A preliminary assessment of the wildlife trade in badgers (Meles leucurus and Arctonyx spp.) (Carnivora: Mustelidae) in South Korea

Powell, Joshua; Neo, Xavier; Park, Sehee; Woodroffe, Rosie; Lee, Hang; Axmacher, Jan C.; Durant, Sarah M.

doi:10.1016/j.japb.2023.03.004

Cited by 1 publication

(2 citation statements)

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“…Another potential explanation for reported compliance with the trade ban may be the social stigma towards consumption that bans can induce [ 58 ], which may play a particularly important role in South Korea [ 59 ]. This explanation provides a potential link with another common observation, that increased public awareness of the threats to endangered wildlife had decreased the social acceptability of trade in big cat products (n = 7).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This issue is not restricted to felids. Previous studies have shown that wildlife trade in South Korea in other taxa groups, including the Ursidae [ 64 ] and Mustelidae [ 59 ], has historically been overlooked by researchers and policy makers. As highlighted by the findings and limitations of this study, an important consequence is that the pool of experts on illegal wildlife trade in South Korea is relatively small.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Turning the tide on big cat trade: Expert opinion on trends and conservation lessons from the Republic of Korea

Elves-Powell,

Lee,

Axmacher

et al. 2024

PLoS ONE

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Unsustainable trade in big cats affects all species in the genus, Panthera, and is one of the foremost threats to their conservation. To provide further insight into the impact of policy interventions intended to address this issue, we examine the case study of the Republic of Korea (South Korea), which in the early 1990s was one of the world’s largest importers of tiger (Panthera tigris) bone and a major manufacturer of tiger-derived medicinal products. In 1993, South Korea became a Party to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and introduced a ban on commercial trade in CITES Appendix I-listed big cats a year later. We used an expert-based questionnaire survey and an exploration of the CITES trade database to investigate what has since happened to big cat trade in South Korea. Expert opinion suggested that big cat trade has likely substantially reduced since the early 1990s, as a result of the trade ban and broad socioeconomic changes. However, illegal trade has not been eradicated entirely and we were able to confirm that products reportedly derived from big cats were still publicly available for sale on a range of Korean online marketplaces, sometimes openly. The items most commonly reported by respondents from post-1994 trade and supported by expert-led evidence were tiger and leopard (Panthera pardus) skins and tiger bone wine. Although South Korea may provide a useful case study of a historically significant consumer country for tiger which has made strong progress in addressing unsustainable levels of big cat trade within a short period of time, there remains a need to address recalcitrant small-scale, illegal trade. We also recommend further investigation regarding reports of South Korean nationals being involved in illegal trade in tiger-derived products in Southeast Asia.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%