What Can Agents Do to Deter Illegal Wildlife Trafficking?
by理查德·德·安布罗西奥(Richard D’Ambrosio)/
Americans are traveling further afield than ever before, experiencing wildlife and capturing memories in their hearts and social media feeds.
Unfortunately, many travelers also are taking home some of the wildlife they see, in various forms, contributing to the endangerment of many species — including elephants, rhinos and tortoises — and emboldening those in the wildlife trafficking industry.
So, theU.S. Wildlife Trafficking Alliance(USWTA) is stepping up its efforts to work with travel agents and professional organizations like the American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA), the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA), and the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), to better educate the public and those who book vacations.
例如,USWTA制造了所有教育材料(对于代理商和旅行者)可通过其网站提供.
USWTA’s digital toolkit — which was developed through a coalition of organizations that includes travel companies, nonprofits, and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service — includes educational pamphlets, public service announcements, infographics, and films that inform the public about the prevalence and source of illegal wildlife products, and explains what they can do to stop it.
“我们可以使用USWTA的所有工具包材料。作为代理商,我们将它们打印出去,并将其发送给他们最终的客户文件,无论客户在哪里旅行。“我们正在努力打击旅行公众最终可能会意外购买这些产品的无知。”
Earlier this month, the U.K. government hosted a conference where more than 50 countries adopted a declaration committing to action to protect endangered species around the globe.
英国政府在新闻稿中表示,它将扩大为非洲游骑兵的反偷猎培训的资金;已致力于为旨在减少非法交易野生动植物产品的需求的项目提供新的资金;并发起了一项新计划,以针对野生动植物贩运者和犯罪团伙。
What exactly is wildlife trafficking?
“A lot of the emphasis at the U.K. conference was on private sector engagement,” said Sara Walker, senior advisor for wildlife trafficking, USWTA, (which is a program of the Association of Zoos & Aquariums). “That is where the USWTA aligns, building public-private partnerships to combat trafficking, like with travel agents, because they are engaged with the traveling public on a regular basis, when they are heading out to the places where trafficking occurs.
“当您去旅行社时,您会寻求他们的专业知识,建议。结果,他们与旅行者沿途陪同旅行者的旅行者有着独特的关系。”
Walker agreed with Powers that repetitive education is important to helping prevent travelers from unintentionally participating in the wildlife trafficking industry, and that is a driving focus for its work with ASTA.
她说,首先,USWTA需要确保顾问和旅行者不会将野生动植物贩运与狩猎野生动植物或购买活的动物和鸟类的问题混淆。典型的美国人更有可能非法购买一种物种制成的东西。
“While we are seeing some people bring live birds or turtles to feed the black-market pet trades, the bigger problem is Americans coming back to the U.S. with a bracelet or bangle made from elephant ivory. Or, they’ll purchase a comb made from sea turtle shell,” Walker told Travel Market Report in a recent interview.
“The U.S. is one of largest markets for illegal wildlife products in the world,” said Walker. “Travelers will find them in gift shops, souvenir shops. Once you inform yourself on the issue, you will start to see it and realize it’s everywhere.”
需要“大规模”的帮助
沃克说,在拉丁美洲,最濒危的群体是鸟类,因为它们的羽毛以及海龟和珊瑚。来自非洲的旅行者可能会遇到由犀牛角,大象象牙和老虎骨和皮肤制成的产品。
In Asia, recently the USWTA has seen a rapid demand in products made from pangolin, a scaly anteater indigenous to the region. “We’ve witnessed extremely high demand rising at alarming rates,” Walker said.
“This needs to be an all-hands-on-deck initiative if we are going to be successful in preventing the decimation of species,” Walker said. “We need help on a massive scale, to replicate and duplicate some of the great examples by travel companies.”
例如,Expedia最近创建了一个野生动植物门户网站,并提供了有关三个不同主题的信息,而野生动植物贩运就是其中之一。2017年,JetBlue Airways产生了所有航班上显示的PSA。“这强调了加勒比海的贩运。但是他们最终在整个网络的所有航班上都展示了它。”沃克说。“这是一件很棒的事情,而且在他们自己的一角钱上非常昂贵。但是我们需要更多。
沃克说:“我们很乐意看到旅行社,如果他们访问加勒比海,就会在社交媒体饲料上宣传这个问题。”“我们希望他们聚焦旅行者可能会遇到的特定产品,受到伤害的物种,例如珊瑚和贝壳物种以及海龟,并告诉他们的追随者他们能做什么。”
“Years ago, you would travel, and see amazing things in a destination,” Powers said. “And then, you would come across someone selling something that was made of animal products, and think, ‘This would be great to stick on my shelf.’ Until you are educated about the impact that your purchase has on the local wildlife, you don’t think about it.”