Poaching is a problem that has been around as long as there have been laws in place to help preserve wildlife and sustain species growth. This is no new form of criminal activity, however, it may surprise many readers to know that it is prevalent in the United States. To better understand how common poaching is in America, let’s first look at poaching and why it’s so commonplace in the west.
Is poaching a crime?
The first thing that needs to be settled in the legal aspect of poaching and the reasoning behind that. Yes, in short, poaching is, in fact, a crime. However, while the severity of the consequences for these crimes does vary from state to state, poaching does have legal matters and should be taken very seriously.
For the United States, in particular, poaching was not considered an issue before the 20th century simply because the human population was so low. There was no strong emphasis on poaching with so much land because the human population wasn’t considered a threat. However, as time moved on and the population boomed, poaching became a mainstream issue.
Extinction is on the rise, and the U.S. is no exception. In 2021, the government declared 23 species extinct in the United States alone. While this can have multiple factors from environmental changes, population growth, and farming, poaching is also prevalent.
Poaching can be defined as the illegal killing of protected wildlife, and this takes place in the United States for both sport and commercial profit. The purpose of conservation laws is to help ensure that certain activities that have long been enjoyed for both pleasure and necessity, like hunting, can happen safely.
Hunting in the United States is one of the largest hobbies. In 2018, the census showed over 15 million hunting licenses in the United States. This activity has evolved into a sport. It attacks millions of participants every year, and the goal of conservation laws is to keep wildlife protected from extinction.
While these laws are effective, the resources to support protecting animals from all forms of poaching are still developing. Game wardens and their resources are stretched thin every year, which is still prevalent. While there have been a lot of good accomplishments in the field of wildlife conservation, there is still a lot of work to be done to fight against the problem of poaching.
What effect does poaching have on the environment?
Poaching has a deep, long-lasting effect on the environment. While it may seem evident that poaching would lead to the extinction of certain species, this can lead to larger problems that affect the environment. Namely, the extinction of species works to disrupt the natural food chain. Of course, nature will find a way around this problem, but this typically looks like a sharp increase in other species.
By disrupting the food chain, an environment can then experience an influx of a species that was not meant to be dominant. This can cause natural resources to be drained by the rise in a species population that wasn’t meant to reach such high levels, which can have long-term effects.
The natural order of things keeps environments healthy and balanced, and when humans interfere with this, it rarely leads to betterment. This is why the push to exterminate poaching is so essential. Not only will it help to keep species from extinction, but it will also help to keep species variation in the balance the way nature knows it needs to be.
What species are commonly poached?
The United States has some of the highest poaching activity in the world. This may be surprising because poaching typically only catches headlines when it affects endangered species like tigers and elephants. But unfortunately, poaching for sport and commercial benefit is rampant in the United States, and here are some of the most poached species.
Black bears and large horned sheep are the most commonly poached animals in the United States. Both are mainly poached for commercial benefit as there is a large black market for both species.
After these, one of the most commonly poached animals is the deer. The hunting season is one of the most popular outdoor seasonal activities in the United States. Millions of people hunt correctly, but this species is heavily poached out of season.
Conclusion
In short, the unfortunate truth is that poaching in the United States is still a big problem and is surprisingly common. While there has been a lot of forwarding progression toward fixing this problem, it is still far from eradicated.
Story by Alex Hamilton
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