Uncovering the nuances of criminal motivations and<i>modus operandi</i>in the Russian Far East: A wildlife crime case study

Skidmore, Allison

doi:10.1177/20597991211022015

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 94 publications

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“…A report by WWF suggests there has been a recent decline in the cross-border trade of wildlife including gall bladders and paws due to stricter customs control (WWF 2020). Other studies suggest that corruption in Russia enables criminal networks to move illicit wildlife goods across the border with ease (Burgess et al 2014, Chestin 1998, Skidmore 2021, Van Uhm and Moreto 2018, Wyatt 2009). Burgess et al (2014) indicated that large and organized networks operating in Russia were behind the trade and export of bear parts on a commercial scale.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, we found over 100 advertisements selling bear parts on one local website, Siberian Hunter, but only three of the advertisements mentioned that the sellers had certificates proving legal provenance of bear parts they were selling and, in case of meat products, veterinary-sanitary paperwork. Skidmore (2021) also revealed how hunting permits in Russia can be purchased for any legal game though there were no checks in place to make sure the permit correlated with the species hunted.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Bears in the Russian Far East illegally exploited for meat, medicine and trophies

Gomez,

Toropov,

Shepherd

2023

Tropical Conservation Science

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Background and Research Aims Russia is a key source of bear parts in illegal trade but bear trade dynamics within the country is unknown. This study aims to address this gap by examining the legal and illegal international trade of bears in the Russian Far East. Methods Illegal trade of bears from the Russian Far East was analysed using seizure data from the Russian customs authorities from 2015 to 2019, while legal trade was analysed using CITES trade data. Results There were 116 seizures of bears involving the Russian Far East. Bear paws, claws and gall bladders were the main commodities seized revealing a demand for meat, trophies and medicine. During the same timeframe, Russia legally exported bear trophies, parts and derivatives to 55 countries and territories. Trophies were largely destined to the US and European countries whereas bear gall bladders, paws and derivates to Hong Kong. Conclusion This study shows that bears in Russia are threatened by poaching and illegal trade. They are killed for their gall bladders which are exported to Asian markets. They are also killed and exported as trophies predominantly to the US and European countries. As a game resource, Russia permits the hunting of Asiatic black bears and brown bears within established harvest quotas. Despite this, bears are being illegally killed and trafficked beyond Russia’s borders in violation of national laws and CITES trade regulations. Implications for Conservation Illegally sourced bear parts from Russia have been found in numerous countries across the globe. Further research is needed to quantify the overall illegal trade from Russia to understand the impact illegal offtake and trade has on wild bear populations in Russia. Further, the hunting of bears in Russia warrants greater regulation and monitoring to prevent the poaching of their parts for trade.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bears in the Russian Far East illegally exploited for meat, medicine and trophies

Gomez,

Toropov,

Shepherd

2023

Tropical Conservation Science

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“…Men in the Russian Far East have lower employment rates in rural areas than women, and spend more time in forests (either hunting or gathering non-timber forest products), and hence fall into socio-economic categories that tend to have lower support for large carnivore conservation. Men are nearly always the perpetrators in tiger poaching crimes in the Russian Far East, for which one of the top motivations cited is economic poverty (Skidmore 2021a). Thus, interventions that promote stable livelihoods and/or address the deeper socio-economic issues that contribute to illegal hunting should specifically target rural men (von Essen et al 2015;Pohja-Mykrä 2016;Skidmore 2021a and b).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…But despite efforts to address human-wildlife conflicts and strengthen laws, tiger numbers remain low and poaching is still evident (Lapusin 2010, Aramilev 2016et al, Skidmore 2021. Poaching is done by locals, some of whom may be retaliating for loss or other conflicts, and some of whom may be connected with larger networks for illegal trade (Goodrich et al 2008, Goodrich 2010, Lapusin and Fomenko 2015, Skidmore 2021a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Local Attitudes Toward Amur Tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) Conservation in the Russian Far East

Mukhacheva¹,

Bragina²,

Miquelle³

et al. 2022

Conservat Soc

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Public support is a necessary component of large carnivore conservation. We analysed public opinion on Amur tigers, Panthera tigris altaica, in Russia's Far East, the northernmost stronghold of the world's rarest big cat. We surveyed 1035 people in 5 settlements at increasing distances to tiger habitat. Overall support for tiger conservation was high (95.4%), although lower in more rural communities-especially among hunters-with limited socio-economic opportunities, and where tigers pose a higher perceived threat to livelihoods. Nearly 20% of respondents supported lethal removal of individual problem tigers that posed a threat to humans. Non-hunters, higherincome earners, and people who rated their communities' pre-college education positively showed less support for even such restricted killing of tigers. Hunters were more likely to support the idea of legalising tiger hunting (hunting tigers is a felony in Russia), and less likely to attribute tiger decline primarily to poaching. Despite strong support for tiger conservation in both urban and rural settings, a subset of the local populace is still engaged in poaching and trading of tigers, making improved situational crime prevention a needed focus of future efforts, alongside behaviour change campaigns promoting active resistance to poaching among tiger supporters.

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Bear trade in Poland: an analysis of legal and illegal international trade from 2000 to 2021

Gomez,

Kala,

Shepherd

2023

Eur J Wildl Res

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Commercial trade is one of the leading threats to bears as they are targeted for trophies, food and medicines. While the threat from illegal trade and trafficking has been extensively studied in Asia, understanding of bear trade dynamics outside this region is limited. Poland is an end use destination for wildlife products such as trophies and wildlife-based traditional medicines. To gain an understanding of the bear trade in Poland, we conducted an analysis of (1) seizure data, (2) Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) trade data and (3) online surveys of Polish websites. We found that the trade of bears in Poland predominantly involves a demand for traditional bear-based medicines and, to a lesser extent, trophies. While trade in bear-based medicines and trophies is permissible with appropriate permits, illegal trade in such commodities is occurring in violation of CITES and European Union Wildlife Trade Regulations and in case of brown bear specimens—also national laws. This may possibly be due to a lack of public awareness regarding laws governing the import and export of bear parts and derivatives in which case education and awareness raising programmes might prove beneficial in eradicating trafficking of bear-based medicines and trophies. The use of bear bile for traditional medicine in Eastern Europe has not been previously documented and merits further research as to its scale, the source of bears used for these purposes and the potential impacts to bear populations.

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Uncovering the nuances of criminal motivations andmodus operandiin the Russian Far East: A wildlife crime case study

Cited by 5 publications

References 94 publications

Bears in the Russian Far East illegally exploited for meat, medicine and trophies

Bears in the Russian Far East illegally exploited for meat, medicine and trophies

Local Attitudes Toward Amur Tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) Conservation in the Russian Far East

Bear trade in Poland: an analysis of legal and illegal international trade from 2000 to 2021

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