Anti-poaching is the organised act to counter the

poaching Poaching is the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set against the huntin ...

of wildlife. However, it is generally used to describe an overall effort against the illegal

wildlife trade Wildlife trade refers to the exchange of products derived from non-domesticated animals or plants usually extracted from their natural environment or raised under controlled conditions. It can involve the trade of living or dead individuals, tis ...

. The act of anti-poaching is normally carried out by

national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

s on public land and by private security companies on privately owned land. Anti-poaching takes many forms and which depends mainly upon the habitat being protected. Typically, it is the act of actively patrolling land in an effort to prevent poachers from reaching the animals.

Rangers

The most basic level of anti-poaching are the on-site rangers. They are thought of as the first line of defence against the illegal wildlife trade. Rangers typically form squads, usually four men, filling complementary roles. These roles vary depending on the sophistication of the squads. In most situations, rangers are equipped with the bare necessities; a firearm, and a simple uniform. However, in recent times due to the popularity wildlife protection many organisations have been able to obtain the funding to equip their rangers. Rangers perform varied tasks in their daily duties. Patrols make up the majority of a rangers time. Different organisations adopt different strategies to patrols, which is typically based on the animals under their protection. Rangers only protecting a few animals may be tasked with protecting one per squad. This only occurs for large mammals as generally other animals are difficult to track each new day, to make this task easier tracking devices are employed. For smaller animals, or to protect all animals in a given area rangers patrol the boundaries of the areas.

Technology

Technology is important to most anti-poaching groups as they are used as a force multiplier to protect large areas with only a small employ. A broad array of technological solutions have been trialed particularly in private game reserves and the

Kruger National Park Kruger National Park () is a national park in South Africa covering an area of in the provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga in the country's northeast. It extends from north to south and from east to west. The administrative headquarters are i ...

. Camera traps are commonly used throughout the world by rangers as a way to monitor wildlife and detect poacher presence. These provide critical post-hoc data to understanding poaching routes and intensity however increasingly in recent times they are deployed as connected units to provide real-time updates from the protected areas to ranger units.

Military operations

The

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

launched Operation Corded in 2018 to provide support to rangers and anti-poaching programs in Southern Africa.

Notable anti-poaching organisations

The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) is a Kenyan state corporation that was established in 1989 to conserve and manage Kenya's wildlife. It is established under an Act of Parliament Cap 376 (The Wildlife Conservation and Management (Amendment 1989) Act) with the mandate to conserve and manage wildlife in Kenya, and to enforce related laws and regulations. It manages the biodiversity of the country, protecting and conserving the flora and fauna. The

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) is a non-profit, marine conservation activism organization based in Friday Harbor, Washington, Friday Harbor on San Juan Island, Washington, in the United States. Sea Shepherd employs direct action t ...

(SSCS) is a non-profit, marine conservation organization based in the United States however operating globally throughout

International waters The terms international waters or transboundary waters apply where any of the following types of bodies of water (or their drainage basins) transcend international boundaries: oceans, large marine ecosystems, enclosed or semi-enclosed region ...

to prevent illegal fishing and

whaling Whaling is the hunting of whales for their products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that was important in the Industrial Revolution. Whaling was practiced as an organized industry as early as 875 AD. By the 16t ...

. The

tactics Tactic(s) or Tactical may refer to: * Tactic (method), a conceptual action implemented as one or more specific tasks ** Military tactics, the disposition and maneuver of units on a particular sea or battlefield ** Chess tactics In chess, a tac ...

of Sea Shepherd have been opposed, even by some who denounce whaling, such as

Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by a group of Environmental movement, environmental activists. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its biod ...

References

{{reflist Poaching