Poaching

· What is poaching?
· What motivates people to poach?
· What animals are poached?
· What can be done to solve the poaching problem?

These are all questions wildlife law enforcement officers get every day. None have a short answer and many involve social and economic issues. Poaching robs legitimate sportsmen of game and fish, robs businesses and taxpayers of revenues generated by hunting and fishing, and robs us and future generations of our wildlife. No one knows for sure the number of animals killed by poachers every year. Estimates indicate that poachers take as much fish and game as legitimate sportsmen do during the legal seasons. In addition, the poacher does not confine his kill to game species. Non-game, endangered or threatened wildlife are also included in the poacher's bag. To put it simply, poachers are criminals and should be dealt with as criminals.

What is poaching?
Poaching is the illegal killing or taking of any wildlife. Wildlife belongs to the people of the state or province. A person that takes wildlife illegally is steeling that animal from you. If it is a trophy deer taken out of season it deprives someone else the opportunity to legally harvest the animal. Poachers are not poor people who are merely trying to feed their families. Putting food on the table is one of the least common motives.

What motivates people to poach?
Poachers take animals for a variety of reasons. The hides, skins and other parts may be used for clothing, food, folk medicine, jewelry, and trophies. Some animals are captured live and used in the pet, falconry, or live trophy animal trade. Some people poach because of deeply rooted beliefs that these activities are acceptable. Some poach just for the thrill of it. They may also poach to market them selves as a great guide, or to promote a product. They operate year round with any method that produces results at low risk. Many poachers are also involved in other illegal activities.

What animals are poached?
Poachers are interested in any marketable animal that is available. Antlers of animals may be sold as trophies or sent to Asia where it is ground up and used in traditional folk medicines. The gall bladder on one bear can bring as much as $18,000 in Asia. This does not include the paws, claws and teeth, used in the taxidermy and folk art trade. Eggs from paddlefish are processed and sold as caviar. Shells of mussels are cut and shipped to the south pacific to be used in the cultured pearl industry. This makes a single large fresh water mussel worth as much as $20, and a truckload worth several hundred thousand.

Fish caught illegally find its way to the restaurant and commercial food trade. Live animals such as, birds of prey (for falconers), waterfowl (to stock wild bird farms), big game (to stock game farms or private shooting preserves), and amphibians, or reptiles (for the pet trade).  The list goes on and on. Whether the poacher is out to fill his pocket book or satisfy his ego the end result is that all people loose. Not just the sportsman.

• Learn to identify poaching offences in your state or province.
• Report poaching to your local wildlife enforcement officer, the local poaching hotline or to the state, provincial, or federal conservation authorities.
• Talk to your friends and children about the value of wildlife and the threat posed by poaching.
• Demand strong enforcement of hunting and fishing regulations.
• Encourage schools to include information and programs sponsored by your state or provincial conservation authorities.
• Ask you local newspaper, radio and TV to run stories on poaching.
• Refuse to purchase products that you suspect have been made from illegally obtained wild animals.
• Encourage effective wildlife legislation.
• Improve wildlife law enforcement, including sufficient patrol officers with proper funding, effective penalties, and support of your judicial system.