Conservation measures to protect predator species that are in decline may lead to an increase in illegal killing of those species that are not regulated or reported.
Shifting target species of illegal killings
Conservation measures to protect predator species that are in decline may lead to an increase in illegal killing of those species that are not regulated or reported.
Nº 13
- Wildlife & Nature Conservation
- Conservation of Wildlife
- Conservation of Specific Species
some attempts made
past case
Region-1
Region-2
Region-3
Region-4
ongoing case
no attempts made
None
Shifting target species of illegal killings
In the United States, a policy of allowing more wolf kills was introduced to reduce illegal kills of the species and thus protect the wolf. However, a case study of the Mexican grey wolf population in Arizona and New Mexico has shown that illegal killing of wolves has increased rather than decreased, while legal removals of wolves have changed little.
- Frustrated the efforts to address the initial problem
- Cascading (far-reaching effects following each other)
Louchouarn, N. X., Santiago-Ávila, F. J., Parsons, D. R., & Treves, A. (2021). Evaluating how lethal management affects poaching of Mexican wolves. Royal Society Open Science, 8(3), 200330. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.200330
Rowcliffe, J.M., de Merode, E. & Cowlishaw, G. (2004). Do wildlife laws work? Species protection and the application of a prey choice model to poaching decisions. The Royal Society, 271, 1557. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2004.2915
Louchouarn, N.X., Santiago-Avila, F.J., Parsons, D.R. & Treves, A. (2021). Evaluating how lethal management affects poaching of Mexican wolves. Royal Society Open Science, 8(3). https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.200330
Agan, S. W., Treves, A., & Willey, L. L. (2021). Estimating poaching risk for the critically endangered wild red wolf (Canis rufus). Plos one, 16(5), e0244261. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0244261
Questions/comments