Poaching is the illegal hunting, fishing or harvesting of wild plants or animals. Hunting is the practice of pursuing Animals for Food, Recreation, or Trade. For the computer security term see Phishing. Fishing is the activity of catching Fish. In Agriculture, the harvest is the process of Gathering mature crops from the fields Reaping is the cutting of Grain It may be illegal because:
- The game or fish is not in season, usually the breeding season is declared as the closed season when wildlife species are protected by law. The breeding season is the most suitable season usually with favorable conditions and abundant food and water for breeding among some wild animals and birds (wildlife In Biology, a species is one of the basic units of Biological classification and a Taxonomic rank.
- The poacher does not possess a license.
- The poacher is illegally selling the animal or animal parts or plant for a profit.
- The animal is being hunted outside of legal hours.
- The hunter used an illegal weapon for that animal.
- The animal or plant is on restricted land.
- The right to hunt this animal is claimed by somebody.
- The means used are illegal (for example, baiting a field while hunting quail, using spotlights to stun or paralyze deer, or hunting from a moving vehicle, watercraft, or aircraft). Bait is any substance used to attract Prey, eg in a Mousetrap.
- The animal or plant is protected by law or that it has been listed as extinct or an endangered (see for example the Endangered Species Act for the USA)
- The animal or plant has been tagged by a researcher
Note that only wild animals can be poached. The Endangered Species Act of 1973 ( et seq or ESA is the most wide-ranging of the dozens of United States environmental laws passed in the 1970s The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Stealing or killing domestic animals is considered to be theft ("cattle rustling"), not poaching.
Plant poaching is also on the rise. A prominent example is the removal of ginseng [1] growing in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Ginseng refers to species within Panax, a genus of 11 species of slow-growing Perennial plants with fleshy roots in the family Araliaceae. Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a United States National Park that straddles the ridgeline of the Great Smoky Mountains, part of the Blue Ridge Mountains It is estimated that dried wild ginseng plants are worth more that $500 per pound on the black market.
Traditional Chinese medicine often incorporates ingredients from all parts of plants, the leaf, stem, flower, root, and also ingredients from animals and minerals. Traditional Chinese medicine (also known as TCM,) includes a range of traditional medical practices originating in China. The use of parts of endangered species (such as seahorses, rhinoceros horns, and tiger bones and claws) has created controversy and resulted in a black market of poachers who hunt restricted animals. An endangered species is a population of an organism which is at risk of becoming Extinct because it is either few in numbers or threatened by changing environmental or predation Seahorses are a Genus ( Hippocampus ') of fish belonging to the family Syngnathidae, which also includes Pipefish and Leafy Rhinoceros (raɪˈnɒsərəs often colloquially abbreviated rhino, is a name used to group five extant species of Odd-toed ungulates in the family The tiger ( Panthera tigris) is a member of the Felidae family the largest and the most powerful of the four " Big cats quot in the Genus [1][2]
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There have been many national and international actions taken against certain kinds of poaching and hunting. Hunting for Ivory was banned in 1989, but poaching of elephants continues in many parts of Africa stricken by economic decline. Ivory is formed from Dentine and constitutes the bulk of the Teeth and Tusks of animals such as the Elephant, Hippopotamus, The Philippines have more than 400 endangered animals, all of which are illegal to poach. Governments have taken many steps to stop poaching.
Some species such as the sturgeon or paddlefish (aka spoonbill catfish) are listed as species of "special concern" by the U. Sturgeon is the Common name used for some 26 species of fish in the family Acipenseridae, including the genera Acipenser, Paddlefish (family Polyodontidae) are primitive Chondrostian Ray-finned fishes The paddlefish can be distinguished by its large Mouth and its elongated S. Federal government, but are only banned from fishing in a few states such as Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas[3]. The species, which is being overfished for its eggs to make caviar is still allowed to be taken in all other states.
Addressing the problem
Some game wardens have made use of robotic decoy animals placed in high visibility areas to draw out poachers for arrest after the "animals" get shot. United States In the United States, game wardens are state or local officials responsible for enforcing Laws pertaining to the Hunting, [2].
Modern terminology
As of at least 1990 the verb is sometimes used to refer to the act of hiring employees who are already employed by another company (especially a competitor), orchestrated by a recruiter referred to as a "headhunter". The term has also been used in the scrap metal trade, when metal objects (cars, submarines) are taken in order to sell them. [4]
See also
- 2006 Zakouma elephant slaughter
- Bag limits
- Black Act
- Endangered species
- Fishing
- Game Warden
- Hunting
- Hunting license
- Ivory
- Lacey Act
- Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries - Enforcement Division
- Night Poaching Act 1828
- WildAid
- Wildlife
- Wildlife Conservation
- Wildlife Enforcement Monitoring System
Notes
- ^ Will traditional Chinese medicine mean the end of the wild tiger?
- ^ Rhino rescue plan decimates Asian antelopes
- ^ News Tribune
- ^ http://www.examiner.com/a-1401980~N_Y__man_convicted_of_stealing_submarine_parts.html
References
External links
- Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting Poaching Paradise (Video)