‘How did you come to be here?’ Study digs into origins of Zambian wildlife crime
The man in the Zambian prison recalled how he ended up there. He’d been approached by someone who had an uncle in the capital, Lusaka, who was willing to buy ivory and pangolin scales. He gave the man a phone and a number to reach him. “He promised that the money I would get would […]
A study conducted by Wildlife Crime Prevention (WCP) Zambia and Copperbelt University examined the backgrounds of inmates imprisoned for wildlife offenses in Zambia. The research aimed to understand the motivations and factors that led individuals to engage in poaching and wildlife trafficking. The man interviewed for the study recounted how he was lured by a contact who claimed to have an uncle with the ability to buy ivory and pangolin scales in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia.
The contact promised that the substantial money he would receive would allow him to construct a house and provide his children with education. This personal account highlights the diverse range of individuals involved in wildlife crime, from local people who capture and sell animals occasionally to middlemen managing logistics, well-armed poaching gangs, and powerful syndicates at the top of the illicit industry.
While the lower-level participants are easier to catch and prosecute, their arrest does not significantly impact poaching activities. The study sought to identify the underlying reasons for the involvement of grassroots-level offenders and devise strategies to prevent them from re-engaging in wildlife crime.
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