Topic B: The Issue of Animal Poaching

United Nations Office on Drug and Crime

By: Cassidy Dekle

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History and Parameters

According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime the trafficking of

wildlife is increasingly recognized as both a specialized area of organized crime and a

significant threat to many plant and animal species. The World Wildlife Crime Report

takes stock of the present wildlife crime situation with a focus on illicit trafficking of

specific protected species of wild fauna and flora, and provides a broad assessment of the

nature and extent of the problem at the global level. It includes a quantitative market

assessment and a series of in-depth illicit trade case studies.

Introduction

Poaching is the illegal hunting, killing or capturing of animals. This can occur in a

variety of ways; poaching can refer to the failure to comply with regulations for legal

harvest, resulting in the illegal taking of wildlife that would otherwise be allowed.

Examples include: Taking animals without a license or permit, use of a prohibited

weapon or trap, taking animals outside of the designated time of day or year (i.e. hunting

season if animal has one), and taking animals of a prohibited sex or life stage. Poaching

can also refer to the capturing of animals from a wildlife sanctuary, such as national

parks, game reserves, or zoos. The issue of animal poaching is an impending problem on

the wildlife of the world. Animal poaching is a growing problem around the world,

especially in areas in Europe, Africa, Asia, and Central America. Every day people are

poaching animals such as Tigers, Elephants, Pangolins, Rhinoceroses, Tibetan Antelopes,

Sea Turtles, Great Apes, Blue Whales, European Eels, Porbeagles, and Spiny Dogfish.

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Animals such as these are just more popular to poach, however a number of other

animal’s face poaching everyday as well. Every one of these animals are poached for a

number of different reasons but the most common reasons are, for money, medicinal

purposes, jewelry, fur, meat, and trophies.

Even though animal poaching is a crime globally, each nation has their own set of

laws and regulations to prosecute animal poachers and to protect those animals in danger.

However, some nations have more lenient laws on animal poaching then others which

can affect the safety of wildlife in certain countries. Striving to establish a global standard

to protect all wildlife from illegal animal poaching, without impeding on the national

sovereignty of any country, is of great concern for the United Nations Office on Drug and

Crime.

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History of Animal poaching

In the 1700’s in Europe the poor were struggling to survive, so they poached

animals as their only way to obtain food and survive. The poaching got worse around

1765 as a result of the American Revolution because, many parts of west Europe were

providing weapons, men, money and goods to either the American soldiers or the British

soldiers, which included poached animals. Later on, in the 1800’s people were allowed to

hunt small game (i.e. rabbits, squirrels, doves, turkeys, chickens, etc.). This was a

turning point because poaching rates went down as an effect of some small game being

taken off the illegal poaching list, allowing more animals to become readily available to

hunters.

In the 1900’s the United States passed the Lacey Act which established how it is

unlawful to import, export, sell, acquire, or purchase fish or endangered wildlife and

plants that are taken, possessed, transported, or sold. This covers all parts of wildlife and

fish, even their products too. This is protected by an organization called the Convention

on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). In 1918

the Migratory Bird Treaty Act was implemented. This makes it illegal for anyone to take,

possess, import, export, transport, sell, purchase, barter, or offer for sale, any migratory

bird, or their parts, nests, or eggs of such a bird except under the terms of having a valid

permit issued by Federal regulations.

Deforestation also plays a large role in animal poaching. In the 1940’s Russia’s

Siberian tiger population decreased by forty percent just as a cause of deforestation and

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hunting. Siberian tigers are poached for their fur, and their body parts are often used for

medicine in a variety of nations, most prominently China. At the 1960’s Convention on

International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) an

international agreement was formed to protect animals in trade so that their survival is not

threatened. CITES is an international agreement between governments; its aim is to

ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals, and plants does not threaten

the survival of those species. CITES works very closely with the UNODC. In 1973 the

Endangered Species Act provided conservation for threatened and endangered plants and

animals in their respective habitats in an effort to keep populations stable and protected.

Around this time people started to become more concerned with animals disappearing off

the face of the Earth. In 1989 a global ivory ban was created by CITES in an effort to

reduce poaching and stop the decreasing number of elephant populations. However, this

didn’t help as much as expected; in 2006, elephant poaching spiked and 120 carcasses

were found in a national park in Africa. In 2013, around 2000 dead pangolins, a very rare

mammal, were seized from a fishing vessel headed towards China. The pangolin is one of

the most trafficked animals in the world.

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Effects of Animal Poaching

Animal poaching has many effects on the world. The most prominent is the

decreasing animal population. From 2007-2014 there has been an 8000% decrease in the

Rhino population. In the world today, there are about 3,200 wild tigers left, about 1,500

were killed by poachers throughout 2000 and 2012. Ninety% of Elephants were poached

from 1970 until now. From 2013-2016 almost 20 tons of Pangolin scales were seized

from illegal shipment, those scales were from 39,000 Pangolins. As these numbers rise a

question emerges, what will happen to the food chain or better yet the world after these

animals go extinct? Scientist has stated that humans will go extinct without Bees. So,

what will happen without Elephants, or Tigers, or even Pangolins?

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Another problem that has risen is the number of rangers that have been killed to

allow poachers to have access to animals. Between 2000-2012, 1,425 Park Rangers or

wildlife protectors have been killed by poachers. This means some poachers are not only

killing animals they are also killing people. This makes those criminals even more

dangerous.

In conflict zones animal poaching is even more frequent and violent than

everywhere else. In conflict zones poaching is higher because criminals take advantage of

the lack of government presence; they also take advantage of the lack of wildlife

protection. Sometimes the profits from the poaching of wildlife in those areas go toward

helping fund and fuel the conflict. Connections between poacher gangs and the

Dominican Republic of Congo’s government have been found in the past.

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Prior Actions

In 2013, The United Nations declared March third World Wildlife Day. The

United Nations have done many things to try and better the situation of animal poaching.

When the United Nations declared March third World Wildlife Day, it informed every

nation and poacher that the United Nations was paying closer attention to the illegal

capturing of animals and wildlife. This is a big success because it has drawn more

attention to the problem at hand. More people can also help fund or campaign for the

fight against poachers. The United Nations agrees that the issue is driven by the growing

demand for illegal wildlife products, the illicit trade has in recent years escalated into a

global environmental crisis, pushing several species to the brink of extinction.

The global effort to end illegal trade in wildlife boosted last year, as the UN

General Assembly adopted a resolution urging member states to identify and classify

illicit trafficking in wildlife as a serious criminal offence. This year, the UN calls for

strong political commitments to be put into action through collective efforts of citizens

and governments around the world. The Convention on International Trade in

Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) has made massive progress to

fight illegal trade in ivory through the preparation, implementation and review of

National Ivory Action Plans by 19 key countries affected by the illicit trade.

In May 2015, the cross-continent Operation Cobra III brought together

enforcement agencies from range, transit and destination countries, resulting in 139

arrests and more than 247 seizures, which included elephant ivory, medicinal plants,

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rhino horns, pangolins and many more. One of the larger concerns for United Nations on

Drug and Crime, is breaking up well organized illegal poacher gangs. Well-organized

commercial ivory poachers are involved in the trade in many Asian countries. Between

1989 and 2009, there were 55 tremendous ivory seizures, with an average volume of 2.3

tons of ivory. In the destination markets, these shipments were worth about $2 million

apiece at the wholesale level.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the issue of animal poaching is an impending problem on the

wildlife of the world. The definition of poaching is the illegal hunting, killing or

capturing of animals. There are many animals on the brink of extinction because of

poaching. The main reasons animals are poached is for money, medicinal purposes,

jewelry, fur, meat, and trophies. These animals are struggling to keep their populations

alive. The extinction of many species could lead to the extinction of the human race

itself, and have untold consequences on the climate and environment around the world.

Preventing animal poachers from illegally abducting wildlife is not a desire, it is a

necessity for the future of the environment and life on earth. Striving to establish a global

standard to protect all wildlife from illegal animal poaching, without impeding on the

national sovereignty of any country, is of great concern for the United Nations Office on

Drug and Crime.

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Guided Questions

1. How has animal poaching affected your country? Politically? Economically?

2. What steps has your countries government taken at the national or international

level to recognize the importance of animal poaching?

3. What is your countries standing point on stopping animal poaching?

4. Is your country in an area that is highly plagued with wildlife poaching?

5. Is your nation involved with any treaties or agreements that are connected to the

protection of wildlife? If so, how does that affect your position on the topic?

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Works Cited

Allan, Crawford. "Illegal Wildlife Trade." WWF. World Wildlife Fund, 2017. Web. 28 July

2017.

Frontier. "The World's Most Poached Animals." HuffPost UK. The Huffington Post, 11

May 2017. Web. 15 July 2017.

Nancy.cao. "United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime." About UNODC. N.p., n.d. Web.

27 July 2017.

Shadow, Simon. "History of Poaching." History of Poaching. SIMON SHADOW, n.d. Web.

2017.

"Timeline: A History of Poaching and Protecting Wildlife." Exotic Animals. N.p., n.d. Web.

28 July 2017.

Unodc. "Defining Transnational Organized Wildlife Crime." (2016): 1-3. 2016. Web. 16

July 2017.

UNODC.

"Http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/wildlife/WLC16_Chapter_2.pdf."

(2016): 1-6. 2016. Web. 18 July 2017.

Valerie.prassl. "United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime." On World Wildlife Day UN

Implores Urgent Action to End Poaching Crisis. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 July 2017.

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Letter from the Chair

Dear Delegates,

Welcome to the 2017 Old City Model United Nations. Hi, my name is Cassidy

Dekle. This is my first year in the Model United Nations club. I will be co-chairing with

Cameron Fallon on the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. I am currently a

sophomore at Pedro Menendez High School. I am in the International Bachelorette (IB)

program. Some other clubs I am in are the Drama club and the HOSA club. I am

currently the Under-Secretary General. Elizabeth Upton is my trainer and mentor. Even

though this is my first year in the club Elizabeth has already taught me many things.

The topics of OCMUNC were picked for different reasons when it comes to each

topic. The topic of animal poaching in this year’s UNODC council was picked because it

is a very concerning topic for the world currently and there is so much to learn from it.

Animal poaching is an impending problem as it could, in the future, affect our livelihood

on earth. I am so excited for my first ever Old City Model United Nations. This is the

fifteenth OCMUNC, and I think it’s going to be the best yet. I am excited to meet all of

you. Your mission is to find solutions to both topics to help save the world!

Good Luck

- Cassidy Dekle

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Letter from the Secretary General

Dear Delegates,

My name is Elizabeth Upton and I am the current Secretary General of this dear

ole conference, OCMUNC, and the club at Pedro Menendez High School. This is my

second year as Secretary General, my fourth year in the club and sadly, my last. I am a

senior in IB, and if any of you are in IB as well, you know the pain. I also work at chipotle,

and NO, we don’t have E Coli. It’s the fifteenth year of OCMUNC! Making it the third

oldest in the state of Florida, and older than a few of our members.

The topics for this year’s conference are significant in many ways, mainly because

of the turmoil they have caused/ will cause throughout the world. Candy grams, the OG,

are coming back again this year, proceeds dedicated to the International Fund for

Animal Welfare (IFAW), which intertwines with our topic of Animal Poaching in our

UNODC council. Although I know you guys don’t particularly enjoy spending the night

before conference writing position papers, they are highly recommended but not

required. This conference is going to be the best OCMUNC yet!! If you have any

questions, concerns, or just want a new snap buddy, feel free to contact me at

oldcitymun@gmail.com.

Peace out girl scouts, see you all at OCMUNC!!

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- Elizabeth Upton

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