Research Article |
Corresponding author: Muhammad Ali Nawaz ( nawazma@gmail.com ) Academic editor: Mark Auliya
© 2022 Jaffar Ud Din, Fathul Bari, Hussain Ali, Ejaz ur Rehman, Durriyyah Sharifah Hasan Adli, Nurul Ashikin Abdullah, Yusoff Norma-Rashid, Muhammad Kabir, Shoaib Hameed, Doost Ali Nawaz, Muhammad Ali Nawaz.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation:
Din JU, Bari F, Ali H, Rehman E, Adli DSH, Abdullah NA, Norma-Rashid Y, Kabir M, Hameed S, Nawaz DA, Nawaz MA (2022) Drivers of snow leopard poaching and trade in Pakistan and implications for management. Nature Conservation 46: 49-62. https://doi.org/10.3897/natureconservation.46.76036
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The snow leopard is one of the highly valued species from high-altitude mountain ecosystems of Central and Southeast Asia, including Pakistan. This keystone species is facing a myriad of conventional and emerging threats, including poaching and trade, that are poorly documented in Pakistan. To understand the dynamics and drivers of the poaching and trading of snow leopards in Pakistan, we investigated the issue in depth through a multifaceted survey in the snow leopard range of the country. We recorded 101 snow leopard poaching incidences from 11 districts during 2005–2017. The reported poaching incidences varied spatially (x̄ = 9 ± 2.6 [95% Cl: 3–15]) and temporally (x̄ = 7.8 ± 1.09) and accounted for 2–4% annual population loss (n = 200–420) in a period of 13 years. Poaching and trade together constituted 89% of the total incidence reported and animals were mostly shot (66%), poisoned (12%), snared (12%) and captured (4%), respectively. Only a fraction (3%) of the incidences were reported to the relevant law enforcement agencies. Trade routes included large cities and neighbouring countries, even the Middle East and Europe. The average base and end prices for each item were 245 ± 36 USD and 1,736 ± 520 USD, respectively, while maximum monetary fines set as per the law were 275 USD. Our results establish the need for developing multi-stakeholder coordination mechanisms at regional, national and international levels and information sharing to curb this menace. Improving the existing laws and surveillance system, while taking the local communities onboard, will further help to this end.
conflict, illegal trade, northern Pakistan, pelt, poaching, retaliatory killing
The global illegal wildlife trade has grown to be the second largest black market after narcotics and has accelerated the risk of extinction of many threatened species (
Snow leopard (Panthera uncia) dwells in the mountain ranges of Pamir, Karakoram, Hindu Kush and the Himalayas over an area of 80,000 km2 potential range (
Pakistan became a member of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in 1976, but lack resources, expertise and tools that limit the enforcement of provisions and relevant laws, like many other countries (
Poaching and illegal trade are some of the main risks for the species of wildlife of the country, such as snow leopards, common leopards and black or brown bears. While it is thought that snow leopards and other carnivores’ pelts and other products entering the trade market are usually killed in retaliation to livestock predation, poaching for merely monetary gain cannot be neglected (
It can be assumed that all types of poaching and trade of snow leopards and their products on the national or international market, which are originating from Pakistan, would be from the snow leopard range of the country. Even if these are happening in some bordering countries, they might first enter and appear in the snow leopard range because this area connects with neighbouring countries via several unchecked and unregulated routes and passes. Until now, no such attempt has been made to quantify the level of snow leopard poaching and trade in the high-altitude areas where the species dwell. Although a very discouraging situation of active prosecution and marketing of snow leopards was reported by
It is then irrefutable that little or no attempts have been made in the areas where these incidences occur. The main drivers of poaching and this black market in the snow leopard range of Pakistan, which is critical for the conservation of snow leopards, are also not well known. This may be partly due to financial and other restrictions in reaching far-flung areas, in addition to lack of indigenous knowledge of the area and people who are involved at the grassroots level in poaching and trade of wild animals.
This study is aimed at investigating the dynamics and drivers of snow leopard poaching and trade in Pakistan. The study also focuses on the possible routes and destinations of snow leopard products exported from and imported to the country during a period of 13 years (2005–2017).
The current study was conducted in Pakistan. The snow leopard range in the country spreads over an area of 80,000 km2 in the northern mountainous belt, including the Hindu Kush, Pamir, Karakoram and Himalayas (
Since the investigation of wildlife poaching and trafficking is a sensitive issue and cannot be ascertained through a single method, the researchers used a mix of investigative tools in this study (Fig.
Subsequently, based on the information obtained so far, a separate questionnaire was developed to collect poaching and trade data from the local interviewee in the snow leopard range valleys, including herders, hunters, shopkeepers, local taxidermists, experts and other potential informants (See Suppl. material
Lastly, we conducted a desk review and online research for news related to poaching, apprehending, prosecution and smuggling related to snow leopards. Search engines such as Google and social media, like Facebook and Twitter, were scanned for similar posts and stories. Besides, we looked into the archives of major national and local online Urdu and English language newspapers. Data collected from different sources and tools were decoded in excel sheets, cleaned, verified and validated by filtering double counts and duplications to obtain the final data for analysis. To avoid double entries, particulars of each reported case from the community survey, government offices, expert opinions and news reports were tallied (
We recorded a total of 101 verified poaching observations. Most (87%) of the reported poaching incidences came from community surveys, followed by online observations (8%), departmental data (3%) and market surveys (2%), respectively. We were able to collect data (n = 101) from 11 out of 14 federating units (districts) within the snow leopard range (Fig.
Snow leopard poaching and trade rate also mixed temporally. Average poaching incidences per year were estimated as 7.8 ± 1.09 during the study period (2005–2017). Similarly, poaching was higher during the winter months with average reported cases of 4.5 ± 1.10 (Fig.
Poaching methods also varied (χ2 [4, N = 101] = 138, p < 0.05). Shooting with a gun was most favoured (66%) over poisoning (12%), snaring (12%) and live captures (4%), out of the total cases (n = 101) reported. We could not confirm the remainder (6%) of the cases (Fig.
Most of the animals killed were adults (n = 93), followed by subadults (n = 6) and cubs (n = 2). Similarly, out of the 101 poaching cases reported, 63 were male, 25 were female, while the sex of the remaining 13 was unknown.
The base price (price offered at the poaching site) and end price (commercial markets in large cities) of the animals poached varied significantly, t (21) = -2.8, p < 0.05. The average base price offered was 25,752 ± 3,824 PKR (245 ± 36 USD [1 USD = 105 PKR on 10 December 2017]) and ranged from 1,000 PKR (10 USD) to 70,000 PKR (667 USD). Similarly, the average end price was calculated as 182,295 ± 54,583 PKR (1,736 ± 520 USD) and ranged from 13,500 PRK (129 USD) to 750,000 PKR (7,143 USD), respectively.
Data collected from the respective wildlife departments revealed that the strength of the field staff was less than one person per 100 km2 and most of the staff lacked proper field gear and transport facilities.
Our study revealed that poaching and trade continue to be one of the main threats to snow leopards in Pakistan, as well as in other range countries (
Previous studies conducted in the global range of snow leopards (
Contrary to our results, the TRAFFIC report (
Spatial distribution and intensity of snow leopard poaching measured in this study can be subjected to access and availability of data, socioecological drivers, such as the abundance of snow leopards, the status of prey, effectiveness of the surveillance system and intensity of the human-carnivore conflict (
Just like other parts of the snow leopard range (
Our findings suggest that the frequently used method of poaching snow leopards is shooting in Pakistan, which is supported by other available studies (
Snow leopard pelts and other body parts were reportedly transported to large cities, such as Peshawar, Islamabad, Rawalpindi and even Lahore and Karachi (
Snow leopards are protected animals in Pakistan under provincial wildlife laws and listed in CITES Appendix I, thus prohibiting commercial international trade. However, a detailed analysis of the updated Wildlife Acts of the range provinces revealed that snow leopards and any other carnivore can be shot in self-defence or to defend livestock from a reasonable distance. Furthermore, the maximum monetary penalty proposed to kill a snow leopard is around 45,000 PKR (275 USD) or three years of imprisonment or both as per the revised Wildlife Act 2015. The monetary penalty is less than the monetary value of the snow leopard pelt in the local market. The maximum average market price we considered for a snow leopard was 182,295 PKR (1,736 USD [1 USD = 105 PKR on 10 December 2017]) and the minimum average price received was 13,500 PKR (129 USD) in 29 reported cases.
Law enforcement and strict regulations alone may not produce the required outcome for controlling snow leopard poaching when multiple socio-ecological factors like the rarity of the species, high incentives for poaching and higher demand for the parts of the animal are operating (
This study is the first-ever attempt to draw attention to the conflicting issues related to snow leopard poaching and trade in the country. Detailed analysis of the dynamics of the poaching and trade in snow leopards indicates that snow leopards are persecuted annually in significant numbers with killing in retribution and trade being the major motives, earning ample revenue on the black market. Moreover, black markets exist not only both regionally and nationally, but also internationally. Laws protecting wildlife have loopholes and provide outlets for the culprits to escape. These gaps can be filled by improving existing laws and enhancing the strength of patrolling staff by equipping them with the required facilities. The mechanism can be further strengthened by developing a holistic and multi-stakeholder interprovincial governance mechanism involving a myriad of stakeholders ranging from customs, police, airport security forces and communities and the provision/application of forensic facilities at key points. The model can be replicated internationally by fostering transboundary management of illegal wildlife trade through information sharing and joint management of trans-border areas. The poaching incidents, reported here, may not be exclusive or accurate because informants are usually reluctant to report on the number of animals killed besides ensuring anonymity. The various socio-ecological factors involved in snow leopard poaching (
The authors of this paper are indebted to all informants and investigators who participated in this study. The fieldwork was supported by the GEF-UNDP, PPG Grant for the development of PSLEP (Project ID:88620) and the University of Malaya (PPP Grant: PG002–2015B). The Wildlife Conservation Network (WCN) provided a scholarship for the Ph.D. study of Jaffar Ud Din. The publication of this article was funded by the Qatar National Library, Doha, Qatar.
Questionnaire 1
Data type: pdf file
Explanation note: Questionnaires used to collect data on snow leopard poaching and trade in Pakistan.