Deadly Traffic

Deadly
Traffic
BY JENNIFER WEEKS
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SMITHSONIAN Zoogoer | SUMMER 2015
Illegal trade in wildlife is pushing many
species to the brink
of extinction.
A M A ND
A PERE
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arlier this spring, President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya marked World Wildlife Day in an unusual way: He set fifteen tons of ivory on fire at Nairobi National Park.
Kenyatta’s bonfire was a message for poachers who kill thousands of African elephants illegally every year for their ivory tusks. Although international commerce in
ivory has been banned since 1989, it is widely traded on a thriving black market for up
to $1,000 per pound. By burning ivory confiscated from poachers, Kenyatta signaled
that his government would not tolerate this deadly trade.
According to one recent study, ivory poachers killed approximately 100,000
African elephants from 2011 through 2013 out of a total wild population of roughly
500,000. Many conservationists fear that African elephants could be driven to extinction within several decades if the slaughter is not curbed. And elephants are not
alone. International wildlife trafficking is a global trade estimated to be worth up to
$20 billion annually. It is the fourth-largest illegal business in the world, exceeded
only by drug sales, the arms trade, and human trafficking.
“Wildlife trafficking is an urgent, near-term crisis,” says Peter LaFontaine, a campaign officer with the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW). “Poaching is
at record levels. Iconic species like tigers and elephants are being pushed to the edge,
and many lesser-known animals are also at risk.” That includes numerous species
found at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo.
In 2014, the Obama administration released a national strategy to curb wildlife
smuggling at home and abroad. There is also work to be done raising public awareness. The United States is the second-largest market in the world for animals and
animal products, after China.
“Wildlife trafficking isn’t just something that happens in other countries. It’s also
an American story,” says Cheryl Braunstein, the Zoo’s manager of exhibit planning
and development. (See The Elephant in the Room, page 34, for information about a
new exhibit at the Zoo on wildlife trafficking.) “We want our visitors to understand
that they can be part of the solution.”
Regulating the Wildlife Trade
Humans have traded in animals and animal products for centuries—often with severe impacts on prized species. As an example, many explorers journeyed to North America starting in the 16th century to hunt for furs, which were in high demand in Europe and Russia.
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Deadly Traffic
“Wildlife trafficking isn’t just something that happens
in other countries. It’s also an American story.”
By the mid-1800s fur traders had hunted and
trapped beavers to near-extinction across the
continent and virtually eliminated sea otters
along the California coast.
Conservationists started sounding an
alarm in the 1960s, calling for limits on
global trade in animal products to protect
species that were being over-exploited.
Their warnings led to the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna, known as
CITES (pronounced SITE-eez), which
was signed by 80 countries in 1973 in
Washington, D.C., and took effect in 1975.
Today 175 countries have joined
CITES, which protects about 5,600
species of animals and 30,000 plant species. These organisms are listed on three
appendices. For species on Appendix I—
those threatened with extinction (including gorillas, tigers, African elephants,
and giant pandas)—trade is banned
except for rare cases, such as scientific
research. Appendix II species, such as
green iguanas and American black bears,
may be threatened if traded, so trade in
these species is regulated. Appendix III
species are not threatened yet, but at least
one CITES member country has asked for
help regulating their trade. For example,
the United States has listed several species
of freshwater turtles on Appendix III.
CITES member countries can only
import or export listed species (even from
non-CITES countries) if the transactions
are approved through a licensing system.
Each member country is required to pass
its own laws regulating trade in listed
species. In the United States, CITES is
implemented through the Endangered
Species Act and enforced by the U.S. Fish
& Wildlife Service (USFWS).
“CITES sets the norms for international wildlife trade, and its decisions
are binding on member countries,” says
Marshall Jones, senior conservation
advisor at the Smithsonian Conservation
Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia
(SCBI). Jones worked at USFWS for
more than 30 years, including seven years
overseeing U.S. enforcement of CITES as
the agency’s deputy director. But CITES
is only as strong as its member states,
Jones notes. “Some nations don’t
have enough training and resources
to police their wildlife trade effectively,” he says. “And in corrupt
governments, people may wink at
illegal transactions or even make
money from them.”
MEHGA
N MURP
HY/NZP
Broad Demand
Customers around the world
pay high prices for rare animals
and animal products. Asia is a
major demand center, especially
China, where incomes are
rising. Many newly prosperous
Asian consumers covet luxury
goods like tiger skins, ivory
carvings, and other objects
that convey status.
Traditional Chinese
medicine, practiced across
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SMITHSONIAN Zoogoer | SUMMER 2015
the region as well as in the United States, is
also an important driver of wildlife smuggling. Numerous animal parts, including
rhinoceros horns, deer musk, and bile from
the gall bladders of black bears, are widely
used in traditional Chinese remedies.
Some of these products have no medicinal
value: rhino horns, for instance, are simply
masses of compacted hair. Others, such as
bear bile, may have some medicinal effects,
although the scientific evidence is inconclusive. “Drug companies are working to
develop synthetic versions of bear bile,
but it will take time to convince people to
switch,” says Jones.
U.S. and European consumers also buy
luxury goods made from illicit animal
products, such as shoes and bags made from
python and crocodile skins. In response to
pressure from animal welfare groups, some
leading designers and retail chains have
pledged not to use animal skins in their
products. But other companies advertise
products made from rare animals, which can
sell for thousands of dollars.
“The vast majority of animal products
used in the western fashion industry are
from legal sources, but there also is illegal
trade.” says Jones. “Fish and Wildlife
Service agents spend a lot of time inspecting gigantic shipments of things like
shoes coming in from other countries to
make sure they don’t have illegal products
mixed in. It’s very time-consuming and
takes expertise to spot illicit items mixed
in with legal ones.”
The exotic pet trade also generates
heavy demand for endangered species.
Customs officials around the world have
LEFT: Overhunting has reduced the wild
population of Eld’s deer—native to southeast
Asia—to dangerously low levels throughout
their range.
FACING PAGE: Gorillas and other primates are
often hunted for bushmeat.
PREVIOUS PAGE: Like their larger African
relatives, Asian elephants are hunted for
their ivory, which remains in high demand on
the illegal wildlife trafficking market.
MEHGAN MURPHY/NZP
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Deadly Traffic
Iconic species like tigers and elephants
are being pushed to the edge, and many
lesser-known animals are also at risk.
in the African bushmeat trade. In Asia
many species of deer are over-hunted. One
example is Eld’s deer, a graceful mediumsize species that scientists at SCBI have
been studying for a decade.
“Eld’s deer used to be found all through
Southeast Asia, but now they are down to
fewer than 100 in Cambodia and maybe
50 in Laos,” says William McShea, a senior scientist at SCBI. “We think of deer
as overabundant, but that’s only true in
Europe and North America. There are 65odd species around the world, and most
of them don’t have effective protection.
People hunt them for meat and use their
antlers and musk glands in traditional
medicine.”
Stemming the Tide
U.S. leaders see the illicit wildlife trade
both as a threat to conservation and
to international security. Increasingly
sophisticated smuggling networks are
“perpetuating corruption and border
insecurity, particularly in key eastern, central and southern African
States,” the Obama administration’s
anti-trafficking strategy asserts.
Armed militant groups, including
Boko Haram in Nigeria and the
Janjaweed in Sudan, are funding
their operations through elephant
poaching. In other regions wildlife traffickers have worked with
organized crime groups such
as the Russian Mafia to move
black-market animal products across borders. Wildlife
trafficking also undercuts
development in many lowincome countries by fostering
corruption, weakening local
law enforcement agencies
and harming species such as
elephants that are important
tourist draws.
CO N N O
R M A LL
ON/NZP
caught smugglers trying to sneak live
tropical birds, snakes, lizards, monkeys,
juvenile leopards and panthers, and
many other species through international
airports. Animals may be drugged and
packed in luggage or hidden in the smugglers’ clothes.
“We constantly hear about reptile
trafficking. Sometimes USFWS asks us
to take confiscated animals,” says Matt
Evans, a biologist at the Zoo who works
with reptiles and amphibians. “Tortoises
from Madagascar and turtles from Asia are
collected for food and for the pet industry.
Dealers can get thousands of dollars for
one animal.” At the Zoo, visitors can see
radiated and spider tortoises, two species
from Madagascar that are critically endangered due to trafficking and other threats.
Many other species also are hunted
and sold for food. In Africa, wild animals
killed as food are referred to as bushmeat.
Great apes, crocodiles, fruit bats, pangolins, and numerous other species are sold
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SMITHSONIAN Zoogoer | SUMMER 2015
The new U.S. strategy directs agencies—including the State and Defense
Departments—to work with USFWS on
anti-trafficking initiatives. It also seeks to
reduce demand for illegally traded wildlife
through public education and outreach to
sectors where these goods are traded, such
as the travel and pet industries and Internet
marketplaces. And it calls for stepped-up
diplomacy and partnerships to help other
governments fight poaching and trafficking. Smithsonian conservation experts
provided advice to federal agencies as the
plan was developed, and will continue to
consult with the executive branch as it is
put into action.
“It’s a coordinated effort across the U.S.
government,” says Jones. “But there’s not
a lot of new funding available in today’s
tight fiscal climate, so agencies will have
to work creatively to find new resources
and partners.”
That includes U.S. zoos, which are
ideally positioned to educate visitors
about wildlife trafficking. “Many people
don’t realize that ivory comes from a dead
elephant, or that reptile skin in fashion
goods comes from animals,” says IFAW’s
LaFontaine. And most zoogoers will
probably be surprised to learn how many
species of all kinds are affected by the
black-market animal trade.
“I don’t think many Americans know
how many exotic birds are seriously
threatened,” says Sara Hallager, the Zoo’s
bird curator. “One of the rarest birds in
our collection is the blue-billed curassow,
which is critically endangered—there are
only about 250 of them left. They live in
the mountains in northern Colombia, and
are hunted for food.”
Some endangered birds’ feathers are
prized for costumes and other uses. Many
zoos collect naturally molted feathers
from prized species and send them to
repositories that distribute the feathers
MEHGAN MURPHY/NZP
to indigenous communities and other
users. The National Zoo helped launch a
program that distributes naturally molted
feathers from kori bustards, which are
popular for use in fly fishing lures. Kori
bustards are listed on Appendix II of
CITES, partly due to over-hunting.
“A large flight feather from a kori
bustard can sell for $500. We’ve flooded
the market with naturally molted feathers,
thereby reducing the need for fly makers to
go shoot birds in Africa,” says Hallager.
Buyer Beware
Zoogoers can help curb the deadly trade in
endangered wildlife. The most important
step, experts say, is to avoid buying animal
products without evidence that the items
do not come from endangered species. That
holds true for purchases in the United States
and even more so when traveling abroad.
“You may see an interesting carving or garment in a local market in the Caribbean or
Africa, but if the seller can’t explain where it
came from, don’t buy it,” says LaFontaine.
ABOVE: Radiated tortoises are critically
endangered in their native Madagascar,
where collection for the pet trade and food
has sent the species’ population spiraling
downward in recent decades.
FACING PAGE: Beavers were nearly hunted to
extinction in the 1800s. The species has
since recovered across North America.
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Deadly Traffic
The blue-billed curassow is critically endangered—
there are only about 250 of them left.
Similarly, do not buy exotic pets,
especially if the dealer cannot document
their origin or show they were legally
imported or bred in capacity. The exotic
pet trade harms animals in multiple
ways. Many endangered species that are
imported illegally for sale as pets die in
transit. And if non-native species escape
or are released in the United States, they
can become invasive and disrupt local
ecosystems. One prominent example is
the Burmese python, which can grow as
long as 20 feet and is listed on CITES
Appendix II. Burmese pythons imported
by pet dealers have become established in
the Florida Everglades, where they prey
on native mammals and birds.
To help protect animals directly,
consumers can buy Save Vanishing Species stamps at U.S. post offices. Eleven
cents from each stamp purchased goes to
USFWS’s Multinational Species Conservation Funds, which help partner groups
around the world conserve and manage
threatened species including elephants,
great apes, tigers, rhinos, and sea turtles.
This program has raised more than $2.6
million since its start in 2011.
Reducing global wildlife trafficking is a
long-term challenge, Marshall Jones
acknowledges. “This issue has to be an
integral part of U.S. foreign policy and
conservation policy for the indefinite
future,” he says. But Jones sees progress
occurring, especially in developing
countries. “These animals are resources for
many countries, and part of their birthrights,” he says. “As societies evolve, they
start thinking about these bigger issues and
realizing that they have to take action
before it’s too late.”
— JENNIFER WEEKS is a freelance journalist in
Massachusetts who writes about environment,
science, and health.
The Elephant in the Room
A M A ND
A PERE
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This spring, visitors will notice a new exhibit at the Smithsonian’s
National Zoo: a six-foot-long kiosk bearing the image of an African
elephant. It’s the centerpiece of a new public education campaign the
Zoo is launching to educate visitors about wildlife trafficking. Although
the Zoo does not exhibit African elephants, illegal wildlife trade also
threatens Asian elephants and many other species in the Zoo’s collections.
The display will provide information about widespread illegal trafficking of numerous species of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians,
and fishes, including many rare and endangered species. It will move
from site to site at the Zoo, with new information at each location
about the animals that can be seen nearby. By moving the exhibit
periodically, the Zoo’s wildlife trafficking team aims to educate
as many visitors as possible about the broad impact of the illegal
wildlife trade.
“We have never used the Zoo’s collection in such a broad and
encompassing way,” says Cheryl Braunstein, manager of exhibit
planning and development at the National Zoo. “Almost every
collection at the Zoo is affected by wildlife trafficking. We want
visitors to understand what’s happening to these animals around
the world, and what they can do about it.”
To reach wider audiences, FONZ’s education team is producing videos, curriculum materials, and training manuals for
schools. The Zoo will also use social media to publicize littleknown facts about wildlife trafficking and the U.S. role as a major importer of trafficked products. “Once people understand
where these goods come from, they can stop buying them at
home or as souvenirs when they travel,” says Braunstein.
A duplicate kiosk can also be seen at the National Air and
Space Museum through this summer and may travel to other
Smithsonian museums in the future.
Learn more: fonz.org/traffickingexhibit
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SMITHSONIAN Zoogoer | SUMMER 2015
JESSIE COHEN/NZP
Hunting and egg collection have contributed to the decline of
blue-billed curassows, which are critically endangered throughout
their range in northern Colombia.
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