [[traditional medicine]] and ceremonies.<ref name=Lindsey2012 />
The existence of an [[wildlife trade#illegal wildlife trade|international market]] for poached wildlife implies that well-organised [[gang]]s of professional poachers enter vulnerable areas to hunt, and [[crime syndicates]] organise the trafficking of wildlife body parts through a complex interlinking network to markets outside the respective countries of origin.<ref name=Banks2006>{{cite report |author1=Banks, D. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Lawson, S. |author3=Wright, B. |year=2006 |title=Skinning the Cat: Crime and Politics of the Big Cat Skin Trade |location=London, New Delhi |publisher=Environmental Investigation Agency, Wildlife Protection Society of India |url=http://www.wpsi-india.org/images/EIA-WPSI_Skinning_The_Cat.pdf}}</ref><ref name=Miliken2012>{{cite report |author1=Milliken, T. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Shaw, J. |year=2012 |url=http://www.traffic.org/species-reports/traffic_species_mammals66.pdf |title=The South Africa – Viet Nam Rhino Horn Trade Nexus: A deadly combination of institutional lapses, corrupt wildlife industry professionals and Asian crime syndicates |publisher=TRAFFIC |location=Johannesburg, South Africa}}</ref> Armed conflict in Africa has been linked to intensified poaching and wildlife declines within protected areas,<ref name=DaskinPringle>{{cite journal |last1=Daskin|first1=J. H.|last2=Pringle |first2=R. M. |name-list-style=amp |title=Warfare and wildlife declines in Africa's protected areas |journal=Nature |volume=553 |issue=7688 |pages=328–332 |year=2018 |pmid=29320475 |doi=10.1038/nature25194|bibcode=2018Natur.553..328D|s2cid=4464877}}</ref> likely reflecting the disruption of traditional livelihoods, which causes people to seek alternative food sources.

Results of an interview survey conducted in several villages in [[Tanzania]] indicate that one of the major reasons of poaching is for consumption and sale of [[bushmeat]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wilfred |first=P. |last2=Maccoll |first2=A. |date=2015 |title=Local perspectives on factors influencing the extent of wildlife poaching for bushmeat in a game reserve, western Tanzania |journal=International Journal of Conservation Science |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=99–110 |name-list-style=amp |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/279198404}}</ref> Usually, bushmeat is considered a subset of poaching because of the hunting of animals regardless of the laws that conserve certain species of animals. Many families consume more bushmeat if there are no alternative sources of protein available such as fish.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Brashares |first=J. S. |last2=Arcese |first2=P. |last3=Sam |first3=M. K. |last4=Coppolillo |first4=P. B. |last5=Sinclair |first5=A. R. E. |last6=Balmford |first6=A. |date=2004 |title=Bushmeat Hunting, Wildlife Declines, and Fish Supply in West Africa |journal=Science |volume=306 |issue=5699 |pages=1180–1183 |doi=10.1126/science.1102425 |name-list-style=amp}}</ref> The further the families were from the reserve, the less likely they were to illegally hunt wildlife for bushmeat. They were more likely to hunt for bushmeat right before the harvest season and during heavy rains, as before the harvest season, there is not much agricultural work, and heavy rainfall obscures human tracks and makes it easier for poachers to get away with their crimes.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last1=MacColl |first1=A. |last2=Wilfred |first2=P. |name-list-style=amp |date=2015 |title=Local Perspectives on Factors Influencing the Extent of Wildlife Poaching for Bushmeat in a Game Reserve, Western Tanzania |journal=International Journal of Conservation Science |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=99–110}}</ref>

Poverty seems to be a large impetus to cause people to poach, something that affects both residents in Africa and Asia. For example, in [[Thailand]], there are anecdotal accounts of the desire for a better life for children, which drive rural poachers to take the risk of poaching even though they dislike exploiting the wildlife.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |title=Tigers of the World |edition=Second |last=Nyhus |first=P. J. |publisher=Academic Press |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-8155-1570-8 |page=118}}</ref>

Another major cause of poaching is the cultural high demand of wildlife products, such as ivory, which are seen as symbols of status and wealth in China. According to Joseph Vandegrift, China saw an unusual spike in demand for ivory in the 21st century because the economic boom allowed more middle-class Chinese to have a higher purchasing power, which incentivized them to show off their newfound wealth by using ivory, which has been a rare commodity since the [[Han dynasty]].<ref>{{Cite journal |author1=Vandergrift, J. |year=2013 |title=Elephant Poaching: CITES Failure to Combat the Growth in Chinese Demand for Ivory |journal=Virginia Environmental Law Journal |volume=31 |issue=1 |pages=102–135 |jstor=44679553}}</ref>

In China, there are problems with wildlife conservation, specifically relating to tigers. Several authors collaborated on the piece "Public attitude toward tiger farming and tiger conservation in Beijing, China", and explored the option of whether it would be a better policy to raise tigers on a farm or put them in a wildlife conservation habitat to preserve the species. Conducting a survey on 1,058 residents of Beijing, China, with 381 being university students and the other 677 being regular citizens, they tried to gauge public opinion about tigers and conservation efforts for them. They were asked questions regarding the value of tigers in relations to ecology, science, education, aestheticism, and culture. However, one reason emerged as to why tigers are still highly demanded in illegal trading: culturally, they are still status symbols of wealth for the upper class, and they are still thought to have mysterious medicinal and healthcare effects.<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal |title=Public attitude toward tiger farming and tiger conservation in Beijing, China |journal=Animal Conservation |volume=18 |issue=4 |doi=10.1111/acv.12181 |year=2015 |pages=367–376 |author1=Liu, Z. |author2=Jiang, Z. |author3=Li, C. |author4=Fang, H. |author5=Ping, X. |author6=Luo, Z. |author7=Tang, S. |author8=Li, L. |author9=Meng, Z. |author10=Zeng, Y. |bibcode=2015AnCon..18..367L |s2cid=54699266 |name-list-style=amp }}</ref>

== Effects ==
[[File:Rhino Killings.jpg|thumb|Memorial to rhinos killed by poachers near [[St Lucia Estuary]], South Africa]]
{{Further|Species affected by poaching}}
The detrimental effects of poaching can include:
* [[Defaunation]] of forests: [[predator]]s, [[herbivore]]s and fruit-eating [[vertebrate]]s cannot recover as fast as they are removed from a forest; as their populations decline, the pattern of [[seed predation]] and [[seed dispersal|dispersal]] is altered; tree species with large seeds progressively dominate a forest, while small-seeded plant species become [[Local extinction|locally extinct]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Redford |first=K. |title=The Empty Forest |journal=BioScience |date=1992 |volume=42 |issue=6 |pages=412–422 |jstor=1311860 |url=http://www.biology.ufl.edu/courses/pcb5356/2011fall/kitajima/Redford1992Biosci.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131111203443/http://www.biology.ufl.edu/courses/pcb5356/2011fall/kitajima/Redford1992Biosci.pdf |archive-date=2013-11-11 |doi=10.2307/1311860 }}</ref>
* Reduction of animal populations in the wild and possible extinction.<ref>Harrison, R., Sreekar, R., Brodie, J. F., Brook, S. et al. "Impacts of hunting on tropical forests in Southeast Asia" ''Conservation Biology'', Vol. 30. No. 5 (2016). pp. 972–981. [https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.12785]</ref>
* The effective size of protected areas is reduced as poachers use the edges of these areas as [[open-access resource]]s.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Dobson, A. |author2=Lynes, L. |year=2008 |title=How does poaching affect the size of national parks? |journal=Trends in Ecology and Evolution |volume=23 |issue=4 |pages=177–180|doi=10.1016/j.tree.2007.08.019 |pmid=18313793 |bibcode=2008TEcoE..23..177D }}</ref>
* [[Wildlife tourism]] destinations face a negative publicity; those holding a permit for wildlife-based land uses, tourism-based tour and [[lodging]] operators lose income; employment opportunities are reduced.<ref name=Lindsey2012 />
* Emergence of [[zoonotic disease]]s caused by transmission of highly variable [[retrovirus]] chains:
** Outbreaks of the [[Ebola virus]] in the [[Congo Basin]] and in [[Gabon]] in the 1990s have been associated with the butchering of [[Pan (genus)|apes]] and consumption of their meat.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Georges-Courbot |first1=M. C. |last2=Sanchez |first2=A. |last3=Lu |first3=C. Y. |last4=Baize |first4=S. |last5=Leroy |first5=E. |last6=Lansout-Soukate |first6=J. |last7=Tévi-Bénissan |first7=C. |last8=Georges |first8=A. J. |last9=Trappier |first9=S. G. | last10 = Zaki | first10 = S. R. |last11=Swanepoel |first11=R. |last12=Leman |first12=P. A. |last13=Rollin |first13=P. E. |last14=Peters |first14=C. J. |last15=Nichol |first15=S. T. |last16=Ksiazek |first16=T. G. |year=1997 |title=Isolation and phylogenetic characterization of Ebola viruses causing different outbreaks in Gabon |journal=Emerging Infectious Diseases |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=59–62 |doi=10.3201/eid0301.970107 |pmid=9126445 |pmc=2627600}}</ref>
** The outbreak of [[SARS]] in [[Hong Kong]] is attributed to contact with and consumption of meat from [[masked palm civet]]s, [[raccoon dog]]s, [[Chinese ferret-badger]]s and other small carnivores that are available in [[southern China|southern Chinese]] wildlife markets.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bell |first1=D. |last2=Roberton |first2=S. |last3=Hunter |first3=P. R. |year=2004 |title=Animal origins of SARS coronavirus: possible links with the international trade in small carnivores |journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences |volume=359 |issue=1447 |pages=1107–1114 |doi=10.1098/rstb.2004.1492|pmc=1693393 |pmid=15306396}}</ref>
** Bushmeat hunters in [[Central Africa]] infected with the [[human T-lymphotropic virus]] were closely exposed to wild [[primate]]s.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Wolfe, N. D. |author2=Heneine, W. |author3=Carr, J. K. |author4=Garcia, A. D. |author5=Shanmugam, V. |author6=Tamoufe, U. |author7=Torimiro, J. N. |author8=Prosser, A. T. |author9=Lebreton, M. |author10=Mpoudi-Ngole, E. |author11=McCutchan, F. E. |author12=Birx, D. L. |author13=Folks, T. M. |author14=Burke, D. S. |author15=Switzer, W. M. |year=2005 |title=Emergence of unique primate T-lymphotropic viruses among central African bushmeat hunters |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |volume=102  |issue=22 |pages=7994–7999 |doi= 10.1073/pnas.0501734102|pmid=15911757 |pmc=1142377 |bibcode=2005PNAS..102.7994W |doi-access=free }}</ref>
** Results of research on wild [[central chimpanzee]]s in [[Cameroon]] indicate that they are naturally infected with the [[simian foamy virus]] and constitute a reservoir of [[HIV-1]], a precursor of the [[acquired immunodeficiency syndrome]] in [[human]]s.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Keele |first1=B. F. |last2=Van Heuverswyn |first2=F. |last3=Li |first3=Y. |last4=Bailes |first4=E. |last5=Takehisa |first5=J. |last6=Santiago |first6=M. L. |last7=Bibollet-Ruche |first7=F. |last8=Chen |first8=Y. |last9=Wain |first9=L. V. | last10 = Liegeois | first10 = F. |last11=Loul |first11=S. |last12=Ngole |first12=E. M. |last13=Bienvenue |first13=Y. |last14=Delaporte |first14=E. |last15=Brookfield |first15=J. F. |last16=Sharp |first16=P. M. |last17=Shaw |first17=G. M. |last18=Peeters |first18=M. |last19=Hahn |first19=B. H. |year=2006 |title=Chimpanzee reservoirs of pandemic and nonpandemic HIV-1 |journal=Science |volume=313 |issue= 5786|pages=523–526 |doi=10.1126/science.1126531 |pmid=16728595 |pmc=2442710|bibcode=2006Sci...313..523K }}</ref>

== Products ==
[[File:Seashell vendor.jpeg|thumb|A [[seashell]] vendor in [[Tanzania]] sells seashells to tourists, seashells which have been taken from the sea alive, killing the animal inside.]]
The body parts of many animals, such as [[tiger]]s and [[rhinoceros]]es, are [[Traditional medicine|traditionally believed]] in some cultures to have certain positive effects on the human body, including increasing virility and curing [[cancer]]. These parts are sold in areas where these beliefs are practiced – mostly Asian countries, particularly [[Vietnam]] and [[China]] – on the black market.<ref name="Pederson">{{cite web |last=Pederson |first=Stephanie |title=Continued Poaching Will Result in the Degradation of Fragile Ecosystems |url=http://www.theinternational.org/articles/188-continued-poaching-will-result-in-the-deg |publisher=The International |access-date=2013-01-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130128093002/http://www.theinternational.org/articles/188-continued-poaching-will-result-in-the-deg |archive-date=2013-01-28 }}</ref> Such [[Alternative medicine|alternative medical]] beliefs are [[Pseudoscience|pseudoscientific]] and are not supported by [[evidence-based medicine]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Jacobs|first=Ryan|title=AK-47s, Quack Medicine, and Heaps of Cash: The Gruesome Rhino Horn Trade, Explained|url=https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2012/08/rhino-horn-trade-explained/|access-date=2020-07-24|website=Mother Jones|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Le Roux|first=Mariëtte|date=25 March 2018|title=Quackery and superstition: species pay the cost|url=https://phys.org/news/2018-03-quackery-superstition-species.html|access-date=2020-07-24|website=Agence France-Presse|language=en|via=phys.org}}</ref>

[[File:Chinese illegal medicinal products.jpg|thumb|200px|A vendor selling illegal items at a Chinese market for use in [[traditional Chinese medicine]]. Some of the pieces pictured include parts of animals such as a [[tiger]]'s paw.]]
[[Traditional Chinese medicine#Animal products|Traditional Chinese medicine]] often incorporates ingredients from all parts of plants, the leaf, stem, flower, root, and also ingredients from animals and minerals. The use of parts of [[endangered species]] (such as [[seahorse (fish)|seahorses]], [[rhinoceros]] horns, [[binturong]], [[pangolin]] scales and [[tiger]] bones and claws) has created controversy and resulted in a [[black market]] of poachers.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=van Uhm |first1=D.P. |title=The social construction of the value of wildlife: A green cultural criminological perspective |journal=Theoretical Criminology |date=2018 |volume=22 |issue=3 |pages=384–401 |doi=10.1177/1362480618787170|pmid=30245576 |pmc=6120127 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Weirum, B. K. |url=http://www.sfgate.com/travel/article/Will-traditional-Chinese-medicine-mean-the-end-of-3236621.php |title=Will traditional Chinese medicine mean the end of the wild tiger? |newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle |date=11 November 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.scientist.com/channel/life/endangered-species/dn3376 |title=Rhino rescue plan decimates Asian antelopes |publisher=Newscientist.com |access-date=2010-03-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130517061549/http://www.scientist.com/channel/life/endangered-species/dn3376 |archive-date=2013-05-17 }}</ref> Deep-seated cultural beliefs in the potency of tiger parts are so prevalent across China and other east Asian countries that laws protecting even critically endangered species such as the [[Sumatran tiger]] fail to stop the display and sale of these items in open markets, according to a 2008 report from TRAFFIC.<ref>{{cite web |author=Wednesday |url=http://www.traffic.org/home/2008/2/13/tiger-tiger-future-not-so-bright.html |title=Traffic.org |publisher=Traffic.org |date=2008-02-13 |access-date=2014-08-08 |archive-date=15 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180115002942/http://www.traffic.org/home/2008/2/13/tiger-tiger-future-not-so-bright.html }}</ref> Popular "medicinal" tiger parts from poached animals include tiger genitals, believed to improve virility, and tiger eyes.

Rhino populations face extinction because of demand in Asia (for traditional medicine and as a luxury item) and in the [[Middle East]] (where horns are used for decoration).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/15/world/africa/rhino-horn-trade/index.html |title=Rhino horn trade triggers extinction threat | website = CNN | date = 15 November 2011 |access-date=2014-08-08 | last = Norgaard | first = Kim}}</ref> A sharp surge in demand for rhino horn in Vietnam was attributed to rumors that the horn cured cancer, though this has no basis in science.<ref>{{cite news |author=Jonathan Watts in Hong Kong |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/nov/25/cure-cancer-rhino-horn-vietnam |title=article, November 2011 |newspaper=Guardian |date=25 November 2011 |access-date=2014-08-08 |location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Wildlife |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/9525512/Rhinos-under-24-hour-armed-guard.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120909082347/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/9525512/Rhinos-under-24-hour-armed-guard.html |archive-date=9 September 2012 |title=Telegraph article, "Rhinos under 24 hour armed guard, Sept. 2012 |publisher=Telegraph.co.uk |date=8 September 2012 |access-date=2014-08-08 |location=London}}</ref> In 2012, one kilogram of crushed rhino horn has sold for as much as $60,000, more expensive than a kilogram of gold.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/slaughter-of-rhinos-at-record-high-7687511.html |title=Slaughter of rhinos at record high |publisher=Independent.co.uk |date=2012-04-29 |access-date=2014-08-08 |location=London |first1=David |last1=Randall |first2=Jonathan |last2=Owen}}</ref> Vietnam is the only nation which mass-produces bowls made for grinding rhino horn.<ref>{{cite news |author=David Smith in Johannesburg |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/sep/04/rhino-horn-wildlife-trade-vietnam |title=Rhino horn: Vietnam's new status symbol heralds conservation nightmare, Guardian September 2012 |newspaper=Guardian |date=4 September 2012 |access-date=2014-08-08 |location=London}}</ref>

[[Ivory]], which is a natural material of several animals, plays a large part in the trade of illegal animal materials and poaching. Ivory is a material used in creating art objects and [[jewelry]] where the [[ivory carving|ivory is carved]] with designs. [[China]] is a consumer of the ivory trade and accounts for a significant amount of ivory sales. In 2012, ''[[The New York Times]]'' reported on a large upsurge in ivory poaching, with about 70% of all illegal ivory flowing to China.<ref name=nyt120903>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/04/world/africa/africas-elephants-are-being-slaughtered-in-poaching-frenzy.html?pagewanted=all |title=Elephants Dying in Epic Frenzy as Ivory Fuels Wars and Profits |first=Jeffrey |last=Gettleman |work=The New York Times |date=3 September 2012}}</ref><ref name=nyt121226>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/27/world/africa/in-gabon-lure-of-ivory-proves-hard-to-resist.html?pagewanted=all |title=In Gabon, Lure of Ivory Is Hard for Many to Resist |first=Jeffrey |last=Gettleman |work=The New York Times |date=26 December 2012}}</ref>

[[Fur]] is also a natural material which is sought after by poachers. A [[Gamsbart]], literally ''chamois beard'', a tuft of hair traditionally worn as a decoration on [[tracht]]en-hats in the [[Alps|alpine]] regions of Austria and [[Bavaria]] formerly was worn as a [[hunting]] (and poaching) trophy. In the past, it was made exclusively from hair from the [[chamois]]' lower neck.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nFw6Pa02_PkC |title=Randkulturen: Theorie der Unanständigkeit |last=Girtler |first=R. |date=1996 |publisher=Böhlau Verlag |location=Wien |isbn=978-3-205-98559-4 |language=de}}</ref>

== Anti-poaching efforts ==
There are different [[anti-poaching]] efforts around the world. Some research suggests that such work may be more effective at improving populations affected by poaching than protected area expansion<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kuempel |first1=C. D. |last2=Adams |first2=V. M. |last3=Possingham |first3=H. P. |last4=Bode |first4=M. |date=2018 |title=Bigger or better: The relative benefits of protected area network expansion and enforcement for the conservation of an exploited species |journal=Conservation Letters |volume=11 |issue=3 |doi=10.1111/conl.12433 |bibcode=2018ConL...11E2433K |issn=1755-263X |hdl=10072/417009 |hdl-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Timms |first1=L. |last2=Holden |first2=M. H. |date=2024 |title=Optimizing protected area expansion and enforcement to conserve exploited species |journal=Biological Conservation |volume=290 |article-number=110463 |doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110463 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2024BCons.29010463T}}</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.{{cn|date=September 2025}}

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 |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/ |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 |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 |title=China crushes six tons of ivory |work=The Guardian |date=2014 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jan/06/china-crush-ivory-elephant-poaching |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 |article-number=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/}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Animals|Ecology}}
* [[African vulture trade]]
* [[Anti-poaching]]
* [[Cruelty to animals]]
* [[Environmental crime]]
* [[Federal and state environmental relations]]
* [[Game law]]
* [[Game preservation]]
* [[Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing]]
* [[Ivory trade]]
* [[Rhino poaching in Southern Africa]]
* [[Species affected by poaching]]
* [[Tiger poaching in India]]
* [[Wildlife trade]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book |author=Jacoby, K. |year=2001 |title=Crimes against Nature: Squatters, Poachers, Thieves, and the Hidden History of American Conservation |publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley |isbn=978-0-520-28229-2}}
*{{cite journal |author=Archer, J. E. |title=Poaching gangs and violence: the urban-rural divide in nineteenth-century Lancashire |journal=British Journal of Criminology |volume=39 |issue=1 |year=1999 |pages=25–38 |doi=10.1093/bjc/39.1.25}}
*{{cite journal |author=Fisher, J. |title=Property rights in pheasants: landlords, farmers and the game laws, 1860–80 |journal=Rural History |volume=11 |issue=2 |year=2000 |pages=165–180 |doi=10.1017/s0956793300002089|s2cid=161116889 }}
*{{cite book |author=Gray, D. D. |title=Crime, Policing and Punishment in England, 1660-1914 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |year=2016}}
*{{cite book |author=Haenlein, C. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Smith, M. L. R. |title=Poaching, wildlife trafficking and security in Africa: Myths and realities |publisher=Routledge |year=2017}}
*{{cite book |author=Hopkins, H. |title=The long affray: the poaching wars, 1760–1914 |location=London |publisher=Secker & Warburg |year=1985}}
*{{cite journal |author=Lemieux, A. M. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Clarke, R. V. |title=The international ban on ivory sales and its effects on elephant poaching in Africa |journal=British Journal of Criminology |volume=49 |issue=4 |year=2009 |pages=451–471 |doi=10.1093/bjc/azp030|doi-access=free }}
*{{cite journal |author=Liberg, O. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Chapron, G. |author3=Wabakken, P. |author4=Pedersen, H.C. |author5=Hobbs, N.T. |author6=Sand, H. |title=Shoot, shovel and shut up: cryptic poaching slows restoration of a large carnivore in Europe |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |volume=279 |issue=1730 |year=2011 |pages=910–915 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2011.1275|pmid=21849323 |pmc=3259920 |doi-access=free }}
*{{cite journal |author=Martin, J. |title=The Transformation of Lowland Game Shooting in England and Wales in the Twentieth Century: The Neglected Metamorphosis |journal=International Journal of the History of Sport |volume=29 |issue=8 |year=2012 |pages=1141–1158 |doi=10.1080/09523367.2012.690226|s2cid=143591142 }}
*{{cite journal |author=Osborne, H. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Winstanley, M. |title=Rural and urban poaching in Victorian England |journal=Rural History |volume=17 |issue=2 |year=2006 |pages=187–212 |url=https://eprints.lancs.ac.uk/id/eprint/4191/1/win1.pdf |doi=10.1017/s0956793306001877 |s2cid=162704842 |access-date=1 November 2019 |archive-date=23 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200923073751/https://eprints.lancs.ac.uk/id/eprint/4191/1/win1.pdf }}
*{{cite journal |author1=Smith, K. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Byrne, R. |year=2018 |title=Reimagining rural crime in England: a historical perspective |journal=International Journal of Rural Criminology |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=66–85 |doi=10.18061/1811/86152|doi-access=free |hdl=1811/86152 |hdl-access=free }}[https://hau.collections.crest.ac.uk/17327/1/Kreseda%20Smith%20reimagining%20upload.pdf Online]{{Dead link|date=March 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
*{{cite book |author=Somerville, K. |year=2017 |title=Ivory: power and poaching in Africa |publisher=Oxford University Press }}
*{{cite journal |author1=Taylor, A. |year=2004 |title=Pig-Sticking Princes: Royal Hunting, Moral Outrage, and the Republican Opposition to Animal Abuse in Nineteenth-and Early Twentieth-Century Britain |journal=History |volume=89 |issue=293 |pages=30–48 |doi= 10.1111/j.0018-2648.2004.00286.x}}

== External links ==
* {{Commons category-inline|Poaching (criminal activity)}}
{{World topic|prefix=Poaching in|title=Poaching|noredlinks=yes}}
{{Property navbox}}
{{Angling topics}}
{{Hunting topics}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Poaching| ]]