Wildlife trade

Abstract: The global trade in wildlife provides disease transmission mechanisms that not only cause human disease outbreaks but also threaten livestock, international trade, rural livelihoods, native wildlife populations, and the health of ecosystems. Outbreaks resulting from wildlife trade have caused hundreds of billions of dollars of economic damage globally. Rather than attempting to eradicate pathogens or the wild species that may harbor them, a practical approach would include decreasing the contact rate among species, including humans, at the interface created by the wildlife trade. Since wildlife marketing functions as a system of scale-free networks with major hubs, these points provide control opportunities to maximize the effects of regulatory efforts.

Abstract: People have hunted mammals in tropical Asian forests for at least 40,000 yr. This period has seen one confirmed global extinction (the giant pangolin, Manis palaeojavanica) and range restrictions for several large mammals, but there is no strong evidence for unsustainable hunting pressure until the last 2000‐3000 yr, when elephants, rhinoceroses, and several other species were progressively eliminated from the large parts of their ranges. Regional declines in most species have occurred largely within the last 50 yr. Recent subsistence hunting has typically focused on pigs and deer (hunted with dogs and spears or with snares), monkeys and other arboreal mammals (often caught with blowpipes), and porcupines and other rodents (smoked or dug out of burrows). Over the last 50 yr, the importance of hunting for subsistence has been increasingly outweighed by hunting for the market. The hunted biomass is dominated by the same species as before, sold mostly for local consumption, but numerous additional species are targeted for the colossal regional trade in wild animals and their parts for food, medicines, raw materials, and pets. Many populations of mammalian dispersers of large seeds and understory browsers have been depleted or eliminated, while seed predators have had a more variable fate. Most of this hunting is now illegal, but the law enforcement is generally weak. However, examples of successful enforcement show that hunting impacts can be greatly reduced where there is sufficient political will. Ending the trade in wild animals and their parts should have the highest regional conservation priority. HABITAT LOSS AND DEGRADATION are such massive and visible threats to biodiversity in tropical Asia that the impact of hunting is sometimes considered secondary, at least in comparison with Africa and the Neotropics (Primack & Corlett 2005, Sodhi & Brook 2006). However, hunting impacts almost all remaining forest in the region and few areas now support the vertebrate fauna that they potentially could if hunting were prevented. This reduction in vertebrate populations may, in turn, slow vegetation recovery through its impact on seed dispersal, particularly since hunters favor the large vertebrate species that disperse large fruits with large seeds (Corlett 1998, 2002). Hunting, moreover, is potentially more easily controlled than most other conservation problems in tropical Asian forests. In most areas it is a relatively marginal economic activity, involving relatively few people. Hunting has become a massive problem because of high human population densities and a generally well-developed infrastructure that not only makes most forest areas easily accessible, but also gives access to distant urban markets for luxury (often medicinal) products. This review covers the hunting (including trapping) of mammals in closed-canopy forest habitats of tropical and subtropical Asia west of Wallace’s line, i.e., the Oriental or Indomalayan region. This region excludes eastern Indonesia, with its very different forest fauna, and much of the more arid western part of the Oriental region. The area covered has a relatively uniform mammalian fauna at the genus and family level, with many widespread species. Information on hunting impacts was obtained from several sources, including: archaeological data; studies of contemporary hunters; observations of the wildlife trade and markets; and changes in forest faunas over time. Mammalian nomenclature follows Wilson and

Abstract: Most emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic; wildlife constitutes a large and often unknown reservoir. Wildlife can also be a source for reemergence of previously controlled zoonoses. Although the discovery of such zoonoses is often related to better diagnostic tools, the leading causes of their emergence are human behavior and modifications to natural habitats (expansion of human populations and their encroachment on wildlife habitat), changes in agricultural practices, and globalization of trade. However, other factors include wildlife trade and translocation, live animal and bushmeat markets, consumption of exotic foods, development of ecotourism, access to petting zoos, and ownership of exotic pets. To reduce risk for emerging zoonoses, the public should be educated about the risks associated with wildlife, bushmeat, and exotic pet trades; and proper surveillance systems should be implemented.

Abstract: Wildlife trade is the very heart of biodiversity conservation and sustainable development providing an income for some of the least economically affluent people and it generates considerable revenue nationally. In Asia the unsustainable trade in wildlife has been identified as one of the main conservation challenges. Internationally, wildlife trade is regulated through the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of wild fauna and flora (CITES) to which all Southeast Asian nations are signatory. I obtained data on international trade in CITES-listed animals in the period 1998–2007. In all >35 million animals (0.3 million butterflies; 16.0 million seahorses; 0.1 million other fish; 17.4 million reptiles; 0.4 million mammals; 1.0 million birds) were exported in this period, 30 million (~300 species) of them being wild-caught. In addition 18 million pieces and 2 million kg of live corals were exported. Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia and China are the major exporters of wild-caught animals and the European Union and Japan are the most significant importers. Over this period exports in birds significantly decreased, trade in the other taxa either increased or remained stable. For all taxa but butterflies the vast majority of individuals represent wild-caught individuals. Records of illegal or undeclared international trade are scant but can be significantly larger than levels of official exports. It is concluded that there is an urgent need for better assessments of what levels of exploitation are sustainable (including exploring appropriate proxies for Non Detriment Findings), for initiatives to make regulatory mechanisms more effective (including the introduction of minimum mandatory standards and monitoring selected wildlife trade hubs), and for better licensing and registration. Funding for at least some of these initiatives can be obtained by imposing small levies on exports of CITES-listed wildlife.

Abstract: Domestic and wild animal population movements are important in the spread of disease There are many recent examples of disease spread that have occurred as a result of intentional movements of livestock or wildlife Understanding the volume of these movements and the risks associated with them is fundamental in elucidating the epidemiology of these diseases, some of which might entail zoonotic risks The importance of the worldwide animal trade is reviewed and the role of the unregulated trade in animals is highlighted A range of key examples are discussed in which animal movements have resulted in the introduction of pathogens to previously disease-free areas Measures based on heightened surveillance are proposed that mitigate the risks of new pathogen introductions