National and International Trade
Poaching and (legal and illegal) wildlife trade are another concern relating to animal extinction. But the introduction of ban and / or restrictions on international trade in many endangered species several decades ago became an effective measure in halting this problem.
History also shows that there is also a link between International Wild life trade and drugs trade. In 1993 for example, 312 boa constrictors that arrived at the Miami Airport from Colombia were found carrying 39 KGs of cocaine. It is reported that all the snakes eventually died.
- Pet Trade: It has been reported for example that during the 1980s, the demand for the endangered animal, Orangutan, really went up following a TV show in Taiwan in which it featured as a pet. The main problem is that most of the mothers would have been killed in the process of trying to catch the babies.
- Fur Trade: This was apparently popular during the late 50s. Pelts of thousands and thousands of leopards and cheetahs were ILLEGALLY imported into Europe.
- Bush meat Trade: The eating of meat for wild game is apparently the main source of food most parts of Central Africa. Some people argue that the hunting of bushmeat is now becoming more of a threat to some animals than that posed by Habit loss.
- Some researchers also claim that the consumption of bush meat has in certain cases even had possible links to the emergence of certain diseases. For example HIV
- Body Parts Trade : Some researchers also claim that there is also a link between this type of trade and animal extinction. There is apparently a huge demand for certain animal parts, especially in ASIA, which are used in traditional medicine.
- Trade for Medical Research
It is estimated that number of Chimpanzees for example that are exported from Africa into the Western countries for use in medical research runs into the ten thousands. More photos... |
