The Role of Technology in the Deterrence of Poachers

Poaching is the illegal hunting, capturing or killing of wild animals in violation of national or international laws. This encompasses the hunting of endangered species or animals which are out of season, but there is also an abundance of regulations that have been established regarding the weapons and the intent of hunters. Needless to say, human beings have been hunting animals for food for centuries. However, poaching first came to fruition only during the Middle Ages in Europe when rulers granted noblemen exclusive rights to fish and hunt on their land (Shadow, 2008).

Poaching, originally a deed carried out to merely obtain food by the poor, has now escalated to illicit trade. A report from the United Nations and Interpol in 2014 estimates the illegal trade of global wildlife to be worth $213 billion per annum (Westcott, 2014). The report also estimates that the illegal poaching of flora and fauna amounts to an annual loss of between $7 billion and $23 billion (Westcott, 2014). Two of the most targeted animals are elephants and rhinos. Over 33,000 elephants are killed per year and this is attributed to the poaching for their tusks (Scriber, 2014). This has resulted in over 65% of Central Africa’s elephant population being wiped out over the past decade (Steyn, 2016). There is an increasing demand for rhino horn on the black market commanding a price of $132,000 per pound, with the average weight of a rhino horn being between 3 and 7 pounds (Lehmacher, 2016). Consequently, rhino poaching in South Africa was found to have increased by over 9000% between 2007 and 2014 (SaveTheRhino.org, 2020). Furthermore, with rhino poaching presenting itself as such a lucrative opportunity, violence has resulted. The International Ranger Federation attribute around 50 deaths of rangers per annum to murder by poachers (Ahmed, 2018).

Since the peak of rhino poaching in 2014, South Africa has successfully been able to curb such activity largely due to the implementation of refined technology, which is used as a preventive tool (Pozniak, 2018). Such technology includes GPS tags for the rhinos and sophisticated sensors that encircle the reserves (Pozniak, 2018). The virtual fortress created acts as a point-to-multipoint router network system and is used to track people as opposed to wildlife (Pozniak, 2018). During all periods of the day and night, rangers are tasked with surveying several monitors displaying live feed from CCTV and thermal cameras along the perimeter of the reserve (Pozniak, 2018). All vehicles that enter the reserve are tagged and every individual must be scanned with biometric equipment that can recognize criminals (Pozniak, 2018). Magnetic sensors are installed to detect any weapons and will alert security personnel of the need to search an individual (Pozniak, 2018). In addition to the extensive technology established to protect the rhinos, sniffer dogs are trained to unearth weapons or rhino horns that could be stashed within vehicles (Pozniak, 2018).

Technology can be deemed as being a substantial contributing factor to the successful decline in the number of rhinos poached per annum within South Africa. It aids the rangers in their role of protecting the wildlife whilst acting as an additional layer of security. Of course, strategic integration of the technology alongside effective utilization of the data is vital to continuing this success in deterring poachers. It will be exciting to uncover the emerging technology that can assist in the elimination of poaching. Drones with improved battery life could potentially play a great role in achieving this! Only time will tell, but one can certainly conclude that technology has been a prominent asset in the fight to eradicate poaching!

________________________________________________________________________________

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Save The Rhinos

The cost of acquiring, implementing and updating the technology as a form of security is expensive. It is common that the reserves receive donations from philanthropists or large technology multinationals in order to do so. Save The Rhinos is an initiative established to eradicate rhino poaching and remove the animal from the critically endangered category. Their website - www.savetherhino.org/ - is a fantastic resource should one wish to learn more about the poaching of rhinos. Also, there is the option to support the initiative if one has the means to do so!

References

[1] Ahmad, M., 2018. New Survey Finds, One In Seven Wildlife Rangers Have Been Seriously Injured Over The Past Year. [online] wwf.panda.org. Available at: <https://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/press_releases/?332051/New-survey-finds-one-in-seven-wildlife-rangers-have-been-seriously-injured-over-the-past-year-in-the-line-of-duty> [Accessed 18 February 2020].

[2] Lehmacher, W., 2016. Wildlife Crime: A $23 Billion Trade That’S Destroying Our Planet. [online] World Economic Forum. Available at: <https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/09/fighting-illegal-wildlife-and-forest-trade/> [Accessed 16 February 2020].

[3] Migiro, G., 2018. What Is Poaching?. [online] WorldAtlas.com. Available at: <https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-is-poaching.html> [Accessed 16 February 2020].

[4] SaveTheRhino.org. 2020. Poaching Numbers. [online] Available at: <https://www.savetherhino.org/rhino-info/poaching-stats/> [Accessed 17 February 2020].

[5] Pozniak, H., 2018. The Technology That Will Finally Stop Poachers. [online] Popular Mechanics. Available at: <https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/animals/a25174825/technology-stops-poachers/> [Accessed 18 February 2020].

[6] Scriber, B., 2014. 100,000 Elephants Killed By Poachers In Just Three Years, Landmark Analysis Finds. [online] National Geographic. Available at: <https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/8/140818-elephants-africa-poaching-cites-census/> [Accessed 17 February 2020].

[7] Shadow, S., 2008. How Poaching Works. [online] HowStuffWorks.com. Available at: <https://adventure.howstuffworks.com/outdoor-activities/hunting/traditional-methods/poaching1.htm> [Accessed 15 February 2020].

[8] Steyn, P., 2016. African Elephant Numbers Plummet 30 Percent, Landmark Survey Finds. [online] National Geographic. Available at: <https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2016/08/wildlife-african-elephants-population-decrease-great-elephant-census/> [Accessed 17 February 2020].

[9] Westcott, L., 2014. UN Warns That Growing $213 Billion Poaching Industry Funds Armed Conflicts. [online] The Atlantic. Available at: <https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/06/un-warns-that-growing-213-billion-poaching-industry-funds-armed-conflicts/373324/> [Accessed 17 February 2020].