33 - Developing a Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre as a Reaction to the Extensive Illegal Wildlife Trade in Slow Lorises

Summary

Historical records of animal hunting by humans in Asia are at least 40,000 years old (Roberts et al., 2001). However, taking into account that the regional decline of many animal species has occurred over the past 50 years, it can be seen that this issue is still topical as animal hunting is currently the second most serious threat to wildlife (Corlett, 2007). While in ancient history humans hunted predominantly for the purpose of livelihood, present objectives of hunting have changed quite radically. The focus of hunting animals now is predominantly for sale as domestic ‘pets’, for traditional medicine purposes and for the sale of products made from them such as exotic leather products and other tourist curiosities (CITES, 2019). In Asia, hunting of animals for the purposes of magic and religion is also widespread (Shepherd et al., 2004). Hunting has become a major problem as a result of the high human population density and the major infrastructure developments that have made it easier to access not only forest areas (Nekaris et al., 2010b), but also distant urban markets with luxury products (often medicinal) (Corlett, 2007). The degree of utilisation of some plant and animal species is high, and the trade in them, along with the loss of natural habitat, damages their populations, which brings some species to the brink of extinction (CITES, 2019). Especially the illegal trade in wild animals and their products poses a big threat to species’ survival as this trade is estimated to be billions of dollars annually (Barber-Meyer, 2010; Wyler and Sheik, 2013).