Week 6 EOC: Illegal trade

The Mozambique government has come under fire for its growing role as one of the major exporters of illegally acquired rhino horn and elephant ivory in Africa. In Mozambique poaching is illegal, but it’s not considered criminal. So, consequences are minimal. Highly organized Vietnamese traders aren’t the only ones who take advantage of this. Mozambique nationals are heavily involved in the poaching of rhino horns in Kruger National Park, which sits on the border of Mozambique and South Africa. Hundreds of rhinos are being killed with Mozambican offenders often living so lavishly that it’s impossible to mistake the lucrative trade they’re engaged in. Mozambicans are crossing the border into South Africa and killing the animals there, as well. They bring the horns back, sell them, and then ship them from airports and seaports to Asia. But South Africa and conservation groups are no longer tolerating this chain of criminal activity. They made themselves known at a March meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which, says the World Wildlife Fund’s Jenna Bonello, “regulates the trade in animals and animal products,” thereby ensuring “that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.” There, CITES officials singled out Mozambique for its lack of action on poaching, and offered solutions to help mobilize the country against it. According to the Johannesburg Times News, however, one such proposal sounds more like a mandate. The Times reports that after CITES put Mozambique on notice to “amend its legal poaching legislation,” South Africa’s Environmental Affairs Minister warned Mozambique that her country intended to “re-erect” an 80 kilometer-long-fence along Kruger and Limpopo National Parks if the poaching problem doesn’t stop. Should re-erection happen, Mozambique stands to lose up to R13-million ($1.5 million) in donor money from international aid organizations for its role in maintaining the peace park.