WILDLIFE trade can be legal and does not necessarily harm wild animal and plant populations. But wildlife trade can unfold a very destructive force when the demand for certain species increases and leads to overexploitation. After habitat loss, illegal wildlife trade is the second largest threat to the survival of many species. Today, elephants, rhinoceroses and tigers are among the most endangered mammals on earth due to illegal wildlife trade and habitat loss.

Such statements illustrate why many wildlife species are in danger.

After drug trafficking, product piracy and human trafficking, wildlife trade is the fourth most profitable illegal activity worldwide. According to WWF, wildlife transactions amounting to around 19 billion dollars per year pose a threat to the conservation of wildlife. Laos has become a wildlife trafficking hub and functions as a transit country for ivory, rhino horn, tigers, helmeted hornbills, pangolins and other wildlife. The greatest threat to the survival of tigers, for example, is illegal hunting for commercial trade due to the apparently insatiable demand for supposedly medicinal tiger products.

China is the world’s largest and fastest growing market for wildlife, and traditional Chinese medicine is a major source for demand. Tigers are killed for their bones, skin, claws and meat. Tiger bone wine is promoted as a tonic that is believed to have anti-inflammatory properties and is also used to treat rheumatism and impotence. It is also a luxury product and status symbol. Wealthy Chinese are willing to pay more than 300 dollars a bottle. Other body parts like bones, teeth, claws and whiskers are used as ingredients in traditional medicine in China as well as in other Asian countries such as Malaysia, Vietnam, Japan, Singapore and South Korea.

In addition, tigers are threatened by habitat loss as a result of deforestation and infrastructure projects. Unsustainable hunting practices lead to the loss of prey species so that tigers in search for food are pushed into conflicts with humans.

Today, more tigers live in captivity than in the wild. Many spend a bleak life in captivity at so-called tiger farms - bred to be killed. Such commercial tiger farms do also exist in Laos, but the government of Laos announced in September that these will be closed. Moreover, tiger farms did not stop the hunt for them, but instead stimulated poaching of wild tigers.

Laos, as well as other countries, show a strong link between road building, natural resource extraction and wildlife trafficking. Loggers are known to supplement their income by hunting and selling wildlife to traders and markets. Hunting wildlife promises easy money, and easier access to remote forest areas facilitates the development of smuggler networks.

Regulated by law

Since 2004 Laos is a member of CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. The convention aims to ensure that international wildlife trade does not threaten the survival of wild animals and plants. All its 183 member countries have to incorporate the convention into national law.

In recent years, Laos was suspended from CITES twice. In 2015, the Lao government failed to deliver a national action plan on ivory trade. After handing in the report Laos was reinstated. A year later, Laos failed to submit a report on the implementation of the ivory plan and was suspended again.

National Wildlife and Aquatic Law in Laos regards wildlife as a state property. The wildlife law states that hunting practices that cause massive destruction such as explosives, poison, chemicals or electric shocks are prohibited. Hunting wildlife and aquatic species during the breeding season and in protected areas is also prohibited by law.

Traditional hunting and fishing for subsistence is not the problem – which is why Lao laws and regulations draw a line between wildlife harvesting for food and for sale. Hunting for home consumption is permitted as long as it is practised in a sustainable way and does not have negative impact on the survival of wildlife population. Commercial hunting and fishing, in contrast, can be much more damaging.

Every year, an estimated 10,000 mammals, 7,000 birds and 4,000 reptiles are sold in markets all over Laos. As a result, some species such as Asian rhinos, tapirs or some deer have already or have almost disappeared from the country’s ecosystems. Endangered animals are more valuable alive than on a plate or processed into a jewellery, home decor or tonic.

Consumers can contribute to an end of illegal wildlife trade by simply not buying endangered animals and products derived from them.

Vientiane Times/Laos

Published in Dawn, April 26th, 2017