The illegal wildlife trade is the fourth largest illict industry in the world, after the trafficking of drugs, arms and humans. Unfortunately, various species, ranging from pangolins to bears are on the verge of extinction due to the illegal wildlife trade. Worth over $23 billion annually, the impacts of the illegal wildlife trade goes beyond ecological destruction. In fact, the illegal wildlife trade is often used to fund various criminal syndicates.
On Episode 1 of Season 2, I interview Azzedine Downes, the President and CEO of the International Fund for Animal Welfare. We talk about the implications of the illegal wildlife trade, the growing use of social media for the illegal wildlife trade and the impacts of covid-19. We also talk about some of the great work being done by IFAW to counter the illegal wildlife trade globally. If you enjoyed this episode, please don't forget to subscribe to our channel!
Think Wildlife Foundation is helping tackle the illegal wildlife trade to support alternative livelihood projects with communities living in and around India's protected areas. We hope that these projects will reduce the monetary incentives of poaching for these local communities by providing sustainable sources of income. You can support these programs by buying products directly from these communities.
Support the Communities living with Wildlife: https://linktr.ee/thinkwildlifefoundation.com
Interview 1: Tackling the Illegal Wildlife Trade with Azzedine Downes, President of IFAW