How food choices can endanger wildlife, and what you can do about it
On Sunday, June 5, the global community celebrates the 43rd annual World Environment Day (WED), a day dedicated to mobilizing people from around the world to create positive and lasting change for the health of our planet.
The WED 2016 theme is聽,聽and it aims to increase awareness of the environmental, social, economic, and security dangers posed by the global illegal trade in wildlife. Unsustainable wildlife trade is the second-largest direct threat to species survival, after habitat loss, according to聽. WWF also finds that illegal wildlife trade has reached an聽, and is the most urgent threat to the world鈥檚 elephants, rhinos, and tigers.
Wildlife trade is the selling or exchanging of wild animal and plant species, both legal and illegal, for use as pets, food products, animal skins, medicinal ingredients, and timber. According to the World Wildlife Fund ()聽and wildlife trade monitoring network聽, even legal wildlife trade can be unsustainable when it jeopardizes the survival of entire species. Many species traded are already endangered or close to extinction, and transporting is often聽聽and environmentally damaging. Illegal wildlife trading can disrupt the livelihoods of local populations who depend on wild animals and plants for food, fuel, traditional medicine, and income generation. 聽
TRAFFIC estimates the global trade in wildlife involves hundreds of millions of wildlife from tens of thousands of species. While countries around the world have taken measures to address wildlife crime through stronger policies, awareness campaigns, and investments in conservation work and law enforcement,聽聽calls for increased efforts from all global citizens. The Go Wild for Life campaign, along with its聽, presses for tougher laws, stricter enforcement, and greater awareness in the average consumer to reduce demand for irresponsibly procured wildlife.
This WED, become more informed and conscious consumers.聽 Here are some important facts on how聽our food choices may be affecting the unsustainable wildlife industry.
1.聽The scaly pangolin native to Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa is now the聽聽mammal in the world, mostly for its meat and its scales that are used in traditional Asian medicine. Despite prohibitions under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), intensive pangolin poaching has聽聽pangolin populations in parts of Asia. Due to high demand, and declining numbers in Asia, the African species are now increasingly targeted. All eight species in the world are聽.
2.聽Sea turtles are illegally hunted for their meat, eggs, and shells. According to the聽聽guide produced by TRAFFIC North America and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS), all sea turtle species are endangered, and international trade in any of their products is prohibited. Go Wild for Life encourages consumers to help by supporting organizations that are working to protect these creatures and the livelihoods of local communities that help in their conservation.
3. Wild聽meat can be an important part of diet in many rural areas around the world. According to TRAFFIC, an increasing commercial demand is driving the overexploitation of a growing number of vertebrate species.聽聽(HSI)聽advises avoiding any food items that seem exotic. These items聽can include聽the meat of聽elephants, gorillas, chimpanzees, and hippos.
4.聽Washington D.C.-based organization Defenders of Wildlife聽聽that between 2004 and 2013, FWS confiscated over 36,000 kilograms of illegal wildlife and 7,111 illegal animals. Exotic聽meat from queen conch, iguana and sea turtles, and eggs from sea turtles and other species were found to be in the highest demand from all wildlife products among consumers in the United States.
According to Defenders鈥� international policy analyst Rosa Indenbaum, 鈥淭he U.S. market for illegal wildlife is vast and varied, but undoubtedly at the top of the list is meat.鈥�
5.聽High demand for shark fin soup has led to illegal and unsustainable fishing, pushing a quarter of the world鈥檚 shark species to extinction, according to the聽. The聽聽reports an estimated 100 million sharks are killed each year, mostly for the soup, which is also harmful for health due to high mercury levels found in the fish. The global聽聽campaign is leading the initiative to educate the public on the issue.
6.聽Frog legs are a delicacy in many countries around the world, but unscrupulous frog trading internationally has today led to聽聽in frog populations worldwide.
Defenders鈥� Alejandra Goyenechea says, 鈥淏illions of frogs are traded internationally each year for human consumption, and that industry is responsible for depleting wild populations, spreading deadly disease, and allowing invasive species to destroy the health of native ecosystems.鈥�
7.聽According to FWS, many sturgeon species numbers have dramatically declined due to habitat destruction, and also intensive harvesting to satisfy caviar demand. Sturgeon is especially at risk from overexploitation because they take 8 to 12 years to reach sexual maturity, and young ones tend to have a high mortality rate. All sturgeon caviar is regulated under CITES (聽may be needed in some cases), and some species are entirely prohibited.
8.聽Native to Indonesia and Malaysia, orangutans are threatened by the booming palm oil industry. When forests are cleared to make way for palm oil plantations, the apes are displaced from their natural habitat, and become vulnerable to being picked up for illegal trade. Under CITES, international commercial trade in orangutans is prohibited.
听补苍诲听聽urge consumers to be mindful of purchasing goods sourced from sustainable forestry practices. Several food items and other products contain palm oil. They ask buyers to become informed about where the palm oil in a product comes from, and whether it was produced sustainably.
To bring an end to biodiversity depletion, and illegal or reckless wildlife trading practices, WED 2016, WWF, and their partners call on every global consumer to become more conscious consumers by:
聽where products came from, how they were produced, and what environmental or social impact they may be leaving behind;
聽on the global illicit trade, and encouraging others to get educated before making purchases;
聽to enforce stronger regulations against unsustainable wildlife business, and supporting organizations and governments that do so already;
Learning about, and supporting sustainable supply chains. WWF encourages buying wildlife goods certified by the聽聽and the聽;
础苍诲听聽as often as possible, at home or while traveling.
The wildlife trade, according to WWF, is driven by the end-consumer, thus bestowing much power on the consumer to help eradicate harmful wildlife trade.聽To learn more about the WED 2016 campaign, please visit the聽.
This article first appeared at .
