Poaching and the way forward

The indiscriminate elimination of wildlife portends great dangers for our society and the world order. It is worthy to note that poaching has continually reduced the population of wildlife and if steps are taken to correct this threat, wildlife and conservation is just about dead. Thus it will follow the trend of well-planned environment without a structure.

Stakeholders in this industry should take proactive steps at reducing loss of wildlife but the errors of government towards wildlife management and conservation is poor and efforts must be made to support it. Take for instance, ‘’sambisa’’ which is an hotspot for crime in north eastern Nigeria should have been converted to a centre for agro allied research, irrigational model  for farming and game reserve. But the government allowed such treasure to remain fallow and thus became a hotspot for crime.

We should be able to differentiate between poaching and hunting because one deals with immediate consumption of animals, the other portends dangers to animal population and their existence.

According to the United Nations, there is a concerted action to end the threats to migratory birds and urging everyone to step outside and listen to the birds chirping to appreciate how important they are to our planet.

The convention on migratory species (CMS) announced the creation of the intergovernmental task force on illegal killing, trade etc. it comprises of UNEP, UNODC and INTERPOL. Illegal taking and killing of birds threatens not only the survival of birds species but environment, communities and livelihood. Poaching are not only traditional but taken sophisticated equipment to ply the trade, therefore multi-tasking approach should be set aside to stop these trend in our game reserves.

Problems

Its problems are enormous but a major problem militating the growth and development of our reserves are corruption, prolonged drought, multi-billion Chinese mining and construction ventures and land hungry communal cattle farmers leading to upsurge in wildlife mortality.

Moreover towards modernisation, we tend to yearn for development but not minding the dangers which they possess. According to John Grobler and Fiona Macleod ‘’wildlife are now in a cross fire between poaching and conservatism’’ the greedy altitude of individuals are reducing the population of wildlife on a daily basis.

Recommendations

Towards a lasting solution in our reserves against poaching, A legislation should be passed by the national assembly on the dangers of poaching and using every resource at their disposal to save animals. Thus according to Bruce Zagaris the use of statute which enables court to order defendants to pay their fines to the multinational species conservation funds which supports international efforts to protect critically endangered species around the world. A trusteeship system should be agreed upon whereby developed nations find mechanisms to provide capacity and motivation to developing countries, where transnational crime occur. Also a large chunk of funds should be remitted to developing countries, this will make them bring convicts and participate in restitution efforts. The legislation should be encompassing and the method of enforcement and trusteeship procedure spelt out which will be beneficial to our own reserve. Whistle blowers should be protected.

The Seize, share and forfeit template should be incorporated into our system, whereby seize materials can be returned to its original owners and a wildlife museum can be set up in these various centres instead of destroying these materials. This will provide source of revenue for these organisations.

Consuming countries should be obliged to return proceeds directly to the source countries or organisations. This will create a sense of belonging.

Developed nations should also render assistance to developing nations in terms of enlightening the rural inhabitants and provision of surveillance equipment such as drones and hidden cameras, Sniffer dogs at global transit park and inclusion of new park guard at reserves.

Intermediaries used by members of transnational groups should be incorporated into the society and made to serve as guards for these reserves. In this regard, there is every tendency that they need to be enlightened on the dangers of animal poaching and hunting should be defined according to best practise suitable for reserve conservation and development.