We are losing in the battle against poachers

 

While efforts to reduce the demand for animal parts is vital  and must be increased – we

have a problem – or more like 7+ billion problems. Even if we get 99.9% of the world’s

human population to forswear the consumptive exploitation of wildlife, the unconvinced or

unwilling still would number more than the remaining population of many species.

 

 

Seizures of shipments of “parts” – indicators of success or failure?

 

 

 

 

Tons of animals “parts” are are being recovered – often in countries far removed from where the animals were killed. One must applaud the police and investigative efforts  involved in those seizures. But also realize  that they only represent a fraction of the shipments that escaped detection. It is a necessary police activity – like drug seizures. Drug seizures may hurt the drug lords somewhat – but none have ever been put out of business by seizures of shipments. Loss of shipments is just part of the cost of doing business. The same for ivory lords. Trafficking in animals and their parts is right up there with drugs, weapons, and human trafficking in mega-billions of dollars per year – and when you consider the low penalties and priority assigned to wildlife crime  - it probably has the highest reward to risk ratio.

You may recover container loads of animal parts – you can’t recover the lives lost. All to often, ranger work in the field starts with the discovery of a dead animal and then it becomes a crime investigation – a “who dunnit” – But the animal is dead. And as an anit-poaching  technique, we can’t use animals as “decoys” to catch poachers.

We need wildlife crime detection in advance of the crime – and  not wait for the crime to happen and then “solve it”

 

Crime prevention by anticipatory detection of impending wildlife crime.

The huge areas covered by some protected areas would at first seem a disadvantage. But one which in fact can be turned to an advantage in preventing poaching. For the poacher too has long distances to travel. Hours, and perhaps days before he reaches his intended hunting grounds – having already killed all the nearby animals.  If the poacher could  be detected by an “invisible sentry” soon after starting his journey –  and that sentry could communicate the “evidence” immediately, a rapid response team could be dispatched, and anticipating where the poacher was going, intercept him before  he reached his intended killing grounds.

TrailGuards are Wildland Security’s electronic “invisible sentries” which take pictures of possible poachers and immediately transmit them as actionable evidence, which when confirmed as a poacher,  permit an intervention by a rapid response team – one who know exactly what kind of poacher threat they will be encountering and will be prepared accordingly - “forewarned is forearmed”.

 

 

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