Poachers using Scientific Papers to find their next victims.

[Gulo gulo]

Poachers Are Using Scientific Papers to Guide Them to Their Next Victims | Smart News

This is nothing new. It has been happening for years! "Oh, look! A shiny new turtle species, let's go find it and sell it to be eaten or kept as a pet!" These academics, while doing a good job, are in reality, hurting species. Write about the animal, just leave out where you found and studied it!

 

[DavidBrown]

Poachers Are Using Scientific Papers to Guide Them to Their Next Victims | Smart News

This is nothing new. It has been happening for years! "Oh, look! A shiny new turtle species, let's go find it and sell it to be eaten or kept as a pet!" These academics, while doing a good job, are in reality, hurting species. Write about the animal, just leave out where you found and studied it!

Part of describing a new species is describing its range in detail, so leaving that out doesn't really work. There has to be a way of describing the range and keeping the information classified in some way if it is sensitive though. I have done some species conservation assessments for my local county government and this is a real issue that we have to figure out.

 

[Gulo gulo]

There has to be a way of describing the range and keeping the information classified in some way if it is sensitive though. I have done some species conservation assessments for my local county government and this is a real issue that we have to figure out.

I agree. But that won't happen.

 

[DavidBrown]

I agree. But that won't happen.

In the U.S. it works by only releasing vague information and the specific information only on a case-by-case basis.

For the reptile trade it probably would only work if ethical people report the outlaws. Ditto the rare plant trade where this is also a rampant problem from what I read and people tell me, especially for orchids and other collectable plants.