Thank you for doing this! I have a question about effective policies for deterring the illegal wildlife trade. I recently live in Tanzania for six months and did some work with a professor specializing in the illegal trafficking of wild birds. Tanzania used to have a legal wildlife trade for live animals as well as animal products. Consequently, it became a hub for illegal trade as well. Surrounding countries would traffic illegal animals through Tanzania. It seems like a lack of oversight led to abuse and actually strengthened illegal trade. In fact, I heard that law enforcement agents and governments were involved. This was incredibly discouraging to me.
I know that outright bans are often ineffective, but it seems like countries with corrupt governments/ limited resources are ill-equipped to establish and enforce policy for sustainable trade. I have spent a lot of time thinking over these issues and still can't help but feel that there are no straightforward solutions. Perhaps it would be better to focus on limiting demand in other countries? It seems unfair to place such a heavy burden of responsibility on countries that are already struggling to address serious environmental and social issues without sufficient resources. Maybe bottom-up approaches to wildlife management and anti-poaching would be a good idea?
I know that there are no real answers to these questions, but I would really love to hear your perspective on this
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Hello Mr.Cooper,
Thank you for doing this! I have a question about effective policies for deterring the illegal wildlife trade. I recently live in Tanzania for six months and did some work with a professor specializing in the illegal trafficking of wild birds. Tanzania used to have a legal wildlife trade for live animals as well as animal products. Consequently, it became a hub for illegal trade as well. Surrounding countries would traffic illegal animals through Tanzania. It seems like a lack of oversight led to abuse and actually strengthened illegal trade. In fact, I heard that law enforcement agents and governments were involved. This was incredibly discouraging to me.
I know that outright bans are often ineffective, but it seems like countries with corrupt governments/ limited resources are ill-equipped to establish and enforce policy for sustainable trade. I have spent a lot of time thinking over these issues and still can't help but feel that there are no straightforward solutions. Perhaps it would be better to focus on limiting demand in other countries? It seems unfair to place such a heavy burden of responsibility on countries that are already struggling to address serious environmental and social issues without sufficient resources. Maybe bottom-up approaches to wildlife management and anti-poaching would be a good idea?
I know that there are no real answers to these questions, but I would really love to hear your perspective on this
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