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Date: April 30, 2024 Tue
Time: 3:36 am
Time: 3:36 am
Results for animal smuggling
4 results foundAuthor: Economists at Large Title: Horn of Contention: A review of the literature on the economics of trade in Rhino horn Summary: Poaching of rhinos in Southern Africa has increased dramatically in recent years. There is considerable debate within policy circles and the conservation movement as to the best policy response to increased poaching. Because many of the factors driving poaching and illegal trade in rhino horn are economic, many stakeholders are looking to economics for potential policy responses. In particular, there are suggestions that a legalised, heavily regulated trade in rhino horn could reduce rates of poaching. This paper is a review of studies on the economics of trade in endangered wildlife in general and on rhino horn in particular. Two studies reviewed are from formal academic literature and another four are less formal articles or "grey literature". The formal studies are from peer-reviewed journals, but do not explicitly address the recent increase in rhino poaching. The grey literature are less rigorous, but have the benefit of focussing on recent events in Africa. The formal studies suggest that predicting the outcome of liberalising trade is complex and difficult to determine. Although it may decrease pressure on poaching, as rhino horn becomes increasingly supplied through the non-lethal legal trade, there is also a real risk that trade could drive an increase in poaching through any combination of five mechanisms: - Through legal and illegal markets coexisting and interacting in complex ways. - Through reducing the stigma attached to consumption of the product. - By potentially reducing the supply costs of illegal supply. - By potentially facilitating the laundering of illegal supply in with legal supply. - As a result of uncertainty around the response of illegal suppliers to competition from a legal market. The articles from the grey literature are all overtly pro-trade, generally assuming that: - Legal markets will "hijack" consumers from illegal markets and that legal and illegal horn would be perfectly substitutable. - Stigma effects are small and that efforts to reduce demand through education and information would be ineffective. - Increased surveillance funded by rhino horn sales would increase poaching costs. - Technical advances such as DNA technology would minimise laundering. - Smugglers with market power would respond to the introduction of a legal trade passively, accepting reduced sales, rather than competing to retain market share. Little empirical evidence is offered to support these views. Under certain conditions these assumptions may hold, but it is unclear if these conditions are in place in either supplying or consuming countries. We suggest further research should be undertaken before any formal steps are taken towards legalising trade in rhino horn. Details: Yarmouth, MA: International Fund for Animal Welfare, 2013. 28p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 23, 2016 at: http://www.ifaw.org/sites/default/files/Horn-of-Contention.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Africa URL: http://www.ifaw.org/sites/default/files/Horn-of-Contention.pdf Shelf Number: 139137 Keywords: Animal PoachingAnimal SmugglingIllegal Wildlife TradeIvoryRhinocerosWildlife CrimeWildlife Trade |
Author: Dogs Trust Title: Puppy Smuggling: An investigation into the illegal entry of dogs into Great Britain under the Pet Travel Scheme Summary: Dogs Trust has carried out an in-depth six month investigation into the trafficking of puppies from Eastern Europe into the UK. The investigation focused on the puppies travelling into Great Britain under the non-commercial Pet Travel Scheme [PETS]. The numbers of animals coming in under PETS from Eastern Europe has increased rapidly since 2012 when changes to the legislation made it easier for people to enter Great Britain with puppies. According to Defra the number of dogs entering Great Britain via PETS rose by 61% in the first year when controls were relaxed. Just 2.5% of pets were found to be non-compliant with PETS in 2012. This does not account for any of the nondeclared smuggled dogs. Our investigation shows the ease with which dealers, especially those in Eastern Europe, can evade or fool customs officials since the introduction of PETS, as these figures from Defra suggest: Between 2011 and 2013 the number of dogs entering the UK from Lithuania has increased by 780%; in Hungary a 663% increase in dogs travelling under PETS into the UK was recorded . Worryingly, this increase only accounts for dogs that are declared; it does not account for the number of dogs that are smuggled into the UK. The impact of these changes and the increased volume of puppies entering the UK illegally have worrying implications for both the puppies' welfare and for the control of rabies and the tapeworm Echinococcus multilocularis UK, as many puppies are imported from countries that are classified as having rabies. Defra admitted in March 2013 that something needed to be done, yet it will have taken 21 months for any changes to the PETS to be introduced and Dogs Trust believes the proposals are nowhere near sufficient to tackle this growing problem. Our investigation reveals how the PETS scheme is being used as a cover by commercial dealers from Hungary and Lithuania on a regular basis to illegally import puppies into the UK. These dealers were aided and abetted by unscrupulous vets in Eastern Europe, who, in collusion with the dealers, are prepared to issue pet passports with falsified data. Passports are issued by vets for puppies they have not seen; the age of puppies are changed to evade contravening PETS; dogs banned under the Dangerous Dogs Act are being brought into the country; and false vaccination stamps are added indicating rabies vaccinations had been given to puppies when they had not actually been administered. Unlike rabies, there are no initiatives to control Echinonoccus multilocularis in countries where it is endemic. Dogs Trust wonders whether an individual that is prepared to falsify rabies vaccinations would bother with tapeworm treatment or measures to prevent other diseases? Dogs Trust's evidence also reveals the ineffective controls at UK border ports which allows this illegal, commercial trade of puppies to enter the UK almost unhindered. This is especially so during the weekends when there are no APHA or Trading Standards personnel on physical duty at the main ports of entry such as Dover and the Eurotunnel. Trading Standards personnel are not available to assist out of hours. Wise to this knowledge, many dealers we made contact with travel with puppies over the weekend. Transporters are rarely stopped, and if they are caught travelling with incorrect paperwork there is no penalty. They are simply made to return to where they came from. The likelihood of their paperwork being questioned is low and a search of their vehicle extremely unlikely. This means they can declare up to five puppies whose paperwork may get checked, then have a further undisclosed number of puppies hidden in their vehicle which will escape any scrutiny. Details: London: Dogs Trust, 2014. 48p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 5, 2017 at: https://www.dogstrust.org.uk/press-materials/dt_puppy_smuggling_report_v12_web(1).pdf Year: 2014 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.dogstrust.org.uk/press-materials/dt_puppy_smuggling_report_v12_web(1).pdf Shelf Number: 146736 Keywords: Animal SmugglingAnimal WelfareDogsTrafficking in Animals |
Author: Dogs Trust Title: Puppy Smuggling: The Scandal Continues. A follow up investigation into the illegal entry of dogs into Great Britain under the Pet Travel Scheme Summary: Dogs Trust reveals the findings of a follow-on undercover investigation into the cruel puppy smuggling trade. Underage and unvaccinated puppies continue to travel illegally from Central and Eastern Europe to Great Britain destined to be sold online to unsuspecting members of the public by commercial dealers and breeders. The charity also 'smuggled' a stuffed toy dog in a carry-crate from Europe onto British soil multiple occasions without any enforcer identifying her as fake - begging the question, what else could have been in that crate and why is it still so easy to smuggle puppies? The charity first highlighted the influx of illegally landed puppies from Central and Eastern Europe in November 2014, following a relaxation of the Pet Travel Scheme in 2012. These findings were then presented to DEFRA, who heralded the already-planned changes to the Pet Travel Scheme (which came into force on 29th December 2014) as the solution. Dogs Trust had strong suspicions that the changes would be ineffective - the findings of our second investigation have proven us correct. The illegal puppy trade continues to boom and the potential risks to human and dog health and welfare remain. Dogs Trust's second undercover investigation has gathered further evidence of corruption from vets and breeders in Lithuania and Romania, and the worrying ease in which commercial transporters can illegally bring puppies into Great Britain under a scheme designed for pet owners. Our experiment with Mitzi, the stuffed toy dog, shows the urgent need for visual checks of pets travelling with passports. In the absence of any physical sight check at the borders, corrupt dealers can smuggle underage, sickly, or undocumented puppies into Great Britain - bringing with them a risk of disease. Details: London: Dogs Trust, 2015. 32p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 5, 2017 at: https://www.dogstrust.org.uk/puppysmuggling/final%20use%20this%20one%20puppy%20smuggling_2.8.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.dogstrust.org.uk/puppysmuggling/final%20use%20this%20one%20puppy%20smuggling_2.8.pdf Shelf Number: 146737 Keywords: Animal SmugglingAnimal WelfareDogsTrafficking in Animals |
Author: Welch, Sarah E. Title: Promised Land or Fool's Paradise? : a Comparison of International Wildlife Crime and United States Drug Crime Summary: Wildlife crimes include poaching and smuggling of endangered species across borders. Internationally, they are governed by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Drug crimes include possession and distribution of certain controlled substances. As the world's first- and fourth-largest black markets, respectively, the crimes share many characteristics. Yet their legal structures treat them in markedly different ways. While United States drug laws are criticized as over-enforced and unnecessarily punitive, wildlife crime laws are criticized as underenforced and insufficiently punitive. Wildlife criminal law features unusually innovative partial legalization approaches but trends toward increased criminalization, while drug crime is non-innovative but trends toward decriminalization. Both have racially or ethnically disparate effects, but the conversations proceed in starkly different ways. The wildlife crime literature views drug crime laws and enforcement as the Promised Land, but drug crime literature holds it out as only a fool's paradise. This paper compares the market structures, legal structures, and policy debates of international wildlife crime and United States drug crime in an effort to place the bodies of law in conversation, test the comparisons drawn by wildlife crime literature, and inform each area from the other's best features. Details: Chicago: University of Chicago law School, Chicago Unbound, 2017. 18p. Source: Internet Resource: International Immersion Program Papers: Accessed November 2, 2017 at: http://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1068&context=international_immersion_program_papers Year: 2017 Country: International URL: http://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1068&context=international_immersion_program_papers Shelf Number: 147965 Keywords: Animal Poaching Animal SmugglingDrug Trafficking Drugs and Crime Wildlife Crime |