The Wildlife Trade - response

It is sobering - for me - to read about the wildlife trade. I personally view humans as animals and, as any other animal, we are reliant upon a particular balance in our environment in order to stay alive and reproduce and continue on. The wildlife trade represents extensions of human culture, desperation and abstractions of money within economic systems - used as leverage. The intersection of these realities seems to provide enough power - shrouded within purchasing entities - to continue indefinitely.

The many faces of the wildlife trade must be addressed in their own right for any action to hold. We have, in many cases, individuals who are risking their lives in order to collect the specimens that are in demand. It could be that the money provided to them for this risk - is so significant - that the risk is non-negotiable. If a local economic system is unable to provide enough security to an individual or a family, it seems natural that in defense of what is closest, one may make decisions that require great risk. I wonder if there are poachers out there who do not identify with the choice they are making as much with the reality that the outcome is economic 'stability.' It seems that it is the poachers who, indeed, are most exposed - most at risk for being caught and punished. This does not surprise me in any way. How often do we see wealthy entities taking advantage of the economic or social situation of another - endearing themselves to those who have little to defend themselves with ? I am not defending poaching or poachers except inasmuch as I question the multifaceted nature of this horrible trade and think that considering WHY each player IS a player, is important to pursue a viable solution.

So, we have the poachers, we have decision makers and money movers who are in positions to demand supplies of wildlife. It could be that they themselves are not consumers. Who's to know? Savvy businessfolk don't necessarily have to care about what they are investing in - they simply have to know they'll get something out of it. Those who 'care' about their investment in the most direct way, are those putting their money into the market and receiving these goods. They may be buying it from someone who doesn't have any investment in them, their purpose, the wildlife, or the poachers who they 'compensate' for the original risk. These things may be true, but they are the initiators or at least the perpetuators of the dynamic system that results in wildlife trade.

In many cases, we hear stories of people using such purchases in traditional medicines, etc. I have strong beliefs around people being able to sustain their own cultures and ways of life, however have come to even more strongly believe in the idea of a collective freedom, a system of collaboration among us globally, that offers freedom for us all to thrive maximally - while considering the constraint our own 'freedoms/choices' put on others - and doing what we can to eliminate that constraint and honor a base freedom to exist.

We no longer live in a way (most of us) that requires each of us, individually, to account for our own consumption. Being able to use the leverage of money to ends beyond our own direct physical and mental capabilities - has allowed each one of us to extend the pressure of our own lives farther and farther beyond our own home and our own purview.

The trade in wildlife and wild plant-life seem - to me - to be extensions of the larger ideals that many humans have about human ownership over nature, other creatures, etc... Even if we redefine the value of a tiger or an elephant or a pangolin - in non-monetary terms - and teach others to see their value in a natural ecosystem unfettered from the constrains of money, one could still make money on the killing and sales of these creatures. If we look deeper and, perhaps, find ways to support the individuals who are being enticed to endanger themselves for the seemingly invisible powers that offer them monetary security - perhaps we would see a different outcome. I do wonder what it would look like if individuals wishing to purchase these creatures had to raise and kill them themselves. I actually do not condone this, however my mind wanders to feelings of responsibility that we have lost through industrialization and from removing the economy from the home and putting it into the hands of the dollar. We have lost much connection to the visceral side of our lifestyles and are embedded in lifestyles where we invest those primal sentiments into an economic soil that undermines the very nature from which we arise.

What to do?