What Sustains Wildlife Crime? Rhino Horn Trading and the Resilience of Criminal Networks

摘要

For the last several thousand years, humans have regarded other sentient and non-sentient species as resources and tradable commodities, a perspective that has often had negative impacts on biodiversity. The practice of procuring and trading exotic animals can be traced back to both the Egyptians, from 2500 BC, and the Greeks, from the 7th century BC. In Roman times demand escalated significantly when 'quite impressive' numbers of animals were used and killed for entertainment in the amphitheatre games from as early as 186 BC until the last games in AD 523. Animal harvesting by the Romans may have resulted in extinctions, or at least severe reductions, in populations.